The Center for Human Sciences, Letters and Arts (CCHLA) at UFRN has its origins in the former Faculty of Philosophy of Natal, founded on March 12, 1955 by the Rio Grande do Norte Teachers Association.
In addition to the Philosophy Course, Federal Decree No. 40,573, of December 18, 1956, authorized the operation of the History, Geography and Neo-Latin Letters Courses. In 1963, the Faculty of Philosophy was incorporated into the José Augusto Foundation.
Through Ministerial Notice 2,555, the Faculty of Philosophy began to be administered by the Rectory of UFRN and maintained with resources from the MEC Higher Education Directorate. On March 11, 1968, through Presidential Decree No. 62,380, the use of the Faculty of Philosophy in the organization of the Faculty of Education and Institutes of Human Sciences and Letters and Arts, included in the new structure of the University, was authorized. In that same Decree, the former Pedagogy Course and the fourth series of the Geography, History and Literature Courses at the Faculty of Philosophy were under the responsibility of the Faculty of Education; the Literature Course for the Institute of Letters and Arts; the Geography and History Courses for the Institute of Human Sciences.
With the university reform in 1973, this structure was modified with the joining of the two Institutes, creating the Center for Human Sciences, Letters and Arts – CCHLA, which now houses the Departments of Letters, History, Geography, Philosophy and Social Studies. In 1974, it began operating at the Central Campus, in Lagoa Nova.
Today, CCHLA has an academic structure of 11 Departments, 26 in-person Undergraduate Courses and 03 Distance Undergraduate Courses, and 17 Academic Postgraduate Programs. Also part of the CCHLA structure are the Applied Psychology Service – SEPA (Supplementary Unit), the Ágora Institute (Supplementary Unit), the Institute of Integrated Studies – Humanitas (Specialized Academic Unit), the Institute of Public Policies (Specialized Academic Unit) and the CCHLA Sector Library.