Wesley Theological Seminary can trace its roots back to the 1881 meeting of the Methodist Protestant Church's Maryland Annual Conference.

In 1939, Westminster became one of the ten theological schools under the newly formed Methodist Church.

[3] In addition, Wesley offers a dual degree program in concert with neighboring American University.

Wesley Theological Seminary is governed by a Board of Governors and is under the jurisdiction of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Since its formation in 1882, Westminster/Wesley has had ten presidents: Thomas Hamilton Lewis (1882-1886), James Thomas Ward (1886-1897),[5] Hugh Latimer Elderdice (1897-1933), Fred Garrigus Holloway (1933-1935), Charles Edward Forlines (1935-1943), Lester Allen Welliver (1943-1955), Norman L. Trott (1955-1967),[6] John Lowden Knight (1967-1982), and G. Douglass Lewis (1982-2002).