During the racial tumult of the late 60s and early 70s, United was heavily involved in dialogue with the African American community to resolve crises situations and encourage communication about volatile issues. United Theological Seminary combines two theological school traditions, Bonebrake Theological Seminary founded in Dayton as Union Biblical Seminary in 1871, and the Evangelical School of Theology founded in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1905 as Schuylkill Seminary. These schools merged in 1954 to become United Theological Seminary. Thus, the 2000-2001 school year is its 130th year of service. United is a graduate professional school of The United Methodist Church and from its beginning has been dedicated to the education of men and women for Christian ministry with a student and program outreach that is both local and global.
Students are from more than fourteen countries and over thirty denominations.