Admissions Policy

Selecting of students for admission to Universities in Sri Lanka is being done by University Grants Commission on the basis of an admission policy laid down from time to time by them with the concurrence of the Government. Applications are invited through a notice published in the Press from eligible candidates on forms provided for the purpose by the UGC.

The following accounts on admission is based on the publication titled “Admission to undergraduate courses of the Universities in Sri Lanka” issued annually by the UGC and can be regarded as only informative.

The following admission policy will apply in respect of forthcoming Academic years Selection of students will be done on the basis of rank order on average Z-Scores obtained by candidates at the G.C.E. (A/L) Examination. Z-Scores are released to candidates by the Commissioner General of Examinations.

Minimum Requirements for Admission

Candidates who are pronounced eligible by the Commissioner General of Examinations should have obtained;

  1. At least ‘S’ Grades; in all three approved subjects and,
  2. A minimum mark of 30% for the Common General Paper.

Candidates who are pronounced ineligible by the Commissioner General of Examinations due to not satisfying (b) above are also allowed to apply for university admission only if they have already satisfied at previous attempt / attempts or would satisfy at any future attempt the said requirement within the three attempts allowed to sit the G.C.E. (A/L) Examination for the purpose of university admission.

Admission Criteria
  1. In the case of Arts courses (i.e. Arts, Arts (SP), Arts (SAB), Communication Studies, Peace & Conflict Resolution, Islamic Studies, Arabic Language) admission will be made on an all island merit basis subject to the condition that the total number admitted from a given district will not be below the total number admitted from that district in the base academic year namely: 1993/94.
  2. Admission to courses of study in Ayurveda, Unani & Siddha Medicine too will be made on an all island merit basis.
  3. Admission to all courses other than the courses stated in 3.2.3.1 and 3.2.3.2 above will be made on dual criteria, namely.
All Island Merit

Merit on District basis,

Under All Island Merit criteria

  1. Up to 40% of the available places will be filled in order of Z Scores ranked on an all island basis.

Under District Merit Criteria

  1. Up to 55% of the available places in each course of study will be allocated to the 25 administrative districts in proportion to the total population, that is, on the ratio of the population of the district concerned to the total population of the country.
  2. A special allocation up to 5% of the available places in each course of study will be allocated to the under-mentioned 16 educationally disadvantaged districts in proportion to the population, that is, on the ratio of the population of each such district to the total population of the 16 districts
  • Ampara
  • Anuradhapura
  • Badulla
  • Batticaloa
  • Hambantota
  • Jaffna
  • Kilinochchi
  • Mannar
  • Monaragala
  • Mullaitivu
  • Nuwara Eliya
  • Polonnaruwa
  • Puttalam
  • Ratnapura
  • Trincomalee
  • Vavuniya

 Intake

Course of Study
  • Arts
  • Arts (SP)
  • Biological Science
  • Industrial Statistics & Mathematical Finance
  • Law
  • Management & Finance
  • Medicine
  • Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
  • Physiotherapy
  • Physical Science
Total
Number of Students

550
150
125
60
225
420
190
60
30
240

2050
Requirement to Pass the Aptitude Test

Candidates who wish to apply for the Arts (SP) Course in Sri Palee Campus, Horana should have passed the Aptitude Test, which will be conducted by the Sri Palee Campus.

The Sri Palee Campus will publish a press notice calling for applications to sit the aptitude test.

Special Admission

Apart from the normal intake of students, the UGC may select limited number of students for the selected courses of studies under the special admission criteria. The categories of candidates who can apply for special admission given below.

1. Blind and Differently Abled Candidates

Under this category UGC enquire the concern of the University for sending students for the Courses of studies in Arts, Commerce, Biology & Physical Science.

Students Who Have Excelled in Fields Other than Studies: Up to 0.5% of the places from the proposed intake in each course of study other than courses offered by the University of Visual and Performing Arts has been reserved for candidates who have obtained only 1st, 2nd or 3rd places at national level and / or achievements at international levels in such fields as sports, cultural activities (e.g. dancing, painting, music and literature), scouting and cadetting, social work and other extra curricular activities during the specific period decided by the UGC.

Enlisted Personnel of Armed Forces, Police Service & Special Task Force: Up to 0.5 percent of the total number of places from the proposed intake in Medicine, Dental Surgery and Engineering is reserved for the personnel enlisted in the Armed Forces, Police Service and the Special Task Force serving in operational areas.

Sri Lankans who have Studied Abroad and Foreign Students: Up to 0.5 percent of the places from the proposed intake in each course of study have been allocated to Sri Lankan students who have obtained qualifications abroad and foreign students. Accordingly, candidates who have foreign qualifications equivalent to G.C.E (A/L) Examination of Sri Lanka are eligible to apply.

2. Admissions of Teachers

The University Grants Commission may admit to courses in Arts, Biological Science, Physical Science and Applied Sciences each year a limited number of teachers belonging to the following categories:
  1. Teachers who have passed the General Arts Qualifying (External) Examination in or after 2004 having offered English as one of the subjects.
  2. Teachers who have passed the General Science Qualifying (External) Examination in or after 2004.
In order to be eligible for admission under all the Special Admission Categories a candidate belonging to either of the above categories should complete the requirements described in the Admission Handbook of UGC.

3. Additional Intake

For some subjects in the Arts streams, an adequate number of students may not be selected on the basis of the admission criteria specified above. As a result, some Faculties and Departments could be in a position to admit a larger number than the number selected under the normal admission criteria. In such circumstances, the UGC may, at the request of the Universities concerned, decide to admit a limited number of additional students for selected subject areas.