Silpakorn University was originally established as the School of Fine Arts under the Fine Arts Department.The School gradually developed and was officially accorded a new status and name, Silpakorn University, on 12 October 1943. In the early phase of its development, only programs in painting and sculpture were offered by its inaugural faculty – the Faculty of Painting and Sculpture. Three more faculties were later established to accommodate the University’s growing academic interests, namely, architecture, archaeology, and decorative arts. These four areas of specialization formed the academic bases of the four faculties of the Wang Tha Phra Campus in Bangkok.Now Silpakorn has become a full-grown university offering degree programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels in all major fields of art and design, science and technology, health science, social sciences and humanities. In addition, it also maintains a Graduate School, Art Galleries, an Art and Culture Center, a Computer Center, a Research and Development Institute, and other facilities and functional services. In 1999, a new faculty, the Faculty of Music, was established for formal degree training in both theory and practice of western music, including classical, popular, jazz, and commercial music.