It was founded in 1902 to provide pastors for the rapidly growing Presbyterian Church in the frontier Southwest.

[2] The seminary moved to its present location adjacent to the University of Texas at Austin campus in 1908.

Education Beyond the Walls at Austin Seminary (EBW) offers workshops, webinars, and other opportunities for church leaders and the public.

The seminary is approved by The University Senate of The United Methodist Church and attracts students from many Protestant denominations.

One notable collection in the archives is The Apollo Prayer League collection,[7] which contains a mounted Microform KJV Bible that was part of a set that traveled in the spacesuit of astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell during the 1971 Apollo 14 mission to the moon.