William Carey opened the college of Osteopathic Medicine in 2009 and welcomed its first class of 110 students in 2010.

William Carey University was founded by W. I. Thames in 1892 as Pearl River Boarding School in Poplarville, Mississippi.

In 1911, W. S. F. Tatum acquired the property and offered it as a gift to the Baptists, and the school reopened as Mississippi Woman's College.

On January 21, 2017, the William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine was severely damaged after being struck by a tornado, as was nearly every building on campus.

[8][9] In the 2017 edition of U.S. News & World Report America's Best Colleges, William Carey University was ranked No.

On October 23, 2007, the board of trustees at William Carey University (WCU) unanimously voted to authorize Tommy King, president, to employ a dean for the College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM).

The rationale was to open the COM to address the severe shortage of physicians in Mississippi and surrounding states and to impact the healthcare of rural Mississippians.

William Carey University's Department of Theatre & Communication began in 1915 by Kate Downs P'Pool.

Since 1994, the department has become actively involved in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

In 2001, William Carey's production of And David Danced was selected for presentation at the National Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C.

The department produces three productions per year, normally a drama, a children's theatre piece, and a comedy or musical.

Two CDT alumni (Phillip Fortenberry and Keith Thompson) have gone onto professional Broadway music careers.

It is the only such program on the Gulf Coast comprising southern Mississippi, southwestern Alabama, and southeastern Louisiana.

William Carey University operates in accordance with its Baptist affiliation and has many programs for its 4000 students.

CareyBSU offers Bible studies, ministry to the surrounding area and apartments, mission opportunities, and "Priority Lunch."

The university is served by a newspaper, The Cobbler, which publishes once a month and alternates between a print and online edition.