About

Department of Pāli and Buddhist Studies is a pioneering department at the University of Kelaniya which was known as the ‘Buddhist Faculty’ at the outset of the Vidyalankara University. The main purpose of the Department is to promote large areas of studies and researches of Buddhism giving pivotal attention to Pāli Canon while also academically scrutinizing the teachings of the Buddha together with its philosophical and cultural aspects. Indeed, the mission of the department is to enable the student to handle the wide field of Buddhist Studies successfully. Consequently, Pali, Buddhist Philosophy and Buddhist Culture are the main subjects in the curricula of this Department and it offers a broad range of Buddhist and Pali studies at postgraduate research (M.A./M.Phil./Ph.D.) and undergraduate levels. As a result of the interest in the study of Buddhism, this department has acquired a remarkable upsurge of fame among the other academic Buddhist institutions both in Sri Lanka and overseas. Thus, a remarkable number of foreign students from various countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Bangladesh are studying in this department. Further, countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and China, conduct their academic work in their Buddhist Studies institutions and conferment of degrees following the subject syllabi and other guidelines of the Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies of the University of Kelaniya.