The Faculty of Arts and Sciences began in 1959 as the School of Sciences and Languages of Robert College, the predecessor of Boğaziçi University. It offered major programs leading to the bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Language and Literature, and also courses to meet the elective and the general education requirements of the other two Schools, the Engineering School and the School of Business Administration and Economics.

Two major funding programs were instrumental in the development of the School of Arts and Sciences. The Rockefeller Foundation provided funds for the Humanities Program, which was widely recognized as one of the most important achievements of Robert College during the latter years of its existence. The Agency for International Development (AID) provided funds for the creation of modern laboratory and research facilities at the Departments of Physics and Chemistry.

In 1971 Robert College became a state institution with the name of Boğaziçi University. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences kept the four-department structure of the School until 1975, when Education and Humanities were added as service departments. By 1980, two more departments were formed, offering degrees in Biology, and in Computer Sciences. A major reorganization occurred when the new university law came into effect in 1983, with the formation of ten departments within the Faculty. Sociology and Psychology, which were part of the Department of Economics and Social Sciences of the Faculty of Administrative Sciences, became separate departments within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Most recent addition has been the Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies in 2004.

Over the years, the School of Arts and Sciences made a number of important contributions to the cultural and intellectual life of Turkey. Among the distinguished faculty members in this school were Alexander van Millingen, who wrote the first scholarly books on the Byzantine antiquities of Istanbul; Melville Grosvenor, author of a two-volume work on the history of the city; Philip Ullyott, who pioneered the study of currents in the Bosphorus and the creation of a natural history museum on campus; Keith Greenwood, contributed a dissertation on the history of Robert College; David Garwood, translations of Turkish poetry; Godfrey Goodwin, author of the well-known work on Ottoman architecture; Philip Ralph, author of the standard text on the history of western civilization; Aptullah Kuran, authoritative works on the imperial architect Sinan and the aesthetics of Ottoman architecture; Bahadır Alkım, works on the prehistoric archaeology of Anatolia; Cahit Arf, Ratip Berker and Fikret Kortel, pre-eminent mathematicians; the well-known painter Özer Kabaş; Fahir İz, an authority on Turkish Language; Traugott Fuchs, an intellectual and humanist; Hilary Sumner-Boyd, co-author (with John Freely) of the first definitive guide to the Byzantine and Ottoman antiquities of Istanbul. Hilary Sumner-Boyd was also extremely influential in the development of the modern Turkish theatre, with a number of his students going on to distinguished careers as actors, directors and playwrights.

This tradition of excellence in scholarship continues to guide the teaching and research activities of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.