Education has received considerable attention under the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, may Allah preserve him. The establishment of the Teachers’ College in Arar coincided with the growing demand for education in the region and came as a natural outcome of the Kingdom’s efforts to develop the education sector. The Teachers’ College in Arar was established and began its academic activities in the academic year 1408–1409 AH. It remained under the supervision of the Ministry of Education until 1428 AH. Since then, the College has undertaken the responsibility of preparing and graduating generations of qualified educators in various scientific disciplines who have carried the mission of teaching students at different educational levels, from primary to secondary education. Some graduates continued their postgraduate studies and obtained doctoral degrees and are now serving as faculty members in this College and in other colleges. Others have assumed educational leadership positions in education administrations. The College also contributed significantly to the Saudization of education in the region, increasing the percentage of Saudi teachers from approximately 5% at the time of its establishment to nearly 100% at present. The College initially began its academic activities in Saeed bin Al-Musayyib Intermediate School in the Al-Musaidiya district of Arar as a temporary location, since the College buildings had not yet been completed. During its first year, the number of faculty members was nine, while the number of students was 120 in addition to 18 trainees. Enrollment increased steadily year after year, resulting in extended study hours from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 midnight. Classrooms at King Fahd Secondary School were also used as an extension of the temporary College premises.

With the increasing demand for admission, the temporary facilities became insufficient. In response, the government provided generous support for the construction of a dedicated building for the College on the international road. The College later moved to its current location after the completion of the new independent buildings, and academic activities began there at the start of the second semester on 1/9/1415 AH. Since then, the College has witnessed continuous development and growth. In 1428 AH, the College was incorporated into the branch of King Abdulaziz University in the region. Following the issuance of the Royal Decree establishing Northern Border University, the College was restructured into the College of Education and Arts with new academic plans and specializations, including Special Education, Islamic Studies, Arabic Language, and Languages and Translation.

It is worth noting that Teachers’ Colleges and Colleges of Education for Women were administratively, financially, and academically integrated into universities, including the colleges in Arar. This restructuring was based on the letter of His Excellency the Minister of Higher Education No. (576/A) dated 29/3/1428 AH, based on the approval of the Royal Court No. (3030/M B) dated 23/3/1428 AH, which approved the decision of the Council of Higher Education No. (6/45/1428 AH) adopted during its forty-fifth session held on 18/1/1428 AH. Furthermore, the Council of Northern Border University, during its first meeting of the academic year 1439–1440 AH held on 8/1/1440 AH, approved the restructuring of the scientific departments in the College of Education and Arts, reducing them from nine departments to seven.

As part of the continued development of the College, four new academic programs were introduced: the Sharia Program, the Arabic Language Teaching for Non-Native Speakers Program, the Applied Linguistics Program, and the Sports Science and Physical Activity Program. Students were admitted to these programs at the beginning of the academic year 1445 AH. In the same year, the name of the College was also changed from the College of Education and Arts to the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.