Myanmar Institute of Theology, originally known as Baptist Divinity School, was founded in June 1927, on Seminary Hill, Insein. With only four students to begin with, the school used the facilities of Karen Theological Seminary currently known as Kayin Baptist Theological Seminary. Shortly after its opening the school became affiliated with Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. This affiliation lasted until the Second World War. The first president was Dr. W. E. Wiatt, an American missionary who served from 1927 to 1939. The school was renamed in 1939 as the Willis and Orlinda Pierce Divinity School (1939-1949). The second president of the school was Dr. C. F. Chaney who served from 1939 to 1941, when the Japanese occupied Burma.