The Faculty of Humanities was founded in 1918 as one of the four original Faculties of the University. In the beginning, studies in the Faculty were organized into two groups - Historical and Philosophical - but by 1922 the Faculty was divided into Sections. The four original Sections were Philosophy, Classical Philology, Contemporary Philology, and History. Among the professors who have been instrumental in shaping the Faculty as well as being broadly recognized for their contributions to Polish intellectual life one can include: Czesław Zgorzelski, Jan Parandowski, Stanisław Szober, Witold Doroszewski, Tadeusz Brajerski, Juliusz Kleiner, Jan Czekanowski, Marian Plezia, Zygmunt Sułowski, Jerzy Kłoczowski and Irena Sławińska.  In the course of the following half century, the Faculty reorganized itself, giving birth to numerous sections and academic institutes. The Faculty today consists of eight institutes, providing master’s programs in history, art history, Polish philology, Classical philology, Romance philology, English philology, Germanic philology, and Slavic philology. Doctoral programs are conducted in history, art history, English philology, Germanic philology, Polish philology, Slavic philology, Classical philology, and Romance philology.

The Faculty is composed of 53 chairs, 5 research centers. The Faculty employs a teaching staff of approximately 240. During the academic year 1998-99 Faculty members produced 352 publications, including 53 monographs and over 70 works in refereed journals or publications with worldwide audiences. During that same year, the Faculty conferred 313 master’s degrees and 18 doctorates. Nine candidates took the advanced rank of “habilitated doctor” and three began the process. The year-long Program in Polish Language and Culture for Foreign Students and the Summer School of Polish Language and Culture are conducted by the Faculty.

Members of the Faculty collaborate with numerous universities and other institutions abroad, including the Université de Paris X-Nanterre; the Centre International des Langues et Cultures (Vandée, France); the Royal National Institute for the Blind (London); the La Rioja University in Logronó, Spain; the Catholic University of Piliscaba, Hungary; the Catholic University of Leuven; Université de Québec (Montréal); the University of Edinburgh; and the Catholic University of Nijmegen, Holland.