History

University Hall, the University of Nebraska's first building

The University’s oldest College, Arts & Sciences was founded in 1871.  It was officially called the College of Ancient and Modern Literature, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences, but was referred to by the shorter title of College of Literature, Arts and Sciences.  While the University’s original charter called for six Colleges—Literature, Arts and Sciences, Agricultural Sciences, Law, Medicine, Civil Engineering and Mechanics, and Fine Arts, only Literature, Arts and Sciences was actually operating in 1871 when the University opened.  Its original course offerings followed the pattern of elite British and American curricula of the nineteenth century, emphasizing Latin, Greek, German, French, Math, and some study in the physical sciences. 

Over the years several programs broke away from Arts & Sciences to become independent Colleges:

• Business: In the early 1900s, under pressure from the State Legislature to develop more practical programs of study, Arts & Sciences increased its offerings in business, marketing, and economics.  A School of Commerce was created within Arts & Sciences in 1913, and in 1919 it became the independent College of Business.
• Fine Arts: Although the University’s charter designates it as an independent College, financial problems prevented the College from being formed, and the Fine Arts were until recently taught through Arts & Sciences.  A separate School of Music was established in 1892, but was financially independent from the University; it was not until 1930 that the University officially incorporated Music.  Then in 1938 a School of Fine Arts, which included Music, was established in Arts & Sciences.  The School was constituted as a separate College in 1993.
• Journalism: The Department of English offered courses in Journalism beginning in 1894.  A School of Journalism was established in Arts & Sciences in 1923. In 1979 the School became largely independent of Arts & Sciences, and in 1985 it was established as a College.
• Teachers College: In the University’s early decades, what little teacher training there was happened mostly in Arts & Sciences.  The prevailing view among faculty was that the state’s Normal Schools should take care of such training, not the University.  Under considerable pressure from the public and the state legislature, however, the University established Teachers College in 1909.  Students in the new College continued to receive their degrees in Arts & Sciences until Teachers College became a fully autonomous degree-granting program in 1921.

All images courtesy of Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries.