In 1961, an Arabic unit was established in the University of Ibadan to assuage the desire of scholars who were desirous of accessing information on the history of North African societies most of which were written or documented in Arabic. Led by the famous American historian, John Hunwick, the unit later became a full-fledged Department in 1962. It began to cater for the needs of Nigerians and indeed West African scholars through its programmes in Arabic and Islamic studies broadly defined even as it has facilitated the establishment of similar Departments in the Universities all around the country. 

It opened with Dr. B.G. Martins (now Professor Martins, in the U.S.A.), Mr. J.O. Hunwick (Late Professor Hunwick who passed on recently in the U.S.A.) and Mr. F.H. El-Masri (now Professor El-Masri in the University of Nairobi, Kenya). They were joined in 1963 by Mr A.R. Dehaini (a Lecturer seconded and paid by the Lebanese government). In 1964, Mr M.O.A. Abdul (late Professor and Head of Department) joined as the first Nigerian member of the academic staff. Postgraduate Studies Programme in Arabic was introduced first and this was followed later by Islamic Studies. 

In addition to the B.A. Honours Degree and Postgraduate Studies offered by the Department, a Certificate course in Arabic Studies was introduced in the 1963/64 session. This was a one-year intensive course for Arabic teachers some of whom had many years of experience in the teaching of the language. Two years later, the course was expanded to include Islamic Studies. 

In 1975/76 session, a Diploma course in Arabic and Islamic Studies was also introduced. It was specially designed to cater for holders of Grade Two Certificate in Islamic studies. Holders of the WASC/G.C.E. (five credits) were also admitted into the programme. This course was introduced as an interim measure for the provision of qualified teachers of Arabic and Islamic Religious Knowledge in Secondary School where there had been a dire need for qualified teachers of the subjects. The two sub-Degree programmes, among others, have been scraped by the University.