The school was established in September 2017, with a liberal arts college model as its basis. It is the second of its kind in Russia, after the Smolny College. SAS was developed in the framework of the University of Tyumen's strategy within the 5-100 Project. The school combines three major fields of study: social sciences, arts and humanities, and life sciences. The BA and MA programs offered by SAS are in English, although some courses are also available in Russian.