INTRODUCTION TO THE FACULTY
The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences was founded with the
establishment of the Ruhuna University Collage affiliated to the
University of Colombo. On obtaining a fully-fledged university status,
the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences started operating as an
independent body. Now it is a well-established faculty offering
Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral Degrees in a wide spectrum of
disciplines of diverse character.
The Humanities and Social Sciences is the largest faculty of the
university having approximately a student body of 3000 undergraduates and an annual intake of over 500 students. The faculty offers
over 400 course modules in 12 diversified disciplines through
the six departments operating under its aegis.
The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences grooms the students for a
professional and disciplined life by providing them with a broad
understanding of the traditions that operate in a wide range of
humanistic and social science disciplines; by achieving in them an
ability to apply the subject knowledge they gather in class and field to
solving problems and carrying out tasks in the contemporary world; and
by improving their capacity for independent and critical thinking,
logical analysis, effective communication, and well-informed
participation in teamwork. Hence, the Bachelor of Arts degree programme
constitutes classroom work, field trips, and independent readings and
writings with hands-on research, and project work.
The faculty has instituted a
Information Technology Unit to enhance the students
skills in information and communication technology as focused on the
potential needs of the job market. Moreover, it has planned two special programmes to advance the
information technology awareness and English language
proficiency of the undergraduates under the IRQUE (Improving Relevance
and Quality of Undergraduate Education) project funded by the World
Bank. A Cultural Centre has been established to carry on all types of
cultural activities. The Centre for Modern Languages and Civilization is to make sure
that the students have opportunities to acquire language abilities
well beyond their mother tongue.
The faculty is composed of six Departments as follows:
Department of Economics
Department of History
Department of Geography
Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies
Department of Sinhala
Department of Sociology
I am very pleased to send this message to the
website designed to guide the students who intend studying in the
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. The Faculty of Humanities and
Social Sciences of the University of Ruhuna is the largest faculty in
terms of student population and staff. It is one of the four faculties
which were established when the University of Ruhuna was founded as a
university college in 1978. Currently, there are six academic
departments in the faculty which offer subjects related to eleven disciplines. The numbers of students, the
academic staff, and also the variety of subjects taught in the faculty
have increased significantly during its short history. The faculty
always conceives education as a positive force that builds a strong
foundation for good citizenship, mutual respect, democratic values and
tolerance of diverse opinions.
The faculty offers degree courses in Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts,
Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy. In addition, it conducts
postgraduate Diploma courses in a range of fields that contribute to the
socio-economic development of the country. While conducting academic
programmes at Departmental level, a number of courses are also taught
by the English Language Teaching Unit, the Information Technology Unit, the Cultural Center, and the Resource Center for Modern Languages, the Conflict Study
Center, the Career Guidance Unit and the Distance and Continues
Education Unit.
With the broadening of horizons in the academic and research fields, the
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences has been able to attract both
local and international students to follow the degree courses that it
offers. Currently, two Masters Degree courses are being conducted in
collaboration with Tribhuvan University in Nepal, University of Life
Sciences, and Agder University in Norway.
I firmly believe that the University of Ruhuna as well as the Faculty of
Humanities and Social Sciences will soon become a center of excellence
having a greater capacity to contribute to national
development that is currently taking place in the Southern Province of
Sri Lanka. I am sure that the students of the faculty will become one of
the driving forces in changing the current situation in the region and
also in the country.
Professor P Hewage
Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences
University of Ruhuna
Matara, Sri Lanka
