Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan

The Faculty of Arts is the flagship faculty of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, founded in 1948.^[1] It provides bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs in humanities, across its 12 departments.^[2]

The Faculty of Arts at the University of Ibadan was established in 1948.^[2] It began in temporary buildings at Eleyele,^[3] with just a few lecturers and a small number of students studying for a BA General Degree. At that time, the university was working under a special relationship with the University of London.^[4]

The first set of departments included classics, English, geography, history, mathematics, and religious studies. Later on in the year, the English department added phonetics as a sub-department. By 1950, some departments were permitted to run Degree Honours programmes.

In 1953, the faculty moved to its current permanent site between the administrative block and Niger Road. The original premises remained in use until 1960.

Many changes took place at the faculty after the University of Ibadan gained autonomy in 1955: the association with University of London was reviewed, the General Degree was withdrawn, and a new B.A structure was created to reflect the university's African identity, with the goal of training students who understood both African and global perspectives. Two types of Honours Degrees were introduced, wherein students could focus on one course or combine two courses.

New departments were created, including Arabic & Islamic Studies, Linguistics & Nigerian (now African) Languages, and Modern Languages. Mathematics later moved to the Faculty of Science. The School of Drama, which later became Theatre Arts, was also established during this period. Postgraduate studies also began to expand in the faculty.

The faculty has 12 different departments with a total of 18 courses in total.

• Arabic and Islamic studies (Arabic studies and Islamic studies)
• Archaeology and Anthropology (Archaeology and Anthropology)
• Classical Studies
• Communication and Language Arts
• English
• European Studies (French, Russian, and German)
• History
• Linguistics and African Languages (Linguistics, Yorùbá, and Igbo)
• Music
• Philosophy
• Religious Studies
• Theater Arts

• Chinua Achebe: Author of Things Fall Apart.^[5]
• Emeka Anyaoku: Third Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.^[6][7][8]
• J. P. Clark: Poet and playwright.^[9]
• Kayode Fayemi: Former Governor of Ekiti State.
• Akin Mabogunje: Geographer and the first African president of the International Geographical Union
• Godwin Obaseki: Former Governor of Edo State.^[10]
• Christopher Okigbo: Modernist poet.^[11]
• Folake Onayemi: First Nigerian woman to earn a PhD in Classics and first Black woman Professor of Classics in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Femi Osofisan: Playwright, poet, and professor.^[12]
• Niyi Osundare: Poet and professor of English.^[13]
• Wole Soyinka: Author, and the first African to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.^[14]
• Tekena Tamuno: Historian, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan.