Established in 1915 by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Marywood currently enrolls more than 2,800 students in a variety of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs.

[5] The Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary came to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and established St. Cecilia's Academy in 1878 "for young ladies".

Mother M. Cyril Conway, IHM superior in 1901, deliberately chose the term "seminary" (roughly equivalent to a high school in present times) to avoid the suggestion of a finishing school – which was a much more common destination at that time for older girls who could afford to continue their education – as it was intended to be "a place where young scholars dedicated themselves to serious study".

The seminary was the next time step to the sisters' ultimate goal: to open a women's college in Scranton.

All students are required to complete a core curriculum in the liberal arts in addition to the courses in their major.

It now contains 42 species of trees (103 varieties) and a comparable collection of shrubs, ornamental grasses, and flowers.