Hebrew Theological College (HTC) was founded in 1921 in the city of Chicago by Chaim Tzvi Rubinstein (1872–1944) and Saul Silber (1876–1946).

Rubinstein, an alumnus of Volozhin Yeshiva, had arrived in the United States in 1917; Silber, a pulpit rabbi in Chicago, served as president of the school for its first 25 years.

As its secondary purpose, it endeavors to provide its students with broad cultural perspectives and a strong background in the liberal arts and sciences to facilitate a creative synthesis of general and Jewish knowledge.

The woman's program, located on a separate campus at the Blistein Institute for Women, offers Judaic Studies majors in Bible, Hebrew Language, and Jewish History, with dual majors available in Business, Computer and Information Sciences, Education (including Elementary and Special Education), English, Health Sciences and Psychology.

Nissan Yablonsky, an alumnus of Slabodka, served as the first rosh yeshiva for the first few years, followed by Chaim Korb.

Notable past members of the faculty include Eliezer Berkovits, chairman of the department of Jewish philosophy from 1958 until 1967, and Yaakov Perlow, the Novominsker Rebbe, Chaver Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah in America.