The Faculty of Social Sciences was established in 1963. The main reason was a rapidly increasing number of students, and the recognition of an academic community within the social sciences. Until then, psychology, sociology, education, and social anthropology had been under the Faculty of Humanities, while economics and political science were previously under the Faculty of Law.
Like the rest of the university, the Faculty of Social Sciences has experienced a significant increase in both staff and student numbers. Today, the faculty is one of the largest at the university.
There have also been major changes at the faculty in recent years. In 1996, the education department received its own faculty, in 1999 the Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture (TIK) was established, and from 2004 the ARENA program (Advanced Research on the Europeanisation of the Nation State) continued as its own center within the faculty.
The Faculty of Social Sciences is the leading social science research environment in Norway, with several specialized groups that are internationally recognized.
The faculty's history
Read professor of political science Øyvind Østerud's story of the Faculty of Social Sciences on the Museum of University History's websites.
Historical overview
After World War II, the social sciences were introduced as a new element in Norwegian academic life.