The Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies (PGIPBS), University of Kelaniya, stands as Sri Lanka’s foremost Institution for postgraduate education and research in Pali, Buddhist Studies, and related disciplines. Established in 1975 as the Vidyalankara Institute of Buddhist Studies, it inherits the rich scholarly tradition of the Vidyalankara monastic educational movement. Through the Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies Ordinance No. 8 of 1979, the institute assumes its present identity as an autonomous postgraduate institute within the purview of University of Kelaniya.
Over the past five decades, PGIPBS has expanded significantly from its initial focus on Pali and Buddhist Studies to offer a diverse range of academic programs, including Postgraduate Certificates, Postgraduate Diplomas, Master’s degrees, MPhil programs, and Doctoral research opportunities. This academic growth has attracted postgraduate students from Sri Lanka and numerous foreign countries across Asia and beyond viz. Myanmar, Thailand, Bangladesh, China, South Korea, Nepal, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany, USA and UK etc. including monks, nuns, and lay scholars engaged in advanced Buddhist scholarship. Today, PGIPBS enjoys international recognition as a leading centre for postgraduate Buddhist studies. Offering instruction in both Sinhala and English through on-campus and online modes, the Institute continues to promote excellence in teaching, research, and intellectual exchange while making a significant contribution to the global advancement of Buddhist knowledge and culture well over par.
As a continuation of the aforesaid service to global Buddhist academia, it is a pleasure to announce that the PGIPBS has organised the Postgraduate Research Conference 2026, under the theme ‘Revisiting Buddhist Studies from the 19th Century to the Present,’ and it will be held on Monday, 10 August 2026, at the Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya. As the conference is organised exclusively by the postgraduate students of the Institute, it marks a significant first in Sri Lanka. The researchers are to present their research papers under various sub-tracks including Buddhist Textual Studies, Buddhist culture, Buddhist philosophy, Buddhist thought, Applied Buddhist Studies and Buddhist studies interwoven with other Religions, Philosophy, Sustainable Development, Modern Disciplines, Science and Technology as well.
The upcoming Postgraduate Research Conference 2026 chiefly aims at encouraging critical, rational, and reflective engagement with the ways in which Buddhist Studies emerged as an academic discipline, evolved, and expanded globally over the past two centuries. We are hopeful that this conference will serve as a meaningful international forum for postgraduate researchers in Buddhist Studies, fostering the exchange of new research, ideas, and perspectives for the betterment of the many.