1929

Raffles College was founded.

Students were not grouped into faculties, but, in the main, took courses in one of three main groups of subjects:

1. English, History, Geography, Economics and Education
2. Physics, Chemistry, English, Mathematics and Education
3. Mathematics, English, Physics, Chemistry or Geography and education.

1949

Raffles College merged with the King Edward VII College of Medicine to form the University of Malaya, and a Faculty of Arts was established with five departments - English, Geography, History, Economics and Statistics and Mathematics.

1952

Social Work as a subject in the University was started, when it offered the first professional social work qualification in Singapore, the two-year Diploma in Social Studies.

1953

The Department of Chinese Studies was established.

1954-55

Philosophy, which began as a sub-unit of the English department in 1952–53, attained full departmental status.

1959

The University of Malaya was divided into two autonomous entities - the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur and the University of Malaya in Singapore.

1961

The Department of Political Science was created.

1962

The Univerity of Malaya in Singapore officially became the University of Singapore.

1965

Departments teaching 'quantitative' subjects, namely Economics, Sociology, Political Science, Applied Social Studies and Business Administration (then taught at the Arts Faculty) were brought under one roof.  This brought about the creation of a Faculty of Social Sciences in March 1966.

1966

Sociology was taught for the first time in the University.

1967

The Department of Malay Studies was founded.

1969

To allow students to choose from a wider range of subjects, the Faculty of Arts was amalgamated with the Faculty of Social Sciences to form a unified Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

1980

1. The National University of Singapore (NUS) was established.
2. The Department of Chinese Studies (established in 1953), Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of the former University of Singapore; and the Department of Chinese Language and Literature (established in 1955), Faculty of Arts of the former Nanyang University merged to become one Department of Chinese Studies.

1981

A Japanese Studies department was set up in the Faculty with assistance from the Japanese Government.

1982

A Centre for Advanced Studies was set up.

1986-87

Psychology as a subject of study was introduced into the Faculty as part of the Department of Social Work.

1991

1. The Department of Mass Communication was created.
2. Southeast Asian Studies, European Studies and Linguistics Programmes were launched.

1992

• The Mass Communication Department was moved to Nanyang Technological University.
• The Public Policy Programme in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences was established.

1995

The American Studies Centre was set up.

1999

The South Asian Studies Programme and the Information and Communications Management Programme were established.

2001

• Office of Programmes was established, offering 3 multidisciplinary, cross-departmental programmes: American Studies, European Studies, Master of Social Sciences (International Studies).

• A Centre for Language Studies was established to oversee all language learning and to create greater synergies for innovative language teaching.  Nine languages were offered – Bahasa Indonesia, Chinese, Japanese, Malay, Tamil, Thai, Vietnamese, French and German.

• American Studies Centre was designated a cross-departmental programme and came under the purview of the Office of Programmes.

• The Centre for Advanced Studies and the Centre for Research in Chinese Studies ceased operations, as the independent Asia Research Institute was established.

2002-03

Approval was obtained for four minor programmes to be offered in academic year 2003-04:

• Minor in Urban Studies

• Minor in China Studies

• Minor in English Studies

• Minor in Economics

2004-05

• The Public Policy Programme ceased operations under the auspices of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and was expanded to become the independent Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in August 2004.
• Approval was obtained for three minor programmes to be offered in academic year 2005-06:
• Minor in Gender Studies
• Minor in Cultural Studies
• Minor in Religious Studies
• The first joint Honours degree, in Actuarial Studies and Economics, was offered by the Australian National University and the NUS. 

2005-06

• The Information and Communications Management Programme was restructured to form the Communications and New Media Programme.
• The Department of Social Work and Psychology became two separate departments - the Department of Social Work and the Department of Psychology with effect from 1 July 2005.
• A five-year double Honours degree in Economics and Law was offered by the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Law with effect from academic year 2005-06.
• An Honours Programme in Malay Studies was offered with effect from academic year 2005-06.

2006-07

• Approval was obtained for two minor programmes to be offered in academic year 2006-07:
• Minor in Science, Technology and Society (STS)
• Minor in Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
• A second double Honours degree programme was started in academic year 2006-07.  Offered by the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Engineering, the Double Degree Programme is in Economics and Engineering.
• An Honours Programme in South Asian Studies was offered with effect from academic year 2006-07.

2007-08

• A second joint Honours degree between the Australian National University (ANU) and NUS will begin in 2007.  This is a Joint Degree Programme in Theatre Studies, English Literature, History and Philosophy.
• A third joint Honours degree will be offered, between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the NUS.  The first intake of students on this programme is expected in academic year 2007-08.