The Department of Geography is one of the leading Departments in the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya. Initially it was established in 1959 as the Vidyalankara University, and subsequently it was renamed as University of Kelaniya in 1978. The Department of Geography has also being a pioneering department of the University of Kelaniya. At present, the Department offers Diploma programs, Degree programs and Postgraduate Degree programs. Diploma in Disaster Management and Diploma in Geographical Information System are popular among the students who have passed GCE Advanced Level examination. Two major streams of undergraduate Degree programs i.e. Geography and Development Studies are offered by the Department. Both programs have Honors (4 year) and General Degree (3 year) programs which are popular among undergraduates. The Department has been offering Postgraduate programs i.e. M.A. and MSSc since 1990. In additions, several scholars have followed MPhils and PhDs at the Department. The Department has physical resources i.e. Geographical Information System (GIS) laboratory and a Cartographical unit and human resources i.e. 12 full-time lectures including a Senior Professor and two Doctors. Several other staff members are reading for PhDs.