News for Students
6 Tips to select Government university courses in Sri Lanka
Updated 27 October 2026 4 min read

When you complete your Advanced Level examination and the results are out, you are eligible to apply for government university courses in Sri Lanka for free. We felt most students do not adequately understand the available courses in Sri Lanka and their benefits. Due to this, sometimes they end up wasting 2-3 years. Therefore, today we will share a list of tips and facts that you will need to consider when selecting government university courses.
Importantly this complete will be helpful for students willing to apply for courses or new students who are going to start with their Advanced Level journey.
Your Passion or Interest on university courses in Sri Lanka
First and foremost, please remember that you will select the career with this selection. Therefore, it’s essential to determine what you are good at or what you love to do. Because we have seen many students who follow subject streams that they do not good at but still obey their parents. Sometimes when your friends follow a subject stream, you tend to select that as you need to stick with them. Remember that your parents’ plans and friends are all temporary influences. You will need to stick with your career for about 40-50 years. So, it is all about your choice. But before deciding, do good background research. For this, you may be able to get support from the followings:
Course Duration
There is a value for the duration of the university courses in Sri Lanka. Usually, if the course duration is three years, it falls under a general degree; if the duration is four years, it is recognized as a special degree or honors degree. If you wish to pursue a career in the academic sector, we highly recommend selecting a four-year degree program.
University Ranking
publications, highly cited papers, academic staff, faculties, courses offered, and facilities. Therefore, when you select a course if it provides in two universities, then compare the rank and reputation. This may help you when applying for a job and when you apply for higher studies.

You can download the rankings of our government and semi-government universities on the UGC website worldwide and for Asia.
Language of Studies
Courses are offered in English, Sinhala, and Tamil, which are mentioned in the university handbooks as the medium of study. We recommend you select courses to teach in English unless you study languages as the main subjects. Because it may help you to improve your language skills, and that would be added advantage when you apply for higher studies in foreign countries. Sometimes you can skip the English language proficiency tests like IELTS by showing your medium of studies in English. This may not be relevant for students doing languages. Therefore, they can master their languages and get opportunities with them. For example, students who follow Chinese as a subject in the university then get chances to enter Chinese universities and their job market with excellent benefits.
Number of Students per Intake
For each course, a specific number of students are selected for courses. But the best thing is that the universities can not reduce the counts unless fewer number applications from students because the universities’ authoritative bodies need to maintain the same number of enrolments or increase it yearly.
Minimum Requirements
The university handbook or website published minimum qualifications or results to apply for courses. In the following example, you can see how they published the minimum qualification in the university handbook.
Usually, they ask for your results and subject followed in Advanced Level as the minimum qualification. There are some exceptional cases in which they ask for your Ordinary Level results for subjects like Mathematics and English. Due to that, keep in mind that you will need to maintain grades C or higher for those subjects in your O/Ls.

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