The Wesleyan Mission Society which arrived in Ghana in 1835 laid the foundation for the establishment of The Methodist Church Ghana. The Church was initially affiliated to the British Methodist Church and it became autonomous in 1962. The provision of education at all levels had been a major activity by The Methodist Church Ghana, among others, over the years.

The role of Churches, including The Methodist Church Ghana, in providing Basic, Senior High Schools and Colleges of Education was scaled down in 1961, under the then education reform programme. The Government decided to be responsible for the running of mission schools and Colleges of Education. It also established many senior high/ secondary level schools, and Colleges of Education.

In the mid 1990s, Ghana had only four state Universities: University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Cape Coast, and University of Education, Winneba. With a growing population, access to these universities became limited.

Considerable concern was expressed about the inadequacy of institutional facilities in the state universities to cater for qualified candidates who wished to avail themselves of the opportunity for tertiary education. The Methodist Church Ghana was convinced that with her unique record and experience in the provision of education at the levels of basic, secondary and colleges for teacher education, it could make a contribution to the solution of the problems of offering education at all levels.

The Church decided at its 37th Annual Conference held in Sunyani (1998) to establish a Methodist University College. After due preparations and processes, the Methodist University College Ghana (MUCG) was granted accreditation by the National Accreditation Board (NAB) in August, 2000. Its application for affiliation to the University of Ghana was approved in October, 2002.

MUCG started academic work in October, 2000. The first batch of students reported for lectures in November, 2000 and the second batch in October, 2001.