About FHE

History of FHE

The expansion of the University in the early 196Os involved the establishment of a College of Arts and Science at St. Augustine and Cave Hill in 1963. In 1964 the College was organised into the following Divisions: Humanities, Social Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics while a Faculty of General Studies was set up to take care of the Degree Programme on the three centres of St. Augustine, Mona and Cave Hill; this Faculty of General Studies existed in tandem with the Faculty of Arts already located on the Mona Campus.

In 1972 a decision was taken to amalgamate the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of General Studies to form a single Faculty of Arts and General Studies and simultaneously to reorganise the Division of Humanities on the St. Augustine Campus into the Department of English and the Department of French and Spanish, and to add to these African and Asian Studies and a Department of History, History having been removed from the-what had hitherto been the Division of Social Sciences. A further development, the placing of those involved in the teaching of Use of English and French and Spanish language into a Department of Language and Linguistics, took place in 1975 and resulted in the present composition of the Faculty of Arts and General Studies. The Faculty on each Campus is headed by a Campus Dean with a University Dean providing overall co-ordination.

The Faculty offers a B.A. Degree in which students may either specialize in one subject area or choose a combination of subjects within a wide range of Options. Many of these Options are available at all three campuses but some are available at one or sometimes two campuses only, reflecting the availability of resources on the particular campus or campuses. Some options consist of Arts courses only, while others combine Arts courses as well as courses drawn from other disciplines and Faculties such as Education, Law Social Sciences and Natural Sciences. Options with Mass Communication and Library StudIes are also available. The Faculty also offers the BA. Theology Degree in association with Theological Colleges in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

In recent years, the University has introduced a system of Challenge Examinations, by which students in non-campus countries who fulfil the matriculation requirements may undertake all or part of the first year BA. Degree programme in their home country, sitting up to two or three Examinations in any one year. Successful students may apply for entry to complete the BA. Degree at any of the three campuses. The faculty [then adopted] the Semester system a deviation from the British system on which it was founded.

Written by Reginald Clarke (1989)

This was taken from Faculty of Arts and General Studies The University of the West Indies St. Augustine: A Bibliography of the Publications of Members of Staff by Reginald Clarke was compiled to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of The University of the West Indies.