Pdn_Logo

Department of Geography

University of Peradeniya

Undergraduate Programme


Our Course Structure

First Year Courses

Students offering Geography in their fist-year of studies at the Faculty of Arts are required to following two courses: GGY 101 – Fundamentals of Physical Geography and GGY 102 – Fundamentals of Human Geography.

Students are selected for the Special Degree in Geography at the end of the first year based on their GP for Geography and the general (overall?) GPA. Additional qualifications considered in the selection of special degree students are their performance in Basic Mathematics and English as a Second Language (ESL) courses. Besides the special degree, Geography is also offered as a subject for a General Degree.

Second Year Courses

The second and third year courses are mostly composed of compulsory courses to ensure that students acquire a foundational knowledge and skills in Geography.

Compulsory Credited Courses
GGY 201 Geomorphology
GGY 202 Cartography
GGY 204 Population Geography
GGY 206 Geology
GGY 210 Introduction to GIS
GGY 211 Political Geography
GGY 212 Climatology
GGY 213 Economic Geography

Compulsory Non-Credit Courses
GGY 215 Basic Science for Geography
GGY 216 Mathematics for Geography

Compulsory Courses outside the Discipline
ECN 204 Introductory Statistics
ECN 214 Intermediate Statistics

Third Year Courses

Compulsory Courses
GGY 301 Research Methods
GGY 302 Introduction to Hydrology
GGY 303 Geography of Sri Lanka
GGY 304 Surveying and Leveling
GGY 305 Philosophy of Geography
GGY 310 Settlement of Geography
GGY 311 Biogeography
GGY 312 Urban Geography


Subjects outside the Discipline (two courses)
Students are required to take two optional courses from other Departments of the University.

Fourth Year Courses

In the fourth year, students have the option of specializing in either Human or Physical Geography by choosing from a range of non-compulsory courses. These courses are aimed at providing students with an in-depth knowledge and equipping them with diverse skills required to synthesize the qualitative and quantitative information in Geography. All students specializing in Geography are required to register for GGY 498 and GGY 499 for the purpose of conducting an original research on a topic of their choice and writing a dissertation under the supervision of an academic staff member.

Compulsory Courses
GGY498 Dissertation I
GGY499 Dissertation II

Optional Courses
Stream I Human Geography
GGY401 Agricultural Geography
GGY402 Development Geography
GGY403 Geography of Nationalism
GGY404 Geography of Poverty
GGY405 Geopolitics
GGY406 Historical Geography
GGY407 Industrial Geography
GGY408 Landscape Geography
GGY410 Cultural Geography
GGY412 Social Geography
GGY413 Transport Geography

Stream II Physical Geography
GGY426 Environmental Change
GGY427 Tropical Environment
GGY428 Soil Geography
GGY429 Fluvial Geomorphology
GGY430 Tropical Climatology
GGY431 Advanced Hydrology
GGY433 Coastal Geomorphology

Optional List 1 Geographical Skills
GGY450 Remote Sensing
GGY451 Advanced Geographic Information System
GGY452 Locational Analysis
GGY454 Qualitative Methods in Geography

Optional List 2 Applied Geography
GGY475 Environmental Impact Assessment
GGY476 Social Impact Assessment
GGY477 Natural Resource Management
GGY478 Gender & Development
GGY479 Disaster Management
GGY480 Coastal Zone Management
GGY481 Watershed Management
GGY482 Tourism Geography
GGY483 Land-use Planning
GGY485 Children & Geography
GGY486 Forest Resource Management
GGY488 Sustainable Development
GGY489 Regional Planning & Development

Courses for BA (General) Degree


Compulsory Courses
GGY213 Economic Geography
GGY214 Advanced Physical Geography

GGY303 Geography of Sri Lanka
GGY313 World Regional Geography

Optional Courses
GGY201 Geomorphology
GGY202 Cartography
GGY204 Population Geography
GGY206 Geology

GGY310 Settlement Geography
GGY311 Biogeography
GGY312 Urban Geography

Download Course Details

First Year Courses
Second Year Courses
Third Year Courses
Fourth Year Courses