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Bryn Athyn College has been educating undergraduates for more than 100 years, dating back to its incorporation under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1877. Like most institutions of higher learning in those days, its original purpose was to train ministers. In 1890 the Academy established the General Church of the New Jerusalem (also known as the New Church), a religious body based on the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg. The New Church has continued as a separate organization which promotes public worship in the light of Swedenborg’s teachings. Today the New Church is a world-wide organization.

At the same time, the Academy of the New Church continued to grow and expand. Although it began as a seminary, it very quickly expanded into a high school and a two-year college. In 1914 it became a four-year college and by 1922 the College was conferring both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees. In 1997, the Academy of the New Church College adopted a new name: Bryn Athyn College.

Today, while remaining grounded in the tenets of the New Church and the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg, the College is experiencing remarkable growth. In August 2008 the College opened several new student residence cottages, and in the Fall of 2009 Bryn Athyn opened the doors to both the Brickman Center for Student Life and Admissions and the Doering Center for Science and Research. Within the next ten years, Bryn Athyn College expects to triple its enrollment.