About the Faculty of Arts
The Faculty of Arts proudly provides a welcoming, inclusive atmosphere for our multi-talented students to thrive.
And our first-class programs open doors to rewarding careers in hundreds of diverse fields.
The Faculty of Arts is creating new opportunities to deliver on our incredible potential to drive change. With the guidance of our globally-recognized faculty, our students are encouraged to embrace practical ways of learning, challenge traditional conventions and engage in groundbreaking research.
Our History
As one of the founding Faculties of the University, Arts has a long tradition of excellence.
In 1908, the University Senate established its first Faculty – the Faculty of Arts and Sciences – with four departments: English, History, Modern Languages and Applied Sciences. The original faculty consisted of five members: President Henry Marshall Tory from McGill University, Luther Herbert Alexander from Columbia University, William Muir Edwards from McGill, William Hardy Alexander from the University of Western Ontario and Edmund Kemper Broadus from Harvard University. From its modest beginnings, the Faculty of Arts has grown to include more than a dozen departments and interdisciplinary programs, numerous institutes, more than 250 full-time faculty members and approximately 7,000 students, making it one of the largest teaching and research centres in Western Canada.