Ruth Murdoch Elementary School is a Kindergarten through Grade 8 coeducational school that is owned and operated by Andrews University. Pioneer Memorial Church is the only constituent church that supports Ruth Murdoch Elementary School.
During the 1947-48 school year, a masonry education building was constructed on the Andrews University campus to house academy and elementary students. In 1963, the academy and elementary schools became known as the Andrews University Laboratory School. Occupancy of the current elementary school facility began in the fall of 1968 with students in Kindergarten through Grade 6. The junior high was added the following year. The first graduating class held its commencement in the spring of 1970.
In 1974, the board of trustees voted to change the school's name to the University School and to rename the school's elementary division in honor of the distinguished American educator, Dr. Ruth Rittenhouse Murdoch. The secondary division, known as Andrews Academy, moved to its present location in the fall of 1978.