The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences began its life as the Ghana Academy of Learning in 1959. 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 (a) The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, which is a purely learned society and (b) The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, which undertakes research of an applied nature related to national needs.
The affairs of the Academy are conducted by the Council, the General Meeting of Fellows, the Arts and Sciences Sections and ten other Committees, with power to coopt both Fellows of the Academy and non-Fellows, and the Secretariat, headed by an Honorary Secretary, which is responsible for the administration of the Academy. The Council is the governing body while the General Meeting is entitled under the constitution to receive information about all decisions of the Council. The General Meeting is also the final body to determine who shall be members of the Academy and is made up of all the Fellows of the Academy. The Academy publishes annually. The Proceedings of the Ghana Academy and the J.B. Danquah Memorial Lecturers.
The Academy now has 64 Fellows, 13 of whom are resident abroad. The Academy recognizes and promotes merit through the award of prizes. It is represented on a number of national Arts and Science policy forming bodies. The Academy has twelve national affiliated bodies and is a member of four international ones. It also organizes seminars and workshops in the humanities, social sciences and physical sciences from time to time, and publishes proceedings of these.