[1][2] The Seminary was founded by George Leslie Mackay, a missionary teacher despatched to Taiwan by the Canadian Presbyterian Church.

James Ira Dickson (孫雅各, 1900-1967) who was committed to improving the school’s infrastructure, standards for incoming students, and the granting of academic degrees.

At the 7th Taiwan Presbyterian General Conference of 1954, the seminary trustees were authorized to sell the old school premises and purchase a piece of approximately sixty thousand square feet of land perched on the lower part of the Yangming Mountain as the new campus site.

Upon the completion of the William Gauld Memorial Hall, currently the administrative building, and the male dormitory on September 21, 1956, the seminary was ready to relocate from Shuanglian to Lingtou and begin classes.

Taiwan Seminary was eventually accredited according to the 'Private School Rules' promulgated by the Governor's Office in 1992.

In 2004, the Legislative Yuan revised the “Private Schools Law” to include a “Religious Training College” clause.

The Mackay lectures are invited academic lectures, and in recent years have included international figures like Brian Stanley, Luke Powery, David Ferguson, Brian Blount, Choon Leong Seow, and Michael Welker, as well as senior faculty including Sun Po-Lin and Lin Hong-Hsin.

[7] The Shunaglian lectures are directed more towards clergy and alumni and have featured discussions on topics like body theology, ecclesiology, or women in ministry.

Finally, with the arrival of the Nationalist Kuomintang party from China, Chinese books also started to enter the collection.

Taiwan Seminary has three research centers dedicated to history, theology, and intercultural studies.

Taiwan Seminary faculty are widely known for contributions in the fields of history, theology, and Biblical studies.