The United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia was founded in 1922. By 1949, the United Board was working with several Christian colleges and universities in China, including: Fukien, Ginling, Hangchow, Huachung, Hwa Nan, Nanking, St. John's, Shanghai, Shantung, Soochow, West China and Yenching.

Unable to continue working in China after 1951, the United Board began working in other parts of Asia at the request of Christian colleges and universities in Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. The United Board was invited to return to China in 1980, and today, the China program, which now includes Hong Kong, is the largest. In recent years, new programs have been undertaken at colleges and universities in Cambodia, East Timor, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

The United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization, chartered as an educational agency by the Regents of the University of the State of New York, to assist higher education in Asian countries.