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TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon Equity Fund (Prospectus Summary) | TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon Equity Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon 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 environmental, social, and governance criteria (“ESG”), which include additional criteria relating to carbon emissions and fossil fuel reserves.

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, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
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)
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, 2020, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 27% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 27.00%
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 equity securities. The Fund attempts to achieve investment results that reflect the return of the U.S. stock market as represented by its benchmark index, the Russell 3000® Index, while investing in companies whose activities are consistent with the Fund’s ESG criteria, which include additional criteria relating to carbon emissions and fossil fuel reserves. See “Additional information about the Fund’s benchmark index” in the non-summary portion of the Prospectus for more information about the Fund’s benchmark.

The Fund’s investments are subject to certain ESG criteria. The ESG criteria are implemented based on data provided by independent research vendor(s). 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 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, thermal coal and gambling products and services.

In addition to the overall ESG performance evaluation, the Fund favors companies that (1) demonstrate leadership in managing and mitigating their current carbon emissions and (2) have limited exposure to oil, gas, and coal (i.e., fossil fuel) reserves. The determination of leadership criteria takes into consideration company carbon emissions both in absolute terms (e.g., tons of carbon emitted directly into the atmosphere) and in relative terms (e.g., tons of carbon emitted per unit of economic output such as sales). Reserves are fossil fuel deposits that have not yet been extracted.

Once a universe of ESG-eligible companies is established, the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”), then uses quantitative investment techniques to attempt to closely match, to the extent practicable, the overall risk characteristics of the benchmark index. Under these quantitative investment techniques, the Fund uses a risk model to evaluate the universe of stocks in which the Fund may invest and to inform the construction of a broadly diversified group of stocks. The Fund holdings will generally consist of a subset of the eligible investment universe. The Fund is not required to invest in all of the companies that meet the ESG criteria.

The Board of Trustees of the Trust or a designated committee thereof (“Board of Trustees”) reviews the ESG criteria used to determine eligibility of the 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 Board of Trustees evaluates options for implementing the Fund’s ESG investment criteria and monitors the ESG vendor(s) 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 Board of Trustees or Advisors will reflect the beliefs or values of any particular investor.

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. For purposes of the 80% investment policy, the term “assets” means net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes.

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 Board of Trustees. 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.

·   Low-Carbon Risk—The risk that because the Fund’s investment will have special emphasis on companies with low current carbon emissions and limited exposure to fossil fuel reserves, the Fund’s portfolio might exclude

certain issuers for nonfinancial reasons and the Fund may forgo some market opportunities that otherwise would be available.

·   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. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries, which would make the Fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries.

·   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 have lower liquidity and be more difficult to value than investments in U.S. issuers. Foreign investments may also be subject to risk of loss because of more or less foreign government regulation, less public information and less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards.

·   Large-Cap Risk—The risk that large-capitalization companies are more mature and may grow more slowly than the economy as a whole and tend to go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions.

·   Mid-Cap Risk—The risk that the stocks of mid-capitalization companies often experience greater price volatility, lower trading volume and lower overall 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 often have lower overall liquidity than securities of larger companies as a result of there being a smaller market for their securities, which can have an adverse effect on the pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when Advisors deems it appropriate.

·   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 and the risk that such quantitative analysis and modeling may not adequately take into account certain factors, may contain design flaws or inaccurate assumptions and may rely on inaccurate data inputs, which may result in losses to the Fund.

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. The bar chart shows the annual total returns of the Institutional Class of the Fund, before taxes, in each full calendar year since inception of the Institutional Class. 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, Advisor, Premier, Retirement and Retail classes over the applicable one-year, five-year, ten-year and since-inception periods ended December 31, 2020, and how those returns compare to those of the Fund’s benchmark index. After-tax performance is 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 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.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.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 Low Carbon Equity Fund
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Best quarter: 22.37%, for the quarter ended June 30, 2020. Worst quarter: -19.97%, for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS For the Periods Ended December 31, 2020
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 performance is 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.
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 Low Carbon Equity Fund (Prospectus Summary) | TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon Equity Fund | Russell 3000® Index  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Index No Deduction for Fees, Expenses, Taxes [Text] rr_IndexNoDeductionForFeesExpensesTaxes reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes
Label rr_AverageAnnualReturnLabel Russell 3000
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 20.89%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 15.43%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 13.83% [1]
TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon Equity Fund (Prospectus Summary) | TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon Equity 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 0.25%
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.10%
Total annual Fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.35%
Waivers and expense reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.03%) [2]
Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.32%
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination February 28, 2022
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 33
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 109
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 194
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 440
Annual Return 2016 rr_AnnualReturn2016 12.85%
Annual Return 2017 rr_AnnualReturn2017 20.86%
Annual Return 2018 rr_AnnualReturn2018 (5.82%)
Annual Return 2019 rr_AnnualReturn2019 32.22%
Annual Return 2020 rr_AnnualReturn2020 22.34%
Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Jun. 30, 2020
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 22.37%
Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Mar. 31, 2020
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (19.97%)
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 22.34%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 15.75%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 14.13%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Aug. 07, 2015
TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon Equity Fund (Prospectus Summary) | TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon Equity Fund | Institutional Class | After Taxes on Distributions  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 21.71%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 14.87%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 13.29%
TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon Equity Fund (Prospectus Summary) | TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon Equity Fund | Institutional Class | After Taxes on Distributions and Sales  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 13.65%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 12.50%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 11.19%
TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon Equity Fund (Prospectus Summary) | TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon 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
Account maintenance fee (annual fee on accounts under $2,000) rr_ShareholderFeeOther none
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.25%
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.20%
Total annual Fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.45%
Waivers and expense reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.03%) [2]
Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.42%
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination February 28, 2022
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 43
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 141
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 249
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 564
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 22.27%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 15.66%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 14.04% [3]
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Dec. 04, 2015
TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon Equity Fund (Prospectus Summary) | TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon Equity 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 0.25%
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.15%
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.10%
Total annual Fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.50%
Waivers and expense reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.03%) [2]
Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.47%
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination February 28, 2022
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 48
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 157
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 277
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 625
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 22.18%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 15.59%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 13.97%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Aug. 07, 2015
TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon Equity Fund (Prospectus Summary) | TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon Equity 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 0.25%
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.35%
Total annual Fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.60%
Waivers and expense reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.03%) [2]
Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.57%
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination February 28, 2022
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 58
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 189
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 332
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 747
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 22.00%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 15.47%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 13.84%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Aug. 07, 2015
TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon Equity Fund (Prospectus Summary) | TIAA-CREF Social Choice Low Carbon Equity 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 0.25%
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25%
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.16%
Total annual Fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.66%
Waivers and expense reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.03%) [2]
Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.63%
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination February 28, 2022
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 64
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 208
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 365
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 820
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 21.97%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 15.41%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 13.77%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Aug. 07, 2015
[1]

Performance is calculated from the inception date of the Institutional Class.
[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) 0.32% of average daily net assets for Institutional Class shares; (ii) 0.47% of average daily net assets for Advisor Class shares; (iii) 0.47% of average daily net assets for Premier Class shares; (iv) 0.57% of average daily net assets for Retirement Class shares; and (v) 0.71% of average daily net assets for Retail Class shares of the Fund. These expense reimbursement arrangements will continue through at least February 28, 2022, unless changed with approval of the Board of Trustees.
[3]

The performance shown for the Advisor Class that is prior to its inception date is based on performance of the Institutional Class. The performance for these periods has not been restated to reflect the actual expenses of the Advisor Class. If these actual expenses had been reflected, the performance of the Advisor Class shown for these periods would have been different because the Advisor Class has different expenses than the Institutional Class.