Dean’s Message – Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Welcome to the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS) – the first faculty of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. The FHSS is proud to be the forerunners of the legacy of its founders – Most Venerable Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Nayaka Thero and Most Venerable Welivitiye Soratha Thero. As the as the University of Sri Jayewardenepura celebrates its 60^th anniversary (1959-2019), the FHSS too warrants the celebration of its 60 years of invaluable academic service to the nation of Sri Lanka as a nexus of traditional cultural heritage and modern scholarship. The FHSS is committed to its mission to develop the community and the nation at large through the dissemination and enhancement of knowledge enriched with the country’s cultural heritage.

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences has been a center of learning that offers a wide range of fields of study in the university system in Sri Lanka. At present, students have access to degree programmes in Economics, English Language, English Literature, Teaching English as a second Language, Information and Communication Technology, Geography, History, Archaeology, Music and Cultural Studies, Dance and Cultural Studies, Hindi, Sanskrit, French, Political Science, Pali, Buddhist Civilization, Buddhist Philosophy, Philosophy and Psychology, Sinhala, Mass Communication, Social Statistics, Management and Information Technology, Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology and Criminal Justice which are offered by fourteen Departments of the Faculty. Plans are in place to introduce new and more learning opportunities for the students in modern fields of study in order to meet the changing trends in higher education and research.

The Faculty offers two types of degree programs; a four-year (Special) degree program and a three-year (General) degree program. The first offers a specialization in a selective area of study while the other offers a combination of subjects covering various fields of study. The former is administered mainly by the departments of the Faculty while the latter is administered solely by the faculty. The composition of our academic staff is representative of the diverse skills and expertise in many fields of study. Many of them have obtained their qualifications and training from reputed and recognized universities in the world. In addition, the Faculty offers study programs for external and postgraduate students in a wide variety of study fields. The Faculty provides students with library facilities where they can access reputed academic databases of the world. In addition, computer laboratory facilities within the Faculty as well as sports facilities are made available for our students. The faculty offers limited hostel facilities where students are expected to apply annually for the available placements.

The Faculty is currently focused on two major aspects – revising and upgrading its curriculum and developing infrastructure. We recently won a competitive grant from the World Bank (Accelerating Higher Education Expansion and Development –HEAD) under which some of the above work will be carried out. The FHSS looks forward to renovating and refurbishing the Sri Sumangala Mandiraya which is the oldest building of the University (Sri Sumangala Building), constructed according to the wishes of the Venerable Weliwitiye Soratha Thero to bear a resemblance to the library building of the Kerala University of South India. The Sri Sumangala Building locates the main administrative offices and many of the academic departments and lecture halls.

With an eminent group of scholars and the vibrant student community the future of FHSS looks bright and promising. On behalf of the Faculty, I would like to extend a warm invitation to all of you to make use of the opportunities laid before you by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences as we look forward to being partners in your learning. I invite you to visit our website to explore the opportunities made available to you by our Faculty for your academic and professional development.

Prof. Shirantha Heenkenda
Dean,
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences,
University of Sri Jayewardenepura,
Gangodawila,
Nugegoda,
Sri Lanka.