[6]) Before Andover was founded, American Protestant clergymen attended undergraduate college, then learned their profession by studying under a minister.

The program was for three years of study in four subjects: the Bible, church history, doctrinal theology and the practical arts of ministry.

The seminary moved its faculty and library to Cambridge, built a large academic-Gothic style facility there, and began to develop plans for a more formal merger with Harvard.

The last addition was Wilson Chapel, a modern interpretation of the traditional New England meetinghouse, constructed to mark the school's bicentennial in 2007.

Another important 21st-century construction on "the Hill" in Newton Centre was the contemporary campus of Hebrew College, designed by the architect Moshe Safdie.

Meadville was to sell its campus in Chicago and become the "Unitarian" division of the new institution, with Andover Newton becoming the "Christian" component.

[16] In May 2016, ANTS president Martin Copenhaver announced that Andover Newton would begin a process of formal affiliation with Yale Divinity School over a two-year period.

In the 2016–17 academic year, a cohort of faculty relocated to New Haven, Connecticut, teaching students and launching pilot initiatives focused on congregational ministry education, while Andover Newton continued to operate in Massachusetts.

[23] Andover Newton was first accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges in 1978,[24] and granted master's degrees as well as a doctor of ministry.

[27] The ‘Spirit of the Hill’ award, announced at the annual Fall Convocation, was conferred upon one alumnus/a who has exhibited exemplary skills in ministry.

A prize for Excellence in Writing was awarded annually by the faculty, named after American theologian and writer, Frederick Buechner.

Prior to the American Civil War, when there were few fully developed graduate programs in the United States, the two schools trained some of the nation's most important scholars, linguists, social activists, educational innovators, and college presidents as well as many of its leading Protestant clergy.