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JAMB Subject Combination for Arts
Correct subject combinations for Literature, Languages, History, Religion, Philosophy, Fine Art and all Arts faculty courses.
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Use of English is compulsory for every course. Mathematics is generally not required for most Arts courses — this is the main difference from Science and Social Science faculties.
📖 Literature & Languages
English Language / English & Literary Studies
Literature in English is essentially compulsory here. Choose two supporting humanities subjects.
Literature in English
French Language
French must be one of your JAMB subjects. Most universities also require French credit at O'Level.
Yoruba Language
Igbo Language
Hausa Language
Linguistics
🏛️ History & Social Humanities
History & International Studies
History is the core subject here. If your school offers Government instead of History, use Government + Literature.
Philosophy
Philosophy is one of the most flexible — most Arts and Social Science subject combinations are accepted.
🙏 Religious Studies
Christian Religious Studies / Theology
CRK is compulsory. Your remaining subjects should be humanities — avoid Science subjects.
Islamic Studies / Arabic & Islamic Studies
🖌️ Fine Art & Creative Arts
Fine & Applied Arts
Fine Art as a JAMB subject is required. You also need Fine Art credit at O'Level in most schools.
Theatre Arts / Performing Arts
Music
Music as a JAMB subject is available and required for this course.
Common Questions 🤔
Generally no. Most pure Arts courses — Literature, History, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Languages — do not require Mathematics in JAMB. However, some universities require Mathematics at O'Level level even for Arts courses. Mathematics is not needed as a JAMB subject for Arts, but it is wise to have it as an O'Level credit if possible.
Yes — for many Arts courses, Social Science subjects like Economics and Government are accepted alongside Arts subjects. Government in particular crosses both faculties. Economics is sometimes accepted for courses like Philosophy or Linguistics depending on the university.
Law sits in its own faculty in most Nigerian universities, but its subject combination draws from Arts subjects. See the dedicated Law page for the correct JAMB subject combination for Law and related courses.
CRK is compulsory only for Christian Religious Studies and Theology degrees. IRS is compulsory for Islamic Studies. For all other Arts courses, CRK or IRS are simply options you can choose — they are not forced on you. Many students pick them because they are easier to score high in.
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Practice JAMB Past Questions Free
Use of English is in every combination — make sure you master it. It's 60 questions in JAMB.
How to Score 300+ in JAMB →