Harrison studied at the University of London (B.D., 1943; M.Th., 1947, Ph.D., 1952) and taught at Clifton College, Bristol from 1947 to 1949, before his appointment as Hellmuth Professor of Old Testament Studies at Huron College, University of Western Ontario.
In 1960 he became Professor of Old Testament Studies at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto, where he stayed until his retirement in 1986.
In 1988, a Festschrift was published in his honour, Israel's apostasy and restoration: essays in honor of Roland K Harrison (ISBN 0801038308).
Edited by Avraham Gileadi, it included contributions by Clarence Hassell Bullock, Eugene Merrill and Bruce Waltke.
[1] Tremper Longman described him as "one of the most competent Old Testament evangelical scholars today.