Campus of University of Peradeniya

Last updated March 17, 2019

The main campus of University of Peradeniya is in Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. It has an additional sub-campus in Mahailuppallama, North Central province. Other than that, several farms and agriculture-related institutions operate off the main campus and the sub-campus.

The University of Peradeniya is a state university in Sri Lanka, funded by the University Grants Commission. It was established as the University of Ceylon in 1942.

Peradeniya is a suburb of the city of Kandy, about 50,000 inhabitants in Sri Lanka. It is situated on the A1 main road, just a few kilometres west of Kandy city centre.

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean to the southwest of the Bay of Bengal and to the southeast of the Arabian Sea. The island is historically and culturally intertwined with the Indian subcontinent, but is geographically separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. The legislative capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, is a suburb of the commercial capital and largest city, Colombo.

Main campus

Summary of the facilities in campus
Facility	Number

Number of institutes	02
Number of faculties	08
Number of academic departments	72
Number of directorates	03
Number of centres/units	15
Number of Halls of Residences	19
Number of University Quarters	419
Number of Guest Houses	04
Number of Cafeterias	28
Number of Banks	02
Number of Post Offices	01
Number of Churches	02
Number of Temples	01
Number of Mosques	01
Number of Alumni Associations	06
Number of Registered Trade Unions	17
Number of Welfare Societies	20
Main library and number of branch libraries	08
Total land extent	1,695 acres (6.86 km²)

The main campus is in a site that touches the lower slopes of the lush mountains of Hanthana. Spanned over an area of 700 hectares, University of Peradeniya occupies the largest land area owned by a university in Sri Lanka. Moreover, there is a large number of facilities on campus to facilitate the 6000 plus students who live here. University of Peradeniya is the largest residential university in Sri Lanka. A summary of the facilities are given here.^[1]

The hectare is an SI accepted metric system unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides, or 10,000 m², and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is about 0.405 hectare and one hectare contains about 2.47 acres.

Senate building

University Senate is the primary building. All the central administration work is done here. Offices of the chancellor and vice chancellor, main seminar rooms where the council meetings are held, are inside. The Senate building was built entirely on stone pillars, and is of great architectural value. Stone carvings on each of the hundreds of pillars intensifies its beauty.

Seven floor library building

University of Peradeniya library is adjacent to the Senate building. With more than 800,000 items, it is one of the largest libraries in Sri Lanka. The building is constructed to seven floors including a floor underground.

The University of Peradeniya library is a centrally administered network of libraries in the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. It is considered the oldest academic library in Sri Lanka and one of the largest libraries in Sri Lanka today.

Arts faculty premises

The Senate building is on the Arts faculty premises. The Arts faculty spans a large area and is of a great scenic beauty. Its beauty was deeply admired by scholars such as Professor Ediriweera Sarachchandra and Professor Ashley Halpe.^[2] The famous Sarachchandra open-air theatre aka wala is in the premises.

Professor academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries

Professor is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences, a teacher of the highest rank.

Ediriweera Sarachchandra was a Sri Lankan playwright, novelist, poet, literary critic, essayist and social commentator. Considered Sri Lanka's premier playwright, he was a senior lecturer at the University of Peradeniya for many years and served as Sri Lankan Ambassador to France (1974–1977).

Science faculty and other buildings

The faculty of Science and the other faculties except the faculty of Engineering are on the same side of the river Mahaweli, close to the Arts faculty premises.^[3] The faculty of Medicine is on the other side of the road of the entrance of the Botanical Garden of Peradeniya, which is a major tourist attraction of the country.

Hanthana range

A large part of the Hanthana range is owned by the university and remains afforested. Many roads leading to the Hanthana mountains, including the famous upper-Hanthana road runs through university land. The upper-Hanthana lodge which was a tourist guest house, is now owned by the university and facilitates the faculty.

Engineering faculty premises

The faculty of Engineering is on the other side of the river Mahaweli, on a side of the main road leading to Gampola. The bridge linking the two banks is known as the Akbar bridge and considered a marvel of civil engineering. It was designed by late Prof. A. Thurairajah (Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, 1975-77 and 1982-85) and built by the 1st batch of the faculty, in the year of its inception.

The Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya is one of the eight academic faculties at the university. It is the oldest engineering faculty in Sri Lanka. It offers full-time Undergraduate Courses leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.Sc.Eng.), and several other postgraduate degrees.

The Mahaweli River, is a 335 km (208 mi) long river, ranking as the longest river in Sri Lanka. Its drainage basin is the largest in the country, and covers almost one-fifth of the total area of the island. The real creation of Mahaweli ganga starts at Polwathura(at Mahawila area), a remote village of Nuwara-Eliya District in bank Nawalapitiya of Kandy District by further joining of Hatton oya and Kotmale oya.The river reaches the Bay of Bengal on the southwestern side of Trincomalee Bay. The bay includes the first of a number submarine canyons, making Trincomalee one of the finest deep-sea harbors in the world.

Gampola is a town located in Kandy District, Central Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. Gampola was made the capital of the island by King Hiran Hearth IV, who ruled for four years in the mid-fourteenth century. The last king of Gampola was King Buwanekabahu V, who ruled the island for 29 years. A separate city was built in Kotte during this time by a noble known as Alagakkonara. The longest sleeping Buddha statue in South Asia is located in the Saliyalapura Temple, Gampola.

The nearest railway station is Sarasavi Uyana which is on campus. Another bridge known as Yaka Paalama links the railway to the other bank. Daily shuttle bus services operate from Kandy to Galaha junction and Kandy to the university.

Mahailuppallama sub-campus

A subcampus was established in 1968 at Mahailuppallama, North Central province for the Faculty of Agriculture.^[4] Separate residential facilities are available in this subcampus.

Dodangolla farm

The university owns a farm near Dodangolla-Kundasale, about 25 km from the main campus. Several institutions affiliated to the faculty of Agriculture are in this facility.

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References

↑ Table 1.11: General information: Summary (pp.16), published by the University of Peradeniya publications "University of Peradeniya Hand Book 2008" (PDF). University of Peradeniya. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-17. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
↑ "Peradeniya: Perfection of a dream Prof. Ashley Halpe, reflects on the changing face of campus life". The Sunday Times. 2000. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
↑ "Marcus Fernando Hall-University of Peradeniya". bbs.keyhol.com. 2008. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
↑ "Faculty of Agriculture sub campus". Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya. 2008. Archived from the original on 2010-11-27. Retrieved 2010-06-10.

External links

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[1] Table 1.11: General information: Summary (pp.16), published by the University of Peradeniya publications "University of Peradeniya Hand Book 2008" (PDF). University of Peradeniya. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-17. Retrieved 2010-06-10.

[2] "Peradeniya: Perfection of a dream Prof. Ashley Halpe, reflects on the changing face of campus life". The Sunday Times. 2000. Retrieved 2010-06-11.

[3] "Marcus Fernando Hall-University of Peradeniya". bbs.keyhol.com. 2008. Retrieved 2010-06-11.

[4] "Faculty of Agriculture sub campus". Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya. 2008. Archived from the original on 2010-11-27. Retrieved 2010-06-10.