Barber-Scotia College was founded as Scotia Seminary in January 1867 by Reverend Luke Dorland who was commissioned by the Presbyterian Church, USA, to establish in the South an institution for the training of Negro women. A survey of situations and needs resulted in the selection of Concord, North Carolina, as the place for the school's location. The organization included a program of elementary, secondary, and normal school work.

The original purpose of the College was to prepare teachers and social workers. Accordingly, subjects classified as normal, academic, and homemaking were offered to qualify for state certification and collegiate level studies. The mission of the college has always focused on Total Student Development as etched in the Faith Hall cornerstone: For Head, Hand, and Heart.

The institution’s second period of academic development came in 1916, as the name was changed to Scotia women’s College. In 1930, Barber Memorial College of Anniston, Alabama, merged with Scotia Women’s College. The present name, Barber-Scotia, was adopted in 1932.

Rating and accreditation by this time had become a point of great urgency in education in the South, and four years after the merger of Scotia and Barber, the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools granted Barber-Scotia approval as a Class “A” junior college. Eight years later (1942), the board of National Missions took action to support fully a four-year program for the college; and in 1945, the first class to be granted the Bachelor’s degree was graduated. The North Carolina Board of Education granted a four-year rating in 1946, which made it possible for graduates who plan to teach to receive the “A” Certificate.