The origin of the UP College of Business can be traced to as early as  1916 when then U.P. President Ignacio Villamor approved the proposal of Vicente Encarnacion Singson, Teodoro Yangco and Francisco Ortigas to offer a two-year course leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Commerce. The course was placed under the Department of Economics in the College of Liberal Arts which was located in the old U.P. Campus in Padre Faura. In 1918, 3 students, Leon Ma. Gonzales, Sulpicio Belosillo and Jose V. Hernandez, graduated with with the B.S.C. degree.

The desire to have a separate College of Business Administration (CBA), led to a position presented to the Board of Regents in 1928. The request was subsequently granted by U.P. President Rafael Palma and the "Bachelor of Science in Business Administration" was created. The Honorable Conrado Benitez served as the first Dean. During his administration, the College established and awarded its very first graduate degree - Masters of Science in Industrial Management.

In 1940, Hon. Gil J. Puyat assumed his position as the second Dean of the College. Under Dean Puyat's stewardship, the alumni, led by UP Business Alumni Association President Vicente Hermoso, had consistently supported the needs of the College. The College thus continued operations until December 1941 when the Pacific theater of the Second World War broke out.

After the war, classes resumed temporarily on the third floor of the U.P. College of Law in Diliman. In 1947, under the leadership of Dean Jose E. Velmonte, the CBA transferred to the Liberal Arts building, now known as the College of Arts and Sciences. The CBA's dream of settling in its own building was realized with the construction of Benitez Hall in 1959.

The following year, Dean Jovino S. Lorenzo took over and served from 1959-1961. The Honorable Cesar E. A. Virata assumed the deanship in 1961. During his term, the Master of Business Administration was instituted, and the MBA (part time program) was first offered in UP Diliman. During the term of Dean Virata, the first group of faculty was sent to the U.S. for further studies. These included Manuel S. Alba, Magdaleno B. Albarracin, Jaime C. Laya, Jr., Rafael A. Rodriguez, Emanuel V. Soriano, and Emmanuel T. Velasco. It was also during the term of Dean Virata that the College celebrated its 50th year, with Manuel Marquez as president of the UP Business Alumni Association.

In 1969, Dr. Jaime C. Laya succeeded Dean Virata. Through Dean Laya's leadership, the College of Business initiated a number of new programs - the Doctoral Program in Business Administration, the Master of Agri-Business Management program, and the five-year Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Accountancy. The College instituted a full-time MBA program and a number of joint programs - Bachelor of Science in Agri-Business, in cooperation with the College of Agriculture; Bachelor of Science in Business Economics, in cooperation with the School of Economics; and the Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Administration, in cooperation with the College of Home Economics.

In 1971, during the term of Dean Laya, the U.P. Business Research Foundation, Inc. was established to support management research, establish Professorial Chairs, and to provide opportunities for the faculty to undertake management consultancy. Its founders were: Fanny Cortes-Garcia, Dr. Jaime C. Laya, the late Don Pio Pedrosa, the late Juan D. Quintos, Sr., the late Anselmo Trinidad, Sr., and Cesar E.A. Virata. In 1971, Dean Laya began to plan for a more spacious and better-equipped building for the College. Construction of this building began in 1976.

Dr. Emmanuel T. Velasco succeeded Dean Laya in 1975 and ably took the task of overseeing the construction of the new building. The construction was financed by the National Government, and by the Alumni under the leadership of Mrs. Fanny Cortes-Garcia, who was then the President of UP Business Alumni Association. It was during Dr. Velasco's term that the College produced its first graduates from the Doctoral Program.

Dr. Magdaleno B. Albarracin, Jr. was sworn into office on May 1, 1980, to become the eighth Dean of the College. Under his leadership, the College committed itself to the development of a strong faculty and to the service of the business community, the government sector and others in need of management expertise. It also reached out to its alumni, friends and the Philippine business sector for continued support and for the development of new programs and projects. During the term of Dean Albarracin, the alumni and the business community contributed to the Professorial Chair fund for the establishment of eighteen (18) new Professorial Chairs, as well as four scholarship grants. A third floor was also added to the building to accommodate large class sizes of at least 100 students.

Dr. Cesar G. Saldaña took his oath on August 8, 1986 to become the ninth Dean of the College. During his term, the College proposed to have a prominent ASEAN presence in business and management education, and pursued an improved faculty recruitment and development program. The Philippine Management Review, a venue for the research outputs of the College faculty, was also launched during this period.

Prof. Rafael A. Rodriguez was sworn into office on May 1, 1992 and re-appointed for a second 3-year term in 1995. Dean Rodriguez initiated linkages with industry through the Development Center for Finance (DCF), which was established jointly with the FINEX Research & Development Foundation in December 1992, and through active membership in the Manufacturing Industry Roundtable (MIR). The faculty complement was strengthened through the recruitment of new faculty with doctoral degrees, faculty fellowships for junior faculty, and post doctoral fellowships for senior faculty in major universities in Canada through grants from CIDA. With assistance from Alumni, 24 new professorial chairs and two faculty grants were established allowing the College to offer grants or professorial chairs for all full time faculty in the College. The DBA Program was reviewed and restructured into a Ph.D Program while the MBA curriculum was revised to reflect less traditional functional courses and more emphasis on integrating courses and courses in technology management. In June of 1997, the Master of Science in Finance, one of the first of its kind in the country, was established. Also in 1997, the College became one of the first in U.P. Diliman to be Internet connected when the CBA building was wired through a LAN.

Dr. Elvira A. Zamora took her oath of office on August 1, 1998 - the first woman dean of the College. Dean Zamora prioritized the strengthening of relationships between the College and its various stakeholders. A staff development program was instituted with the College research and administrative personnel participating in continuing training seminars. An office for the MBA Society was set up within the College premises which has led to a more cohesive bond between the College and its MBA alumni. A student-centered administration was also emphasized, particularly via stronger coordination with the various student organizations. Following the lead of her predecessors, outside linkages have also been established and strengthened such as the linkage with L'Oreal. Finally, a casebook writing project was launched as part of the CHED-Center of Development (COD) program of activities.

Dr. Erlinda S. Echanis assumed the deanship of the College on August 1, 2001. Her vision for her term includes the following: 1) strengthen the faculty profile and continuing academic program improvement; 2) develop closer ties with alumni; 3) expand institutional linkages with local and foreign academic institutions to promote research and faculty development; 4) improve the building and other facilities of the College; and, 5) generate financial resources for Professorial Chairs, Faculty Grants and research. By increasing the number of doctoral degree holders in the faculty, Dean Echanis hopes to significantly increase the research output in the College while maintaining the strength in the teaching programs.