University of Kelaniya

The University of Kelaniya is one of Sri Lanka’s largest state universities. It claims origin from the historic Vidyalankara Pirivena, a national center of traditional learning that was established in 1875. With the creation modern universities in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), the Pirivena become the Vidyalankara University of Ceylon in 1959, the Vidyalankara Campus of the University of Sri Lanka in 1972, and finally the University of Kelaniya in 1978.

Situated in close proximity to the capital city of Colombo, the University of Kelaniya has seven Faculties and 56 academic departments. The Faculties of Commerce & Management Studies, Graduate Studies, Humanities, Science, and Social Sciences are situated in the Kelaniya premises, while the Faculty of Computing & Technology is situated in Peliyagoda, and the Faculty of Medicine is in Ragama. The University has three affiliated institutions: Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, and Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies. The University has approximately 14,500 full-time undergraduates and 3000 postgraduate students enrolled for a wide range of programmes of study: 85 undergraduate degree programs, 60 postgraduate programs, and 53 programs leading to Certificates, Diplomas and Higher Diplomas.

These students have access to a variety of different student support services, inclusive of residential and sports facilities, as well as an excellent IT infrastructure that supports online learning. The academic staff engage in high quality research that has enabled the University to be ranked 1st in research, with an overall ranking of 2nd among the Sri Lankan Universities listed in SCImago in 2021.

The University strongly promotes sustainable practices, with an Environment Policy that emphasizes caring for the Environment. The University of Kelaniya secured 1st  place among Sri Lankan Universities in the UI Green Metrics ranking for 2022.