The School of Arts and Sciences was established in May, 2008, based on the Department of Basic Courses (DBC). The School consists of the Department of Mathematics, the Department of Social Sciences, the Department of Basic Courses which are undertaking the public courses, and the Department of Physical Training. The School of Arts Designing is trusted by the School of Arts and Sciences.

The School of Arts and Sciences contains 13 teaching and research section and three institutes as follows: the Institute of the Development of Social Sciences, the Institute of Static Electricity, the Institute of mathematics and physics. As an affiliation to the School, the Teaching Study Center consists of the Lab of Fundamental Physics, the Lab of Mathematic Model-building. At present, the faculty numbers 138, including 122 teachers, 10 professors, 27 associate professors, 2 senior engineers, 1 associate research fellow and 80 lecturers, among of them 15% were conferred PhD. The School of Arts and Sciences undertakes the public courses for postgraduate and undergraduate students including ideological politics, social sciences, mathematics and physics, physical training. And the faculties also undertake the major courses for undergraduates from the following majors: information and calculated science, mathematics and applied mathematics, administration, art design and industrial design. Besides, the School also confers two master degrees to postgraduates of ideological politics and education, electromagnetic field and micro-wave techniques.

The history of the DBC could be traced back to the beginning of SMU. It undertook the teaching of such basic courses as mathematics, physics and chemistry during the early times of SMU. After 1980’s, when the university established more comprehensive Basic Department, ideological politics and education and physical training were added to the DBC, which formed the structure of DBC today. Professor Lu zifen, one famous mathematical educator, was the first director. In the past three decades of reforming and opening period, several professors, who were celebrated in the academic circles, directed the DBC.

All faculties are carrying seriously out the blueprint of the Eleventh Five-year Plan of SMU. Improving teaching of public courses, we have endeavored to carrying out the “ three-dimensional ”development strategy adopted by the Teacher Representative Session as to improve our disciplines to a new height and breakthrough, to develop in depth the  undergraduate and postgraduate projects; and to develop in width to seek further cooperation for teaching and scientific research with others from the inside and outside of the university in order to provide better intellectual, theoretical and basic services to achieve the goal of building the university to be comprehensive one.