The opening of higher education institutions is increasingly affecting major cities in Ivory Coast, and this has accelerated since the end of the 2010 post-election crisis. However, university location strategies suffer from weak integration with local economies and, at times, poorly planned urban redevelopment. The objective of this paper is to carry out a descriptive analysis of the logic of university establishment in Côte d’Ivoire. To achieve this, the data collection techniques are documentary research, direct observation, and interviews. The results obtained show, on the one hand, that three logics govern university establishment in the Ivory Coast; they are political, socioeconomic, and territorial in nature. On the other hand, the rapid massification of staff, the weak articulation with local economies and the sometimes poorly planned urban recomposition are major challenges to the establishment of universities in Ivory Coast.