A complete course is taught within a semester, lasting 15 weeks, with three contact hours per week. "Course unit" is used synonymously with "course."

The abstract value is assigned to a course on the basis of contact hours per week. Thus a three credit course will have three contact hours per week. "Credit hour" and "credit" are used interchangeably.

The actual marks (0-100) a student has obtained is calibrated into a scale of 0-4, where 4 is Superior, and below 1.7 is Failure. The Grade Point Scale adopted by the faculty is given below.

GPA is the average of all grade points obtained for courses. This can be calculated for a semester as well as for the entire program. The student's final performance is determined on the basis of the Grade Point Average. The Grade Point is calculated for the range of actual marks received, as shown the above table.

In this scheme, a student independently reads/researches on a specific topic under the direction of a lecturer. This option is available only at 300 and 400 levels. The student can propose the topic, but it must be accepted by the lecturer. Independent study courses are given only by lecturers approved by the department concerned and the faculty. Students can consult departmental Course Co-ordinators for details in this regard.

No-Credit courses are courses that a student takes in excess of the minimum number of credit courses required for a degree. Students taking this option must fulfill all the requirements of the course that they take. The course and the grade will be listed in the transcript. The grade obtained for no-credit courses, however, will not be counted for the GPA. No-credit courses provide an opportunity for students to take courses that are not required for their degree, but which they nevertheless find interesting/useful.

This involves following a course through an informal arrangement made by a student and the lecturer concerned. A student can follow a course without fulfilling the assignment requirements with the consent of the lecturer. Such courses will not be listed in the official transcripts.

New entrants to the undergraduate programme will follow a general preparatory course consisting of several general studies subjects called Foundation Studies, as well as a course in Foundation English in the first semester. The successful completion of this component is compulsory for all students.

Foundation Courses
All students are required to follow selected Foundation Courses. Foundation Courses include mathematics, writing skills, and cross-disciplinary courses. Foundation Courses have no formal departmental affiliation, and are coordinated by a faculty-appointed coordinator. Inquiries about these courses should be directed either to the Course Coordinators or to the Faculty Office. The following Foundation Courses are currently offered by the faculty.

FND 101: Mathematics
This course is designed as a compulsory foundation-level course in basic mathematics (focused on Algebra). Each section of the course will include the application of mathematical concepts to the social sciences.

FND 102: Logic
The course aims at introducing students to methods of testing for validity of arguments in prepositional calculus and class logic. It deals with symbolization of arguments in prepositional calculus, methods of derivation, truth table methods, symbolization, and the testing for validity of arguments in class logic using Venn diagrams.

FND 103: Writing Skills (Sinhala)
සිංහල භාෂාව වඩාත් ව්‍යක්ත අන්දමින් භාවිතය සඳහා අවශ්‍ය වන මූලික දැනුමක් ලබාදීම පාඨමාලාවේ අරමුණ වෙයි. එහිලා,
i. ලිවීම
ii. ව්‍යාකරණය
iii. ලේඛණ තාක්ෂණ විධි
iv. භාෂා විචක්ෂණය
යන මූලික අංශ කෙරේ අවධානය යොමු කෙරේ.

FND 104: Society, Culture and Environment I
There are four modules in this course: The human mind; World religions; Law and ethics; and Art and art appreciation.

FND 105: Society, Culture and Environment II
There are four modules in this course: The natural environment; Society and culture; International relations; and The history of science.

CMP 100: Computer Literacy
The objective of this course is to provide basic knowledge in computers to first year students of the Faculty of Arts. This is an optional course. The main topics taught in this course are: Computer literacy; Ms-Word, Ms-Excel, Ms-Power Point and their applications; and Computer languages and introduction to Internet.

MTH 101: Introduction to Calculus
This course is targeted to students who require competence in mathematics beyond the basic FND 101 level. This course will provide students with the basic knowledge of calculus necessary to follow 200 level courses in some disciplines. The Department of Economics strongly recommends that all students planning to follow 200 level Economics courses (whether in Special/General Degree or as a subject outside the discipline) follow this course. (Optional NC)
Topics in this course include: Functions; The concept of a function; Domain and range; Graphing functions; Exponential and logarithmic functions; Limits and continuity of a function; The limits concept; Left hand and right hand limits; Theorems in relation to limits; Continuity; The derivative; Rules of differentiation; Average and instantaneous rate of change; Higher order derivatives; Introduction to partial derivatives; Applications of differentiation; Marginal analysis; Concavity and inflection points; Relative maxima and minima; Integral calculus; The antiderivative concept; Basic rules of integration; Definite and indefinite integrals; and Applications of integration.

This English Programme is conducted by the ELTU. All new entrants including those who expect to follow courses in the English medium will sit for a placement test in English on arrival. Students are grouped as follows based on their performance in this test.

Students doing ESL 107 will be exempted from the Intensive English Course for new students, but have the option of following it. Students doing ESL 101 103 & 105 are required to follow the Intensive Course in English, and pass the End of Course Test (ECT).

Students enrolling in English as a subject must take ENG 101 and ENG 102, which will be cross listed with ESL 101 and ESL 102 in the first year. Non English-medium students who perform exceptionally well in the ECT can select ENG 101 and ENG 102, provided they obtain prior approval from the English Department. Students will be evaluated at the end of both semesters, and must receive a pass mark. A student who fails in ESL 103 but obtains marks between 30-39 (grade point 1.5–1.95), will be considered as having obtained a passing grade in ESL 101, which grade will be determined on the basis of a Table of Reference. Such candidates can take only ESL 102 in the next semester. The Transcripts of these candidates will record that they have taken ESL 101. This provision does not apply in the case of the second semester examination, i.e., ESL 104.

A student who obtains a mark of 70 (Grade Point 3.5) in ESL 101 (Group B) in the first semester can opt for ESL 104 (Group A) in the second semester. Similarly, a student taking ESL 103 (Group A) in the first semester can opt for ESL 102 in the second semester. Students must obtain a pass (i.e., 40 marks or a 2.0 grade point) in all required English courses to receive the degree. Those who fail to obtain the pass mark the first time will have to take the relevant course the next time it is given (except in the case of ESL 103 as explained above and of students obtaining less than 30 marks or grades point 1.95 in ESL 103 who can opt to take either ESL 101 or ESL 103 again).

In the second year of study all students are required to take two compulsory English courses (each worth three credits). These are:
ESL 201 and ESL 202: Intermediate Level English Courses I and II
ESL 203 and ESL 204: Upper Intermediate Level English Courses III and IV

Students who take ESL 101 and ESL 102 in the first year are advised to take ESL 201 and ESL 202 in the second year.

Students following a Special Degree Program must take two 300 level English courses, namely: ESL 301—English for Academic Purposes I, and ESL 302—English for Academic Purposes II

The Faculty of Arts provides instruction in Sinhala, Tamil and English for its under graduate students. Although the number of students who follow undergraduate programmes in English is small, most departments make an effort to conduct classes in English to those who wish to follow courses in that language. Some departments teach certain courses only in English with the aim of familiarizing students with English.