Founded in 1994, the School exists to protect, foster and develop an approach to advanced study which was evolved by its constituent institutes, many of which have long and distinguished histories. It is the only institution in the UK that is nationally funded to promote and facilitate research in the humanities and receives special funding for its mission from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The School of Advanced Study (SAS), which was founded by the University of London in August 1994 as a federation of 9 of the University's research institutes in the humanities and social sciences, was officially opened on 15 March 1995. Many of its institutes already functioned as centres of international excellence to facilitate advanced study in their respective fields for the benefit of the national scholarly community as a whole.