Mouw was educated at Houghton College from which he received the B.A. degree. He then studied for the M.Div degree at Western Theological Seminary. He was awarded the M.A. from the University of Alberta, and his PhD. degree from the University of Chicago. Mouw was Professor of Christian philosophy at Calvin College for seventeen years. He has also served as a visiting professor to the Free University of Amsterdam. He was appointed Professor of Christian Philosophy and Ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary in 1985. In 1993 he was elected president of Fuller Theological Seminary.