History

Formally, the Faculty of Ushuluddin, Adab, and Dakwah (FUAD) was established in 1999 under the original name of the Ushuluddin Department. The establishment of the Ushuluddin Department coincided with the change in status of the Tulungagung Islamic Higher Education Institute (Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Tulungagung) from being part of the Faculty of Tarbiyah in Tulungagung, under the branch of Sunan Ampel State Islamic Institute (IAIN), to an independent institution. This change was part of the government’s effort to develop Islamic higher education institutions, particularly regional faculties (branches). It was based on Presidential Decree No. 11 of 1997 concerning the Establishment of State Islamic Higher Education Institutes and Minister of Religious Affairs Decree No. 315 of 1997 concerning the Organization and Work Procedure of STAIN Tulungagung, as well as Minister of Religious Affairs Decree No. 348 of 1997 concerning the Statute of STAIN Tulungagung. Furthermore, the decision of the Director General of Islamic Community Guidance No. E/136/1997 regarding the status transition of regional faculties to STAIN and the approval of the State Minister for Administrative Reform (PAN) No. 8.589/I/1997 regarding the establishment of STAIN transformed all branch faculties under IAIN across Indonesia into State Islamic Higher Education Institutes (STAIN).

At its inception, FUAD offered only one study program, Tafsir Hadith (now the Department of Quranic and Tafsir Studies). Over time, with growing public interest in religious studies, FUAD introduced two new departments in 2010: the Aqidah Philosophy Department (currently the Department of Islamic Theology and Philosophy) and the Department of Sufism and Psychotherapy. The opening of these two new departments was based on the 2009 Decree of the Director General of Islamic Higher Education concerning Undergraduate Programs (S1) at Islamic Higher Education Institutions.

In 2015, FUAD expanded further by opening three new departments: Arabic Language and Literature (BSA), Islamic Communication and Broadcasting (KPI), and Islamic Counseling and Guidance (BKI). These new programs were established under the Decree of the Director General of Islamic Education No. 1270 of 2015 concerning the Permission to Organize Study Programs at the Undergraduate Level at the State Islamic Institute of Tulungagung, signed on March 2, 2015.

Shortly thereafter, in 2017, FUAD added six more departments based on the Decree of the Director General of Islamic Education No. 1270 of 2017 concerning the Permission to Organize Study Programs at the Undergraduate Level at the State Islamic Institute of Tulungagung. Below is a list of FUAD’s departments from the 1999/2000 academic year to the 2023/2024 academic year:

Since its establishment, FUAD has undergone seven (7) administrative periods, as outlined chronologically in the following table: