The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences comprises nine academic departments; Economics, English Language Teaching, English and Linguistics, Geography, History and Archaeology, Pali and Buddhist Studies, Public Policy, Sinhala, and Sociology. The Information Technology Unit of the Faculty serves as the main Information Technology resources provider for the Faculty. Two centers - Modern Languages and Civilizations and Conflict Studies operate within the faculty providing specific services in the relevant subjects.

The Faculty has about 120 academics, of whom more than 90 per cent possess postgraduate qualifications while around 40 percent have completed their PhDs, assisted by a considerable group of academic support, non-academic and administrative staff. It is the largest Faculty of the University of Ruhuna in terms of student and staff population.

While continuing the ongoing undergraduate programmes such as the Bachelor of Arts (General and Special) degrees for the internal students, and the Bachelor of Arts (General) degree for the external students as its main concern, the faculty has revised its curricular in line with the Sri Lanka Qualifications Framework and introduced 12 Bachelor of Arts Honors degree programmes from the year 2020 onwards. The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences also contributes to the Faculty of Graduate Studies to conduct postgraduate programmes such as the Master of Arts, Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in disciplines related to the humanities and social sciences.

The outreach programmes of the faculty include diploma and certificate courses in a range of fields that contribute to the socio-economic development of the country as a whole. With the broadening of horizons in the academic and research domains, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences has been able to attract a large number of students from diverse areas of the country.

The international collaborative programmes of the faculty include research and educational exchanges with the foreign universities such as Agder University, Norway, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway, Tribhuvan University in Nepal, University of Hamburg, Germany and the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology in Pakistan which add to the intellectual glamour of the faculty.

The faculty conceives education as a positive force that lays a strong foundation in the creation of good citizenship, mutual respect, democratic values and tolerance of diverse opinions.

With all its strengths, I sincerely believe and I wish that the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Ruhuna will succeed as a prime centre of academic and scientific excellence of national and international accreditation.