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TIAA-CREF Short Duration Impact Bond Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading TIAA-CREF Short Duration Impact Bond Fund
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund seeks current income while giving special consideration to certain environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) 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. In addition to the fees and expenses described below, investors may be required to pay a commission to a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary on purchases and sales of Institutional Class or Advisor Class 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 Jul. 31, 2020
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs 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 period between November 16, 2018 (inception date) and March 31, 2019, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 39% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 39.00%
Other Expenses, New Fund, Based on Estimates [Text] rr_OtherExpensesNewFundBasedOnEstimates Estimates are 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 fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, remain the same. The example assumes that the Fund’s fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement arrangements will each remain in place for the duration noted in the table above. 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 fixed-income investments with average maturities or average lives of less than 5 years. The Fund primarily invests in a broad range of investment-grade bonds and fixed-income securities, including, but not limited to, U.S. Government securities, corporate bonds and mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities. The Fund may also invest in other fixed-income securities, including those of non-investment-grade quality (usually called “high-yield” or “junk bonds”). Securities of non-investment-grade quality are speculative in nature. Although the Fund may invest in fixed-income securities of any duration, the duration of the Fund’s portfolio typically ranges between zero and three years. As of May 31, 2019, the duration of the Fund’s benchmark index, the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. 1–3 Year Government/Credit Bond Index, was 1.82 years. For purposes of the 80% investment policy, the term “assets” means net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes. The term “duration” is defined in the Glossary section in the non-summary portion of the Prospectus.


The Fund is actively managed and does not rely exclusively on rating agencies when making investment decisions. Instead, the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”) performs its own credit analysis, paying particular attention to economic trends and other market events. Subject to the ESG and Impact criteria described below, individual securities or sectors may be overweighted or underweighted relative to the Fund’s benchmark index, when Advisors believes that the Fund can boost returns above that of the index.


The Fund’s investments in fixed-income securities issued by corporate entities or certain foreign governments are subject to certain ESG criteria. The ESG criteria are implemented based on data provided by independent research vendor(s). All corporate issuers must meet or exceed minimum ESG performance standards to be eligible for investment by 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 & 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 & community, labor rights & 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 or less 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 Fund investment. 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 sector or industry and relative to their peers. The Fund will not generally invest in companies significantly involved in certain business activities, including but not limited to, the production of alcohol, tobacco, military weapons, firearms, nuclear power and gambling products and services. While Advisors may invest in corporate and foreign government issuers that meet these criteria, it is not required to invest in every issuer that meets these criteria. The ESG 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.


The Fund is not restricted from investing in any securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities. Advisors considers investments in these securities to be consistent with the Fund’s investment and Impact objectives.


The Fund also invests in certain asset-backed securities, mortgage-backed securities and other securities that represent interests in assets such as pools of mortgage loans, automobile loans or credit card receivables. These securities are typically issued by legal entities established specifically to hold assets and to issue debt obligations backed by those assets. Asset-backed or mortgage-backed securities are normally created or “sponsored” by banks or other institutions or by certain government-sponsored enterprises such as the Federal National Mortgage Association or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. Advisors does not take into consideration whether the sponsor of an asset-backed security in which the Fund invests meets the ESG criteria. That is because asset-backed securities represent interests in pools of loans, and not of the ongoing business enterprise of the sponsor. It is therefore possible that the Fund could invest in an asset-backed or mortgage-backed security sponsored by a bank or other financial institution in which the Fund could not invest directly.


The Fund’s investments in mortgage-backed securities can include pass-through securities sold by private, governmental and government-related organizations and collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”). Mortgage pass-through securities are created when mortgages are pooled together and interests in the pool are sold to investors. The cash flow from the underlying mortgages is “passed through” to investors in periodic principal and interest payments. CMOs are obligations that are fully collateralized directly or indirectly by a pool of mortgages from which payments of principal and interest are dedicated to the payment of principal and interest on the CMO.


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 evaluate securities issued by corporate and foreign government issuers held by the Fund and reviews the ESG vendor(s) 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 issued by a corporate entity or by a foreign government or agency. 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 ESG criteria utilized by the Fund’s ESG vendor(s) or any judgment exercised by the CGSR Committee or Advisors will reflect the beliefs or values of any particular investor.


Additionally, Advisors invests a portion of the Fund’s assets in fixed-income instruments according to TIAA’s proprietary Impact framework. These investments provide direct exposure to issuers and/or individual projects with social or environmental benefits. Within this Impact allocation, the Fund seeks opportunities to invest in publicly traded fixed-income securities that finance initiatives in areas including affordable housing, community and economic development, renewable energy and climate change, and natural resources. These investments will be selected based on the same financial criteria used by Advisors in selecting the Fund’s other fixed-income investments.


The Fund may also engage in relative value trading, a strategy in which the Fund reallocates assets across different sectors and maturities. Relative value trading is designed to enhance the Fund’s returns but increases the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate.


The Fund may purchase and sell futures, options, swaps, forwards and other fixed-income derivative instruments to carry out the Fund’s investment strategies. The Fund may also invest in credit default swaps or index credit default swaps primarily to hedge or manage risks associated with assets held by the Fund or to facilitate the implementation of portfolio strategies for the Fund. The Fund may also invest in foreign securities, including emerging markets fixed-income securities and non-dollar denominated instruments. Under most circumstances, the Fund’s investments in fixed-income securities of foreign issuers constitute less than 25% of the Fund’s assets.
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 and/or proprietary Impact framework exclude securities of certain issuers for nonfinancial reasons, the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these criteria.


· Interest Rate Risk (a type of Market Risk)—The risk that increases in interest rates can cause the prices of fixed-income investments to decline. This risk is heightened to the extent the Fund invests in longer duration fixed-income investments and during periods when prevailing interest rates are low or negative. As of the date of this Prospectus, interest rates in the United States and in certain foreign markets are at low levels, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to risks associated with rising interest rates. In general, changing interest rates could have unpredictable effects on the markets and may expose fixed-income and related markets to heightened volatility.


· Prepayment Risk—The risk that, during periods of falling interest rates, borrowers may pay off their mortgage loans sooner than expected, forcing the Fund to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates and resulting in a decline in income.


· Extension Risk—The risk that, during periods of rising interest rates, borrowers may pay off their mortgage loans later than expected, preventing the Fund from reinvesting principal proceeds at higher interest rates and resulting in less income than potentially available.


· 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.


· Credit Risk (a type of Issuer Risk)—The risk that the issuer of fixed-income investments may not be able or willing to meet interest or principal payments when the payments become due.


· Credit Spread Risk—The risk that credit spreads (i.e., the difference in yield between securities that is due to differences in each security’s respective credit quality) may increase when market participants believe that bonds generally have a greater risk of default, which could result in a decline in the market values of a Fund’s debt securities.


· Income Volatility Risk—The risk that the level of current income from a portfolio of fixed-income investments may decline in certain interest rate environments.


· Market Volatility, Liquidity and Valuation Risk (types of Market Risk)—The risk that volatile or dramatic reductions in trading activity make it difficult for the Fund to properly value its investments and that the Fund may not be able to purchase or sell an investment at an attractive price, if at all.


· Fixed-Income Foreign Investment Risk—Investment in fixed-income securities or financial instruments of foreign issuers involves increased risks due to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, currency, market or economic developments. These developments may impact the ability of a foreign debt issuer to make timely and ultimate payments on its debt obligations to the Fund or impair the Fund’s ability to enforce its rights against the foreign debt issuer. These risks are heightened in emerging or developing markets.


Foreign investments may also have lower overall liquidity and be more difficult to value than investments in U.S. issuers.


· 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.


· Call Risk—The risk that, during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer may call (or repay) a fixed-income security prior to maturity, resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income.


· Downgrade Risk—The risk that securities are subsequently downgraded should Advisors and/or rating agencies believe the issuer’s business outlook or creditworthiness has deteriorated.


· Non-Investment-Grade Securities Risk—Issuers of non-investment-grade securities, which are usually called “high-yield” or “junk bonds,” are typically in weaker financial health and such securities can be harder to value and sell and their prices can be more volatile than more highly rated securities. While these securities generally have higher rates of interest, they also involve greater risk of default than do securities of a higher-quality rating.


· Illiquid Investments Risk—The risk that illiquid investments may be difficult to sell for the value at which they are carried, if at all, or at any price within the desired time frame.


· U.S. Government Securities Risk—Securities issued by the U.S. Government or one of its agencies or instrumentalities may receive varying levels of support from the U.S. Government, which could affect the Fund’s ability to recover should they default. To the extent the Fund invests significantly in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities, any market movements, regulatory changes or changes in political or economic conditions that affect the securities of the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities in which the Fund invests may have a significant impact on the Fund’s performance.


· Floating and Variable Rate Securities Risk—Floating and variable rate securities provide for a periodic adjustment in the interest rate paid on the securities. The rate adjustment intervals may be regular and range from daily up to annually, or may be based on an event, such as a change in the prime rate. Floating and variable rate securities may be subject to greater liquidity risk than other debt securities, meaning that there may be limitations on the Fund’s ability to sell the securities at any given time. Such securities also may lose value.


· Derivatives Risk—The risks associated with investing in derivatives may be different and greater than the risks associated with directly investing in the underlying securities and other instruments. The Fund may use futures, options, single name or index credit default swaps, or forwards, and the Fund may also use more complex derivatives such as swaps that might present liquidity, credit and counterparty risk. When investing in derivatives, the Fund may lose more than the principal amount invested.


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

Performance information is not available for the Fund because the Fund has less than one calendar year of performance.


For current performance information of each share class, including performance to the most recent month-end, please visit www.tiaa.org.
Performance One Year or Less [Text] rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess Performance information is not available for the Fund because the Fund has less than one calendar year of performance.
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress www.tiaa.org
TIAA-CREF Short Duration Impact Bond Fund | Institutional 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
Account maintenance fee (annual fee on accounts under $2,000) rr_ShareholderFeeOther none
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.30%
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.57% [1]
Total annual Fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.87%
Waivers and expense reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.52%) [2]
fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.35%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 36
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 226
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 431
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 1,024
TIAA-CREF Short Duration Impact Bond 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
Account maintenance fee (annual fee on accounts under $2,000) rr_ShareholderFeeOther none
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.30%
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.67% [1]
Total annual Fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.97%
Waivers and expense reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.54%) [2]
fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.43%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 44
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 255
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 484
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 1,140
TIAA-CREF Short Duration Impact Bond Fund | Premier 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
Account maintenance fee (annual fee on accounts under $2,000) rr_ShareholderFeeOther none
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.30%
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.15%
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.57% [1]
Total annual Fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.02%
Waivers and expense reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.52%) [2]
fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.50%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 51
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 273
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 513
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 1,201
TIAA-CREF Short Duration Impact Bond Fund | Retirement 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
Account maintenance fee (annual fee on accounts under $2,000) rr_ShareholderFeeOther none
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.30%
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.82% [1]
Total annual Fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.12%
Waivers and expense reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.52%) [2]
fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.60%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 61
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 304
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 567
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 1,317
TIAA-CREF Short Duration Impact Bond Fund | Retail 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
Account maintenance fee (annual fee on accounts under $2,000) rr_ShareholderFeeOther $ 15.00
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.30%
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25%
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.78% [1]
Total annual Fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.33%
Waivers and expense reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.63%) [2]
fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.70%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 72
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 359
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 668
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 1,546
[1] Estimates are for the current fiscal year.
[2] Under the Fund's expense reimbursement arrangements, the Fund's investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC, has contractually agreed to reimburse the Fund for any Total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions or other transactional expenses, Acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses) that exceed: (i) 0.35% of average daily net assets for Institutional Class shares; (ii) 0.50% of average daily net assets for Advisor Class shares; (iii) 0.50% of average daily net assets for Premier Class shares; (iv) 0.60% of average daily net assets for Retirement Class shares; and (v) 0.70% of average daily net assets for Retail Class shares of the Fund. These expense reimbursement arrangements will continue through at least July 31, 2020, unless changed with approval of the Board of Trustees.