The College of Arts was established in 1955, and was initially comprised of the departments of Chinese Literature, Foreign Languages and Literature, and History.

Today it includes the departments of Chinese Literature, Foreign Languages and Literature, History, Philosophy, Japanese Language and Literature, and the Graduate Institute of Religious Studies. All of the departments have masters programs, with Chinese Literature and Philosophy also offering doctoral programs.

At its current stage of development, the College of Arts has three principle concerns: first, scholarship in the humanities, performing the basic work of constructing and transmitting culture; second, assimilating and responding to developments in foreign language scholarship and participation in international dialogue; and third, exploring the ways different cultures experience and express their deep concerns.

These three emphases provide students with a rich and multi-faceted curriculum, and also encourage faculty to cut across departmental boundaries and engage in interdepartmental dialogue, thus widening the scope of learning.