Birmingham-Southern College is the result of a merger of Southern University, founded in Greensboro, Alabama, in 1856, with Birmingham College, opened in 1898 in Birmingham, Alabama. These two institutions were consolidated on May 30, 1918, under the name of Birmingham-Southern College.

In 1824, the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church recommended that each conference establish a seminary of learning under its regulation and patronage. Not until 1854 did the Alabama Conference undertake to carry out this recommendation of the superior body. In that year, a committee was appointed to select a site for the proposed college and to procure funds for its establishment and maintenance. The charter was granted by the State of Alabama on January 25, 1856, and the first meeting of the Board of Trustees was held on March 17, 1856; January 25 is therefore known as Charter Day for the College, and March 17 has been designated as Founder's Day.

After the State was divided into two Methodist conferences, the North Alabama Conference, in 1883, joined with the Alabama Conference in the support of Southern University.

At the session of the North Alabama Conference held at Tuscaloosa in November 1896, work was begun toward establishing a college within the bounds of this conference. In the fall of 1897, the foundation for the first building was laid in Birmingham. In April 1898, a president was elected and a faculty was chosen and organized. The Conference then surrendered its interest in Southern University and, in September 1898, the North Alabama Conference College (later named Birmingham College) opened its doors to students.

For twenty years the two colleges were maintained by the Methodists of Alabama. Finally, on May 30, 1918, through their appointed commissioners, the two conferences consolidated these institutions under the name of Birmingham-Southern College. With no loss of time from the regular work at either place, the consolidation was effected, and the new institution opened its doors in Birmingham on September 11, 1918. Since that time, Birmingham-Southern College has grown rapidly and is now a fully accredited institution in every way.

Birmingham-Southern has consistently sought academic distinction. In 1937, its standards were recognized by the nation's leading academic honor society, Phi Beta Kappa, which granted the College a charter to establish Alabama Beta.