[2][3] Founded in 1913, the university has six schools and departments: Business, Counseling, Divinity, Education, Liberal Arts & Sciences, and Music.

Around the same time, C. I. Scofield and William L. Pettingill, leading Bible teachers of their day, were holding a large conference in the Philadelphia area.

In 1951, the two schools merged to become Philadelphia Bible Institute (PBI), located at the YWCA Building at 1800 Arch St. At the time of the merger, William A. Mierop from BIOPA was appointed president and Clarence E. Mason, Jr. from PSOB, academic dean.

W. Sherrill Babb's appointment as president coincided with a relocation from Center City, Philadelphia to a new campus in Langhorne Manor.

During Babb's presidency, the number of degrees offered increased from three to eleven; six graduate programs were implemented; four extension campuses established; and student enrollment, faculty, and facility space more than doubled.

In October 2011, as part of an effort to reduce the time and costs required for undergraduates to finish their studies, the board of trustees voted to allow students the option to pursue a B.S.

[11] On Wednesday April 18, 2012, Williams announced to the student body during chapel that he and the board of trustees were considering changing the name of the school to Cairn University.

The name, it was explained, adopts the concept of memorials and trail markers, "Bearing witness [to God's faithfulness] and pointing the way" (see Cairn).

Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, tennis, soccer, lacrosse and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, tennis, lacrosse, and volleyball.

[16] In 2014 the men's Cross Country team won the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Championship.

Students also participate in intramural sports such as flag football, outdoor soccer, basketball, and volleyball.