The Myanmar Institute of Theology, originally known as Baptist Divinity School, was founded in June 1927, on Seminary Hill, Insein. Shortly after its opening, the school became affiliated with the Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. The school was renamed in 1939 as the Willis and Orlinda Pierce Divinity School, in 1949 as the Burma Divinity School, in 1976 as Burma Institu
te of Theology, and in 1989 as the Myanmar Institute of Theology, when the country changed its name to Myanmar. The school was affiliated with Central Baptist Theological Seminary of Kansas City, Kansas in 1955. This affiliation lasted until 1960, when the school became an accredited member of the Association of Theological Schools in South East Asia, conferring degrees on its graduates. The Bachelor of Theology (B.Th) program was offered since the establishment of the school and was terminated in 1996. The Bachelor of Religious Education (BRE) program introduced in 1962 was renamed as Master of Arts in Christian Studies in 2000. The Bachelor of Divinity (BD) program started in 1976 was renamed as Master of Divinity in 1997. The Master of Theological Studies (MTS) Degree program started in 1997 was terminated in 2008. The Master of Ministry (M.Min) degree program started in 2006 in response to the needs of the churches and Christian communities. The Master of Theology (MTh) degree program was started in 2008. The Doctor of Ministry (D.Min) program was launched in 2004 in partnership with the Union Theological Seminary, Manila, Philippines until 2008. The program was continued as a regular program of MIT for two years from 2009 to 2010 and a new joint D.Min program with the Central Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas, USA, was started with effective from 2011. A Doctor of Theology program of the ATESEA Theological Union (ATU) was inaugurated in MIT from 2009 as part of ATESEA's doctoral program. MIT is one of the twelve Centers for Theological Excellence directly managed by ATESEA. A PhD degree program was launched in 2014 in the commemoration of the two hundred anniversary of the arrival of Adoniram and Ann Judsons in the soil of Myanmar. In response to the demands of the community and to address the educational crises in Myanmar at that time, the Liberal Arts Program was launched since the year 2000 as part of MIT educational programs. MIT established three research centers namely, Judson Research Center (JRC) in 2003, Peace Studies Center (PSC) in 2006, and Gender Studies Center (GSC) in 2015.
