Groupings of higher education institutions in the Bordeaux area date back at least to 1997 with the creation of a "pôle universitaire de Bordeaux". In 2007 under the auspices of a 2006 law creating Pôle de recherche et d'enseignement supérieur the PRES Université de Bordeaux was organized, grouping the 4 Bordeaux universities and several technical schools under one coordinating association.^[2]

With the 2013 Law on Higher Education and Research (France) discontinuing PRES and establishing a new associative form in the association of universities and higher education institutions (ComUE), the 2007 Université de Bordeaux was replaced by CUEA (which formally began 11 March 2015).^[3] Meanwhile, on 1 January 2014, a new University of Bordeaux had been organized by merging again three of the Bordeaux universities.

The founding members of the CUEA are:^[3]

• University of Bordeaux,
• Bordeaux Montaigne University
• University of Pau and Pays de l'Adour
• Bordeaux INP
• Institut d'études politiques de Bordeaux
• Bordeaux Sciences Agro

Associate members are:^[4]

• Centre hospitalier universitaire de Bordeaux,
• Institut Bergonié (Centre régional de lutte contre le cancer),
• CROUS de Bordeaux Aquitaine,
• Centre national de la recherche scientifique,
• École nationale supérieure d'architecture et de paysage de Bordeaux,
• KEDGE Business School,
• École supérieure des technologies industrielles avancées (ESTIA),
• École nationale de la magistrature,
• École nationale supérieure d'arts et métiers - centre de Bordeaux (ENSAM),
• École des beaux-arts de Bordeaux.

• CUEA website