A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges (e.g., "college of arts and sciences") or schools (e.g., "school of business"), but may also mix terminology (e.g., Harvard University has a "faculty of arts and sciences" but a "law school").

History

The medieval University of Bologna, which served as a model for most of the later medieval universities in Europe, had four faculties: students began at the Faculty of Arts, graduates from which could then continue at the higher Faculties of Theology, Law, and Medicine. The privilege to establish these four faculties was usually part of medieval universities’ charters, but not every university could do so in practice. The ''Faculty of Arts'' took its name from the seven liberal arts: the triviumThe three of the humanities ( grammar,

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

dialectics Dialectic ( grc-gre, διαλεκτική, ''dialektikḗ''; related to dialogue; german: Dialektik), also known as the dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to ...

) and the quadriviumThe four of the natural sciences (

arithmetic Arithmetic () is an elementary part of mathematics that consists of the study of the properties of the traditional operations on numbers— addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation, and extraction of roots. In the 19th ...

, music, geometry and astronomy). In German, Scandinavian, Slavic and related universities, it would more often be called the ''Faculty of Philosophy''.The medieval university Arts/Philosophy faculty soon expanded its curriculum with the three Aristotelian philosophies: physics, metaphysics and

moral philosophy Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

. The degree of Magister Artium (Master of Arts) derives its name from the Faculty of Arts, while the degree of

Doctor Philosophiae A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

(Doctor of Philosophy) derives its name from the Faculty of Philosophy, German name of the same faculty. Whether called ''Faculty of Arts'' or ''Faculty of Philosophy'', it taught a range of subjects with general and fundamental applicability. The higher ''Faculty of Law'' and ''Faculty of Medicine'' were intended, much like today, for specialized education required for professions. The ''Faculty of Theology'' was the most prestigious, as well as least common in the first 500 years—and generally one that popes sought most to control. Although also "professional" education for clergy, theology (until the Enlightenment) was also seen as the ultimate subject at universities, named "The Queen of the Sciences", and often set the example for the other faculties. The number of faculties has usually multiplied in modern universities, both through subdivisions of the traditional four faculties and through the absorption of academic disciplines that developed within originally vocational schools, in areas such as engineering or agriculture.

Faculty of Arts

A Faculty of Arts is a university division teaching in areas traditionally classified as "liberal arts" for academic purposes (from Latin , "worthy of a free person", and , "art or principled practice"), generally including creative arts, writing,

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, and humanities. A traditional division of the teaching bodies of medieval universities (the others being Law, Medicine and Theology), the Faculty of Arts was the lowest in rank but also the largest (the higher faculties admitted only Arts graduates).The Faculty of Arts
- Catholic Encyclopedia article Instead of "Arts", this faculty often had the name "

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

". Nowadays this is still a common name for faculties teaching humanities (e.g.,) no, Det filosofiske fakultet, sl, Filozofska fakulteta).

Faculty of Classics

A Faculty of Classics may be focused on ancient history and ancient literature. The title may refer to the following faculties: * Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge * Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford

Faculty of Commerce

Faculty of Commerce examples include: * Faculty of Commerce: Banaras Hindu University * Faculty of Commerce: University of Wollongong * Faculty of Commerce, Social Welfare & Business Management: University of Calcutta * Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy: Thammasat University

Faculty of Economics

Faculty of Economics (''Ekonomski fakultet'' in most South Slavic languages) may refer to, amongst others: *

MSU Faculty of Economics MSU Faculty of Economics is a faculty of the Moscow State University. It prepares economists with university education. In 2005, the faculty included 350 teachers and research associates. 62 of them held Doctor of Sciences degree and 208 are Candid ...

, located in Moscow, Russia * University of Belgrade Faculty of Economics, located in Belgrade, Serbia * University of Montenegro Faculty of Economics, located in Podgorica, Montenegro * Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, located in Zagreb, Croatia *

University of Osijek Faculty of Economics A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

, located in Osijek, Croatia * School of Economics and Business Sarajevo, located in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina *

University of Kragujevac Faculty of Economics The Faculty of Economics at the University of Kragujevac is an educational and scientific institution in the city of Kragujevac. It was established as a department of the University of Belgrade Faculty of Economics on 1 October 1960, and became ...

, located in Kragujevac, Serbia * Makerere University School of Economics, located in Kampala, Uganda

Faculty of Education

Faculty of Education examples include: * Faculty of Education, Banaras Hindu University * Faculty of Education, McGill University * Faculty of Education, Queen's University * Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge * Faculty of Education, University of Colombo * Faculty of Education, University of London * Faculty of Education, University of Osijek * Faculty of Education, University of Strathclyde * Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario * Faculty of Education, University of Zagreb * Faculty of Education, Victoria University of Wellington

Other faculties

* Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney * Faculty of Education, Law and Social Sciences (Birmingham City University)

Faculty of Engineering

Faculty of Engineering examples include: *

Faculty of Engineering Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument), an instrument or warra ...

, University of Kragujevac *

Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing ( hr, Fakultet elektrotehnike i računarstva, abbr: ''FER'') is a faculty of the University of Zagreb. It is the largest technical faculty and the leading educational as well as research-and-de ...

, University of Zagreb * Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology, Bandung Institute of Technology * Faculty of SIET Nilokheri

Faculty of Graduate Studies

The title, Faculty of Graduate Studies, refers not to a specific area of study, but to a Graduate school. Examples include: *

Faculty of Graduate Studies A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

, of the University of Colombo *

, of the Brock University *Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, of the Carleton University *Faculty of Graduate Studies, of the

University of Kelaniya Pannaya Parisujjhati , mottoeng = Self-purification is by insight , established = 1875 Vidyalankara Pirivena1959 Vidyalankara University , type = Public , endowment = , adminis ...

Faculty of Humanities

A Faculty of Humanities is a university faculty teaching humanities. Examples include: *

Faculty of Humanities, University of Mostar Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Mostar ( hr, Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Mostaru) is a public institution belonging to the University of Mostar, located in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. History The Faculty ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina * AAU Faculty of Humanities, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark *

University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of Humanities The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

, Johannesburg, South Africa * Faculty of Humanities, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand

Faculty of Information Technology

A Faculty of Information Technology is a university faculty teaching information technology. Examples include: * Faculty of Information Technology, Polytechnic University of Tirana *

Faculty of Information Technology, University Džemal Bijedić of Mostar Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument), an instrument or warrant ...

Faculty of Information Technology, Czech Technical University in Prague Faculty of Information Technology, Czech Technical University in Prague (FIT CTU) was established on the 1st of July, 2009, as the eighth and the youngest faculty of Czech Technical University in Prague. The school offers undergraduate and gradu ...

Faculty of Law

A Faculty of Law is a university faculty teaching law, or a

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

faculty. Examples include: *

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

: Aligarh Muslim University *

: Banaras Hindu University *

: Chinese University of Hong Kong *

: Göttingen University *Faculty of Law:

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

: Heidelberg University *

: Istanbul Commerce University *

: Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz Branch *

: Lakehead University *

: McGill University *

: Monash University *

: National University of Singapore *

: Queen's University *

: Saint Petersburg State University *

: Thammasat University *

: Thompson Rivers University *

: Université de Montréal *

: University of Alberta *

: University of Belgrade *

: University of British Columbia *

: University of Calcutta *

: University of Calgary *

: University of Cambridge *

: University of Colombo *

: University of Copenhagen *

: University of Delhi *

: University of Hong Kong *

: Istanbul Medeniyet University *

: University of Ljubljana *

: University of Montenegro *

: University of Mostar *

: University of National and World Economy *

: University of New Brunswick *

: University of Osijek *

: University of Oslo *

: University of Otago *

: University of Ottawa *

: University of Oxford *

: University of Paris-XII *

: University of Pretoria *

: University of Sarajevo *

: University of Tasmania *

: University of Toronto *

: University of Victoria *

: University of Waikato *

: University of Windsor *

: University of Zagreb *

: Victoria University of Wellington

Others

Faculty of Civil Law, University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law or "UST Law" (as distinguished from the Faculty of Canon Law) is a law school in Manila, Philippines. It is administered under the jurisdiction of the University of Santo Tomas, the oldest and th ...

* Faculty of Education, Law and Social Sciences (Birmingham City University) *

Faculty of International Law, CUPL The Faculty of International Law, CUPL () is a school of the China University of Political Science and Law. The school offers LL.B, LL.M and Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the hig ...

* Faculty of Law and Administration, Jagiellonian University *

Faculty of Law and Public Administration, University of Szeged The Faculty of Law and Public Administration of the University of Szeged. Notable persons * István Bibó, politics * László Buza, international law * Győző Concha, politics * István Ereky, public administration * Ferenc Finkey, ...

Faculty of Management Studies

A Faculty of Management Studies is a university division teaching management studies. Examples include: * Faculty of Management Studies, Banaras Hindu University * Faculty of Management Studies (Delhi), University of Delhi *

FMS Baroda The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, in Gujarat state, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a university in 1949 after the independence of ...

, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda * FMS Udaipur, Mohanlal Sukhadia University

Faculty of Music

In English-speaking academia, Faculty of Music normally refers to a university department, especially at Oxford and Cambridge (UK). In the US, the use of 'faculty' often relates to academic and teaching staff. Examples include: *

Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge was the first institution in the world to award a dedicated Bachelor of Music degree. The Faculty of Music was established in 1947, and has this since grown into an academic centre covering all the aspects of study and ...

Faculty of Music, Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague ( cs, Akademie múzických umění v Praze, AMU) is a university in the centre of Prague, Czech Republic, specialising in the study of music, dance, drama, film, television and multi-media. It is the larg ...

Faculty of Natural Sciences

Faculty of Natural Sciences examples include : * Imperial College Faculty of Natural Sciences, England *

Comenius University, Faculty of Natural Sciences The Faculty of Natural Sciences (FNS) ( Slovak: ''Prírodovedecká Fakulta'' (PriF UK)) is a faculty of the Comenius University in Bratislava. History Efforts to establish the Faculty of Natural Sciences in Slovakia during the interwar period w ...

, Slovakia *

Vilnius University Faculty of Natural Sciences Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

, Lithuania

Faculty of Philosophy

A Faculty of Philosophy is a university faculty teaching

. In the universities of

continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

, the Faculty of Arts has more often been named the equivalent of " Faculty of Philosophy" (e.g., no, Det filosofiske fakultet, sl, Filozofska fakulteta). Nowadays this is a common name for the faculties teaching humanities. Examples include: * Faculty of Philosophy, University of Cambridge * Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford * Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade *

Faculty of Philosophy, University of Montenegro The University of Montenegro Faculty of Philosophy (Montenegrin language, Montenegrin: Filozofski fakultet Univerziteta Crne Gore ''Филозофски факултет Универзитета Црне Горе'') is one of the educational insti ...

Faculty of Philosophy, University of Niš Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument), an instrument or warran ...

Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences or the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb ( Croatian: ''Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu'') is one of the faculties of the University of Zagreb. History The Faculty of Philosophy is the oldest fac ...

Faculty of Political Science

Faculty of Political Science examples include: * Faculty of Political Science in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade, Serbia * MSU Faculty of Political Science, Moscow State University, Russia * Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University, Turkey * Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Montenegro *

Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University The Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, is regarded as one of the oldest modern higher education institutions in Thailand. It is the first faculty of political science in Thailand and is considered one of the best according to ...