The PGIA of University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka was established in June 1975, in terms of the Ordinance No. 9 of 1979 as the first institution of postgraduate education of its kind in the country, functions as an Institution within the University of Peradeniya, under the direction of its Board of Management "At present PGIA offers postgraduate programmes in 31 disciplines and the emphasis is to train and provide most updated knowledge while facilitating research programmes. The programmes of study comprise of course work only, course work and research, and research only. Provisions are available for the research work to be undertaken either in the University System or at a relevant Research Institution in Sri Lanka. PGIA student population includes local and foreign graduates from different faculties including Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine & Animal Science, Arts, Science, Medicine etc. Students from Bangladesh, India, Peoples’ Republic of China, Nepal, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Nigeria and Ghana have already completed their postgraduate degrees at the PGIA."