The faculty was established in the post-World War II period on 14 February 1950 by the decision of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was established as a part of a unified institution, together with the Faculty of Natural Sciences, and included following eight subject areas: General and National History, Serbo-Croatian language and Yugoslav literature, German language and literature, French language and literature, Oriental Philology, Mathematics, Chemistry and Geography. Dr. Aleksandar Belić, president of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, delivered inaugural lecture of the institution November 1950. Faculty's main building was designed by Juraj Neidhardt and constructed between 1955 and 1959.