History of FASA

The Faculty of Arts was the first of the three foundation Faculties in the University of Ilorin when it formally took off in October 1975. At inception, the Faculty had four Departments with a population of fifty-five students and sixteen academic staff. These Departments were English (later renamed Modern European
Languages with the addition of the French programme), History, Arabic and Islamic Studies (later expanded and renamed Religions) and Linguistics and Nigerian Languages. A fifth Department, the Performing Arts, was added in the 1981/82 academic session. The splitting of the Department of Religions into Arabic and Religions and the Department of Modern European Languages into English and French was approved by Senate in 2001. Today, the Faculty has seven Departments offering ten programmes with a total student population of over 1,700 and 100 academic staff.

Vision and Objectives
Our vision is to prepare students for life and to make a total person out of each student in the Faculty. The objectives for achieving these goals are:
  • To generate research in the humanities and come up with recommendations for national development;
  • To train students to understand the scope of the arts and philosophy in life with a view to contributing towards nation building, development, sharpening personal views and vision, etc. in such a way as to aid human adaptability and contribute towards communal existence and the total development of a being;
  • To train students to have the social and intellectual tools for interaction and for a viable and harmonious working life;
  • To train high-level manpower for administrative and professional positions;
  • To promote in students the spirit of independent, original and imaginative inquiry;
  • To equip students with the knowledge and mental skills needed for identifying, analyzing and solving problems in a technological age;
  • To highlight aspects of the humanities that have direct application for practical life and those that promote social and cultural awareness, thus enhancing the individual's sense of civic responsibility.
To read about the Deans of the Faculty (Past and Present) click here