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TIAA-CREF Social Choice Equity Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading TIAA-CREF Social Choice Equity Fund
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund seeks a favorable long-term total return that reflects the investment performance of the overall U.S. stock market while giving special consideration to certain social criteria.

Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fees and expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund:
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination Dec. 03, 2016
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the fiscal year ended October 31, 2014, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 7% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 7.00%
Other Expenses, New Fund, Based on Estimates [Text] rr_OtherExpensesNewFundBasedOnEstimates Estimates for the current fiscal year.
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses, before expense reimbursements, remain the same. The example assumes that the Fund’s expense reimbursement agreement will remain in place through December 3, 2016, but that there will be no waiver or expense reimbursement agreement in effect thereafter. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Principal investment strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities. The Fund attempts to achieve the return of the U.S. stock market as represented by its benchmark, the Russell 3000®Index, while investing only in companies whose activities are consistent with the Fund’s social criteria. See “Additional information about the Fund’s benchmark index” below for more information about the Fund’s benchmark.


The social criteria the Fund takes into consideration are non-fundamental investment policies. Such criteria and the universe of investments that the Fund utilizes may be changed without the approval of the Fund’s shareholders. For purposes of the 80% investment policy, the term “assets” means net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes.


The Fund’s investments are subject to certain environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) criteria. The research vendor currently providing the ESG performance evaluation is MSCI, Inc. (“MSCI”). All companies must meet or exceed minimum ESG performance standards to be eligible for inclusion in the Fund. The evaluation process favors companies with leadership in ESG performance relative to their peers. Typically, environmental assessment categories include climate change, natural resource use, waste management and environmental opportunities. Social evaluation categories include human capital, product safety and social opportunities. Governance assessment categories include corporate governance, business ethics and government and public policy. How well companies adhere to international norms and principles and involvement in major ESG controversies (examples of which may relate to the environment, customers, human rights and community, labor rights and supply chain, and governance) are other considerations.


The ESG evaluation process is conducted on an industry-specific basis and involves the identification of key performance indicators, which are given more relative weight compared to the broader range of potential assessment categories. Concerns in one area do not automatically eliminate an issuer from being an eligible investment for the Fund. When ESG concerns exist, the evaluation process gives careful consideration to how companies address the risks and opportunities they face in the context of their industry and relative to their peers. The social and environmental impact of corporate activities related to the production and sale of alcohol, tobacco, military weapons, firearms, nuclear power and gambling products and services are quantified and incorporated into a company’s overall ESG performance assessment. While not automatically excluded from the Fund, most companies involved in these industries are ineligible for inclusion in the Fund due to their poor overall ESG performance.


Once a universe of ESG-eligible companies is established, the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, Inc. (“Advisors”), then uses quantitative investment techniques to attempt to closely match, to the extent practicable, the overall risk characteristics of the benchmark index. The Fund holdings will generally consist of a subset of the eligible investment universe. The Fund is not required to invest in all companies that meet the ESG criteria.


The Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility Committee (the “CGSR Committee”) of the Board of Trustees of the Trust (“Board of Trustees”) reviews the ESG criteria used to screen securities held by the Fund and approves the vendor of that service. Advisors seeks to ensure that the Fund’s investments are consistent with its ESG criteria, but Advisors cannot guarantee that this will always be the case for every Fund investment. Consistent with its responsibilities, the CGSR Committee evaluates options for implementing the Fund’s ESG investment criteria and monitors the ESG vendors selected to supply the ESG-eligible universe. Advisors has the right to change the ESG vendor(s) at any time and to add to the number of vendors providing the universe of eligible companies. Investing on the basis of ESG criteria is qualitative and subjective by nature, and there can be no assurance that the process utilized by the Fund’s vendor(s) or any judgment exercised by the CGSR Committee or Advisors will reflect the beliefs or values of any particular investor.


The Fund is not restricted from investing in any securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. The Fund may also invest in securities issued by other countries or their agencies or instrumentalities as approved by the CGSR Committee. Consistent with its ESG criteria, the Fund may invest up to 15% of its assets in foreign investments.
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Principal investment risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

You could lose money over short or long periods by investing in this Fund. An investment in the Fund, due to the nature of the Fund’s portfolio holdings, typically is subject to the following principal investment risks:


· ESG Criteria Risk—The risk that because the Fund’s ESG criteria exclude securities of certain issuers for nonfinancial reasons, the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these criteria.


· Market Risk—The risk that market prices of portfolio investments held by the Fund may fall rapidly or unpredictably due to a variety of factors, including changing economic, political or market conditions. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry or sector of the economy, or it may affect the market as a whole.


· Issuer Risk (often called Financial Risk)—The risk that an issuer’s earnings prospects and overall financial position will deteriorate, causing a decline in the value of the issuer’s financial instruments over short or extended periods of time.


· Foreign Investment Risk—Foreign markets can be more volatile than the U.S. market due to increased risks of adverse issuer, political, regulatory, currency, market or economic developments and can result in greater price volatility and perform differently from financial instruments of U.S. issuers. This risk may be heightened in emerging or developing markets. Foreign investments may also be less liquid and more difficult to value than investments in U.S. issuers.


· Mid-Cap Risk—The risk that the stocks of mid-capitalization companies often experience greater price volatility, lower trading volume and less liquidity than the stocks of larger, more established companies.


· Small-Cap Risk—The risk that the stocks of small-capitalization companies often experience greater price volatility than large- or mid-sized companies because small-cap companies are often newer or less established than larger companies and are likely to have more limited resources, products and markets. Securities of small-cap companies are often less liquid than securities of larger companies as a result of there being a smaller market for their securities.


· Active Management Risk—The risk that Advisors’ strategy, investment selection or trading execution may cause the Fund to underperform relative to the benchmark index or mutual funds with similar investment objectives.


· Benchmark Risk—The risk that the Fund’s performance may not correspond to its benchmark index for any period of time and may underperform such index or the overall financial market. Additionally, to the extent that the Fund’s investments vary from the composition of its benchmark index, the Fund’s performance could potentially vary from the index’s performance to a greater extent than if the Fund merely attempted to replicate the index.


· Quantitative Analysis Risk—The risk that stocks selected using quantitative modeling and analysis could perform differently from the market as a whole.


Please see the non-summary portion of the Prospectus for more detailed information about the risks described above.
Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney You could lose money over short or long periods by investing in this Fund.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Past performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The following chart and table help illustrate some of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. Because the Fund only recently began offering Advisor Class shares, the performance information shown is for the Fund’s existing classes, which would have substantially similar annual returns to the new Advisor Class because all of the Fund’s classes are invested in the same portfolio of securities with the only difference being that the classes do not have the same expenses. The bar chart shows the annual total returns of the Institutional Class of the Fund, before taxes, in each full calendar year for the last ten years. Because the expenses vary across share classes, the performance of the Institutional Class may vary from the other share classes. Below the bar chart are the best and worst returns of the Institutional Class for a calendar quarter during the full calendar-year periods covered by the bar chart. The performance table following the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns for the Institutional, Retirement, Premier and Retail Classes over the applicable one-year, five-year, ten-year and since-inception periods ended December 31, 2014, and how those returns compare to those of the Fund's benchmark index. After-tax performance is also shown only for Institutional Class shares, and after-tax returns for the other classes of shares will vary from the after-tax returns presented for Institutional Class shares. The performance in the bar chart and table has not been restated to reflect any difference between the existing classes’ expenses and estimated Advisor Class expenses. Because existing class shares generally are expected to have different expenses than Advisor Class shares, if the charts below had been restated with Advisor Class expenses, performance would have differed.


The returns shown below reflect previous agreements by Advisors to waive or reimburse the Fund for certain fees and expenses. Without these waivers and reimbursements, the returns of the Fund would have been lower. Past performance of the Fund (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future. The benchmark index listed below is unmanaged, and you cannot invest directly in an index. The returns for the benchmark index reflect no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes.


For current performance information of each share class, including performance to the most recent month-end, please visit www.tiaa-cref.org.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The following chart and table help illustrate some of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year.
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress www.tiaa-cref.org
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture Past performance of the Fund (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE INSTITUTIONAL CLASS SHARES (%)† Social Choice Equity Fund
Bar Chart Footnotes [Text Block] rr_BarChartFootnotesTextBlock

† The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended on September 30, 2015, was -7.63%.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Best quarter: 17.87%, for the quarter ended June 30, 2009. Worst quarter: -23.79%, for the quarter ended December 31, 2008.
Bar Chart, Returns for Class Not Offered in Prospectus [Text] rr_BarChartReturnsForClassNotOfferedInProspectus The bar chart shows the annual total returns of the Institutional Class of the Fund, before taxes, in each full calendar year for the last ten years.
Year to Date Return, Label rr_YearToDateReturnLabel The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended on September 30, 2015, was
Bar Chart, Year to Date Return, Date rr_BarChartYearToDateReturnDate Sep. 30, 2015
Bar Chart, Year to Date Return rr_BarChartYearToDateReturn (7.63%)
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best quarter:
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Jun. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 17.87%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst quarter:
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (23.79%)
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS For the Periods Ended December 31, 2014
Index No Deduction for Fees, Expenses, Taxes [Text] rr_IndexNoDeductionForFeesExpensesTaxes The returns for the benchmark index reflect no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes.
Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates in effect during the periods shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.
Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(a), 401(k) or 403(b) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs).
Performance Table One Class of after Tax Shown [Text] rr_PerformanceTableOneClassOfAfterTaxShown After-tax returns are shown for only one class, and after-tax returns for other classes will vary.
Performance Table Closing [Text Block] rr_PerformanceTableClosingTextBlock

Current performance of the Fund’s shares may be higher or lower than that shown above.
 

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates in effect during the periods shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(a), 401(k) or 403(b) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). After-tax returns are shown for only one class, and after-tax returns for other classes will vary.
TIAA-CREF Social Choice Equity Fund | Russell 3000® Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 12.56%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 15.63%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 7.94%
TIAA-CREF Social Choice Equity Fund | Advisor Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum sales charge imposed on purchases (percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum deferred sales charge rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum sales charge imposed on reinvested dividends and other distributions rr_MaximumSalesChargeOnReinvestedDividendsAndDistributionsOverOther none
Redemption or exchange fee rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption none
Maximum account fee rr_MaximumAccountFeeOverAssets none
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.15%
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.13% [1]
Total annual Fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.28%
Waivers and expense reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets [2]
Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.28%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 29
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 $ 90
TIAA-CREF Social Choice Equity Fund | Institutional Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Annual Return 2005 rr_AnnualReturn2005 6.67%
Annual Return 2006 rr_AnnualReturn2006 14.40%
Annual Return 2007 rr_AnnualReturn2007 4.03%
Annual Return 2008 rr_AnnualReturn2008 (36.14%)
Annual Return 2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 32.38%
Annual Return 2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 15.91%
Annual Return 2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 (0.05%)
Annual Return 2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 14.05%
Annual Return 2013 rr_AnnualReturn2013 34.32%
Annual Return 2014 rr_AnnualReturn2014 11.25%
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 11.25%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 14.57%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 7.80%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Jul. 01, 1999
TIAA-CREF Social Choice Equity Fund | Institutional Class | After Taxes on Distributions  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 10.57%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 14.12%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 7.41%
TIAA-CREF Social Choice Equity Fund | Institutional Class | After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 6.89%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 11.74%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 6.34%
TIAA-CREF Social Choice Equity Fund | Retirement Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 11.00%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 14.29%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 7.51%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Oct. 01, 2002
TIAA-CREF Social Choice Equity Fund | Retail Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 10.98%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 14.27%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 7.61%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Mar. 31, 2006
TIAA-CREF Social Choice Equity Fund | Premier Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 11.12%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 14.40%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 7.70% [3]
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Sep. 30, 2009
[1] Estimates for the current fiscal year.
[2] Under the Fund's expense reimbursement arrangements, the Fund's investment adviser, Teachers Advisors Inc., has contractually agreed to reimburse the Fund for any Total Annual Operating Expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions or other transactional expenses, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and extraordinary expenses) that exceed 0.37% of the average daily net assets for Advisor Class shares of the Fund. These expense reimbursement arrangements will continue through at least December 3, 2016, unless changed with approval of the Board of Trustees.
[3] The performance shown for the Retail Class and Premier Class that is prior to their inception date is based on performance of the Fund's Institutional Class. The performance for these periods has not been restated to reflect higher expenses of the Retail Class and Premier Class. If those expenses had been reflected, the performance would have been lower.