The history of the department is inseparable from the overall history of the educational institution, as the training of humanitarian officers has been virtually continuous during all periods of the university's existence.
For this purpose, the structure of the educational institution had relevant cycles, in particular, the cycle of the basics of military education. On August 10, 1958, the cycle of cultural and educational work was created, and on September 25, 1959, the cycle of journalism was created.
On July 11, 1962, when the institution acquired the status of Higher Military and Political School, the new staff included the departments of Military Education, Cultural and Educational Work, and Journalism.
The Department of Cultural and Educational Work was created in connection with the transition of the educational institution to specialized training of officers for cultural and educational institutions and the establishment of the Faculty of Cultural and Educational Workers.
In 1961, the training of foreign military personnel began. In 1966, the first graduation of cultural educators for the Mongolian People's Army took place. In total, from 1961 to 1991, foreign military personnel were trained for the armies of the following countries: Mongolia, the GDR, the Czechoslovakia, Cuba, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Yemen, Angola, Vietnam, Nicaragua, the United Republic of Tanzania, Laos, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Mozambique, Madagascar, and the Congo.
During the years of existence of the Department of Cultural and Educational Work from 1958 to 2008, 7343 cultural and educational officers were trained: at the full-time department, 138 of them graduated with a gold medal, 995 received a diploma with honors; at the part-time department: 1475 officers-cultivators, of whom 24 graduated with a gold medal and 231 with honors.
In 2008, the department was renamed to the Department of Moral and Psychological Support of Troops. In accordance with the order of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine dated 30.05.2017 № 298 “On the implementation of the Decision of the Board of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine” dated 23.05.2017, from 01.06.2018, the Institute of Moral and Psychological Support was established on the basis of the Combined Arms Faculty, which included the Department of Moral and Psychological Support of Troops. In 2022, the department was renamed the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Military Leadership.
The main efforts of the department's academic staff are focused on researching the theory and practice, forms and methods of organizing and conducting moral and psychological support for the training and employment of troops, developing methodological and methodological foundations for the formation of military leadership and problems of military pedagogy and psychology.