The Aquinas College of Higher Studies was founded in 1953 by Catholic priests Peter A. Pillai, the former rector of St. Joseph's College, and Thomas Cooray, the Archbishop of Colombo, as a Catholic university open to all ethnic and religious groups. It was registered in 1954 by the Ministry of Education Ceylon and was established in Colombo 8.[3][4]
Initially, it offered external degrees from local state universities such as Universities of Kelaniya, Peradeniya, Colombo and Sri Jayewardenepura, as well as foreign universities, while agricultural training was carried out in the 47 acre farm in Walpola, Ragama.[5] After 2005, when it received approval to grant degrees, Aquinas moved on to develop its own degree programs. Since then, it has expanded both degree programs and infrastructure as well as attracting students from SAARC countries.[6][7]
Organisation
The Aquinas College of Higher Studies is run as nonprofit philanthropic institution administered by the Archdiocese of Colombo. The College also works in close collaboration with foreign Universities and Higher Educational Authorities. It is accredited to provide its own academic degrees by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and is registered with the Tertiary and Vocational Educational Commission (TVEC) to provide vocational education.[3][2][8]
