History
The University of Ruhuna was established by Dr Nissanka Wijeyeratne the Cabinet Minister of Education & Higher Education at the time. It was opened on September 1, 1978 as Ruhuna University fulfilling a long cherished desire of the people of the south to have a university in the region. It was housed in the Technical College buildings at Meddawatte, Matara with about 40 academics, 50 non-academics and 275 students. A new building complex for the university was designed by the world-renowned architect Geoffrey Bawa and was constructed at Wellamadama with a unique architectural landscape. The RUC was shifted to the new premises in 1984 and it was elevated to full university status.
During the past 25 years, it has witnessed considerable progress and development in the academic, research and outreach spheres with substantial improvement in intellectual and infrastructure resources and has emerged as a leader of higher education in Sri Lanka.
To date, it has produced about 10,000 graduates and over 75 postgraduates. Around 100 postgraduate students are pursuing masters and doctoral programmes at the university in disciplines that are of particular relevance to the development of the region in particular and the country in general.
It has seven faculties: Agriculture, Engineering, Fisheries and Marine Science and Technology, Humanities and Social Sciences, Management and Finance, Medicine, and Science. The university has responded to the needs of the country and established two new faculties, namely 'Management and Finance' and 'Fisheries and Marine Science' and Technology — the first of its kind in Sri Lanka. Thus, the university has as many faculties as the University of Peradeniya, the largest university in Sri Lanka.
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