Faculty of Arts

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) was the first recognised degree at the University of Adelaide.  Although informal classes for some subjects were held at the University between 1873 and 1875, the first official lecture was a Latin lecture delivered 28 March 1876.  This was followed by lectures in Greek, English and Mental Philosophy. 

By 1878, the first BA student, Thomas Ainslie Caterer, completed his studies for the BA degree and in 1879 became the first graduate of the University of Adelaide.  He became a Master at St Peters College and for a time was the Acting Headmaster.

The Faculty of Arts was subsequently established by Statute Chapter X in December 1886. At that time, it consisted of the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor, three other members of the Council appointed annually by the Council, and the professors and lecturers in the subject of the Faculty course.

The Faculty was responsible for advising Council on "all questions touching the studies, lectures and examinations in the course of the Faculty". Boards of Examiners for each Faculty were also established by the Statute Chapter X, consisting of the professors and lecturers in the subjects of the course and "such examiners as may be appointed by the Council".

Subjects taught for the next five years included Latin, Greek, Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Logic, English, History and Comparative Philology. Later, other subjects such as French, German and Political Economy were added toward the end of the 19th century.

Statute Chapter X was substantially amended from December 1956 making the composition of the Faculty formally defined and limited. Each Faculty gained representation from the Deans of other Faculties, and the Chairman of Education Committee and the Head of each Department in the Faculty became ex officio members.

In 1998 it was renamed the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

In 2015 it returned to the title of Faculty of Arts and comprised of four Schools: Education, Elder Conservatorium of Music, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

Taken from UAA Provenance Record UAR-0023 and A History of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Adelaide, 1876-2012