As much as you'd like to roam around the streets of Melbourne (or any other foreign city – no bias) with a latte from Starbucks (or any other fancy coffee chain – no bias) while skyping your dad and dog – let's be real – you can't. You can't because your mom won't let you. She won't let you half a mile away from her because that's just how overprotective Lankan mothers are.
So, mentally prep yourself to feel homesick only when you enter your local place of study which probably won't be more than 3 kilometers away from your grandmom's house.
And here's a list of places you can choose from just to make the decision making process easier, in no particular order.
1. Royal Institute of Colombo (RIC)
Affiliated with – University of London and Deakin University (Australia)
Programs offered – Law, Economics, Management, Finance, Social Sciences, Science and Engineering related courses
Additional information – Has its own Gavel club and well known for its Law and Econ related programmes
Address: 189, Havelock Road, Colombo 05
2. Imperial Institute of Higher Education (IIHE)
Affiliated with – University of Salford (UK), University of Wales (UK) and Institute of Hospitality (UK)
Programs offered – Accounting, Business, Management, and Hospitality related courses
Additional information – Has its own Rotaract club
Address – 25 1/2, Tower Building, Station Road, Colomo 04
3. Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT)
Affiliated with – Staffordshire University (UK)
Programs offered – Computing, Business and Law related courses
Additional information – Only law school in Sri Lanka that currently offers an internal UK LLB Laws degree
Address –
Business and Computing school: 388, Union Place, Colombo 02
Law school: 278, 3rd level, Access Tower, Colombo 02
4. Australian College of Business and Technology (ACBT)
Affiliated with – Edith Cowan University (Australia)
Programs offered – courses in Science, Business, Information Technology, Engineering, Marketing, Computing, and short courses in general English offered
Additional information – Centers in Colombo, Galle and Kandy and has its own Rotaract Club
Address – 442, Galle Road, Colombo 03
5. International College of Business and Technology
Affiliated with – Middlesex University (UK), Cardiff Metropolitan University (UK), Liverpool John Moores University (UK), Sheffield Hallam University (UK) and Birmingham City University (UK)
Programs offered – Courses in Business, Marketing, Information Technology, Psychology, Engineering and Science offered
Additional information – Centers in Colombo, Kandy, Jaffna, Nugegoda, Batticaloa, Galle, Kurunegala, and Matara
Address – 36, De Kretser Place, Colombo 04
6. American National College (ANC)
Affiliated with – Multiple universities in America, UK, Malaysia and Australia
Programs offered – Management, Psychology, Science, Computing and Engineering related courses
Additional information – Has Science, Computer and Engineering laboratories
Address – 308-310, R A De Mel Mawatha, Colombo 03
7. National School of Business Management (NSBM)
Affiliated with – Plymouth University (UK), University College Dublin (Ireland) and Limkokwing University of Creative Technology Malaysia
Programs offered – Business-related and Computing-related courses awarded by both the affiliated universities and NSBM
Additional Information – School of Engineering is currently being planned
Address – 318, High Level Road, Nugegoda
8. Saegis Campus
Affiliated with – Heriot-Watt University (UK and Dubai), Scottish Qualifications Authority (Scotland) and British Computer Society (UK)
Programs offered – Business-related undergraduate programs awarded by Heriot-Watt University. English courses, higher national diplomas, foundation courses and certificate course awarded by Saegis Campus
Address – 135, S. De. S. Jayasinghe Mawatha, Kohuwala, Nugegoda
9. Achievers
Programs offered – CIMA, City & Guilds, and Logistics and Freight Forwarding
Additional information – Has its own Leo Club and Rotaract Club
Address – 39, Bullers Road, Colombo
10. Wisdom Business Academy
Affiliated with – Robert Gordon University (UK)
Programs offered – CIMA and BSc in Accounting awarded by Robert Gordon University
Address – 15 B, Station Road, Colombo 03
11. Mercury Institute of Management
Programs offered – CIMA, ACCA, CFA
Additional Information – Centers in Colombo 03, Wattala, Dehiwala and Galle. Mercury hosts an in-house job bank for placing their students in top conglomerates and blue chip companies.
12. CFPS Law School
Affiliated with – University of London
Programs offered – Law related courses
Address – 151, Dharmapala Mawatha, Colombo 07
13. FTMS Global Academy
Affiliated with – Anglia Ruskin University (UK) and Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality (UK)
Programs offered – MBA program awarded by Anglia Ruskin University, professional courses (ACCA, CAT, CIMA, CFA), Hospitality programs awarded by Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality (UK) and English programs awarded by FTMS Global Academy
Additional information – Runs education centers globally
Address – 61, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 04
14. Nawaloka College of Higher Education
Affiliated with – Swinburne University of Technology (Australia) and California State University (USA)
Programs offered – Business, Science/Engineering and IT courses offered
Additional information – Degrees can be completed abroad
Address – 546/3, Galle Road, Colombo 03
15. South Asian Instituition of Technology and Medicine
Affiliated with – Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand), Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy (Russia), Buckinghamshire New University (UK), Queensland University of Technology (Australia) and Yangtze University (China)
Programs offered – Engineering, Management and Finance, ICT and Media, and Medicine related courses
Address – P.O Box 11, Millennium Drive, Off Chandrika Kumaratunga Mawatha, Malabe
16. London Business School
Affiliated with – Ubiquity University and Association of Business Executives
Programs offered – Business and Information Technology related programs
Additional information – LBS assists in the placement of students in foreign institutions
Address – 323, Galle Road, Colombo 04
17. Aquinas University College
Affiliated with – None. Awards its own degrees upon approval from the University Grants Commmission in 2004
Programs offered – Wide variety, ranging from IT to Business Administration to Religious Studies
Additional information – Hostel accomodation offered to students registered for the agricultural courses
Address – 990, Gnanartha Pradeepa Mawatha, Maradana Road, Colombo 08
18. Asian Aviation Center (AAC)
Affiliated with – Kingston University (UK)
Programs offered – Aeronautical Engineering and Flight Training programs offered (awarded by affiliated university and AAC upon approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka)
Address –
Headoffice: Colombo Airport, Ratmalana
Information Center: 14, Trelawney Place, Colombo 04
19. Auston Institute of Management Ceylon
Affiliated with – Birmingham City University (UK), De Montfort University Leicester (UK), London South Bank University (UK), Auston Institute of Management (Singapore), and University of Wolverhampton (UK)
Programs offered – Engineering, Business and IT related courses offered
Address – 534, Galle Road, Colombo 3
20. British School of Commerce
Affiliated with – Anglia Ruskin University (UK), Cardiff Metropolitan University (UK), and University of Wales Trinity Saint David (Wales)
Programs offered – Business related courses
Address – 19, Mcleod Road, Colombo 4
21. Cosmopolitan College of Business and Techonology (CCBT)
Affiliated with – Oxford Brookes University (UK)
Programs offered – ACCA, IELTS, general english, BSc in Applied Accouting, and Islamic Finance and Banking
Address – 502, R. A. De Mel Mawatha, Colombo 03
22. Gateway Graduate School
Affiliated with – Pearson Edexcel (UK), NCC Education (UK), University of Nottingham, University of Worcester (UK), University of Central Lancashire (UK) and University of Canterbury (NZ)
Programs offered – Business and Computing related courses, and teacher training
Address – 27, Mcleod Road, Colombo 04
23. Colombo Institute of Research and Technology
Affiliated with – Coventry University (UK) and University of Hertfordshire (UK)
Programs offered – Specializes in Psychology
Address – 31, Melbourne Avenue, Colombo 04
24. Oxford College of Business
Affiliated with – University of Bedfordshire (UK), Australian Institute of Business, Association of Business Executives (ABE) and Herriot-Watt University (Scotland)
Programs offered – Professional qualifications, Business and English related programs
Address – 100, Thurstan Road, Colombo 07
25. Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT)
Affiliated with – Southeast Missouri State University (USA), Algoma University (Canada), Memorial University (Canada), Aston University (UK), University of Nottingham (UK), Loughborough University (UK), and University of Huddersfield (UK)
Programs offered – Computing, Business and Engineering related courses
Additional information – Allows transfer of students to foreign universities
Address – New Kandy Road, Malabe
26. Informatics Institute of Technology
Affiliated with – University of Westminster (UK) and Deakin University (Australia)
Programs offered – Computer Software and IT related courses
Additional information – Has its own Toastmasters club and Rotaract club
Address – 57, Ramakrishna Road, Colombo 06
27. Matrix Institute of Information Technology
Programs offered – Computer software and IT related courses
Address – 279/1, Galle Road, Colombo 04
28. British College of Applied Studies (BCAS)
Affiliated with – London South Bank University (UK), University of Wolverhampton (UK), Belrusian State Medical University (Belarus), Gomel State Medical University (Belarus)
Programs offered – Computing, Building studies, Management, Engineering, Legal studies and Health Sciences related courses
Address – 256/2, Galle Road Colombo 06
29. Siksil Institute of Business and Technology (SIBT)
Affiliated with – Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka (IBSL). The Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission, International Computer Driving License, The Institute of Certified Management Accountants, Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka
Programs offered – Business and IT related diplomas and certificates
Additional information – Centers in Colombo and Gampaha
Address – 8, Pietersz Place,
Kohuwala, Nugegoda
30. Metropolitan College
Affiliated with – Girne American University and EdHat International (UK)
Programs – ACCA, Management, Computing and Psychology related courses
Address – 33, Srimath D B Jayathilake Mawatha, Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia
31. Business Management School
Affiliated with – University of Leicester (UK), Northumbria University (UK) and Edinburgh Napier University (UK)
Programs offered – Undergraduate programs and postgraduate programs in Business and Science
Additional information – Active student-related extracurricular programs
Address – 591, Galle Road, Colombo 06
32. Brandix College of Clothing Technology
Affiliated with – Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (Australia)
Programs offered – Clothing technology related courses
Address – 157, Galle Road, Ratmalana South
33. Academy of Design (AOD)
Affiliated with – Northumbria University (UK)
Programs offered – Fashion designing, Interior Designing and Graphic Designing courses
Address – 29, Lauries Road, Colombo 04
34. Raffles Institute of Higher Education
Affiliated with – Not an affiliation, but a centre of Raffles (Singapore) for Sri Lanka
Programs offered – Fashion, Interior Design and Graphic Design related courses
Address – 481, Galle Road, Colombo 3
35. Lanka Institute of Fashion Technology
Affiliated with – University of Northampton (UK)
Programs offered – Fashion industry related courses
Address – 87, Horton Place, Colombo 7
36. Colombo School of Construction Technology
Affiliated with – Pearson Edexcel, University of Salford (UK), and Birmingham City University (UK)
Programs offered – Engineering related courses
Address – 48, Talawathugoda Road, Pita Kotte
37. ESOFT Computer Studies
Affiliated with – Kingston University London (UK), London Metropolitan University (UK), Pearson Edexcel, The Chartered Institute for IT, BIT
Programs offered – Computing, Business, Engineering and Technology, Hospitality Management and Language related courses
Address – Has multiple branches islandwide
38. City School of Architecture
Affiliated with – University of the West of England (UK)
Programs offered – Architecture related courses
Address – 104, Kitulwatta Road, Colombo 8
39. Edulink International Campus
Affiliated with – University of Greenwich (UK), University of Northampton (UK),APTECH Computer Education (India) and Scottish Qualification Authority
Programs offered – Business and Computing related courses
Address – 498, R.A. De Mel Mawatha, Colombo 03
40. Universal College Lanka (UCL)
Affiliated with – Monash Australia
Programs offered – Business and Engineering related courses
Address – 503, Sri Jayawardenapura Mawatha, Rajagiriya
Education centers in Colombo are growing in number. So, please feel free to leave a comment with education centers we may have missed out on to help us help you stay updated!