The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences was founded in 1959 as the Ghana Academy of Learning to promote the study, extension, and dissemination of the arts and sciences in Ghana and honor eminent scholars through their election as fellows. It was merged with the National Research Council in 1963 to become the Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1968, it was again split into the "Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences," which is a purely learning society and the "Council for Scientific and Industrial Research" which undertakes research of an applied nature related to national needs.