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BSc Guidelines

Course Registration Period

Registration for courses for the entire academic year commences one week prior to the start of the first semester and continues during the first two weeks of this semester. Selection of courses must be done very carefully as students will not be permitted to change their courses once the period of registration is over.

Note: Elective courses with less than five registered students may not be conducted. This condition applies only to courses in the 03-year BSc degree programme. Students who have registered for such courses are permitted to register for other available courses during the registration period. No changes in courses are permitted after the registration period.

Mode of Registration

Registration for courses is done online through the Student Information System (SIS) of the Faculty of Science (https://sis.cmb.ac.lk/sci/). Students may visit the IT Unit of the Faculty for assistance if required.

The Add-Drop Period

During the first two weeks of the second semester students are given an opportunity to revise their course registrations for the second semester. During this time, they can add/drop a limited number of courses to/from the list that they have submitted at the beginning of the academic year. However, students are not allowed to change subject combinations or drop compulsory courses. Changes are only allowed on condition that the students maintain the prescribed number of main subjects and compulsory & core courses.

Attendance in Class

Students are strongly advised to attend all lectures and practical classes of all courses that they have registered for. For practical courses or courses with a practical component which are evaluated through a practical examination, a minimum of 80% attendance at practical classes and sitting the final practical examination are required to obtain a C grade or better in that course. Practical courses that are evaluated through continuous assessment require a minimum of 80% attendance at practical classes to obtain a C grade or better.

Students in the 04-year degree programmes must have 80% attendance in all lectures and practical classes. Students who do not fulfill this requirement shall not be allowed to sit the corresponding final examination/ assessment that year and will have to sit the final examination/assessment in the following year as repeat candidates after having fulfilled the attendance requirement.

Very Important

Although students are permitted to register for more than 30 academic course credits per year (up to 33) this option has to be used very cautiously as the performance in all the registered courses will be taken into consideration when determining the final result. Students will not be permitted to drop any course once the period of registration is over.

Students are also advised to register for the pre-requisites (if any) specified in their study programmes and to pay attention to the requirements of the eligibility criteria for BSc Honours degree programmes.

Some public institutions may not recognize a particular subject/discipline as part of a graduate’s BSc degree programme (03-year duration), unless he/she has completed a minimum of 24 credits in that discipline over Levels I, II and III. Students interested in keeping open the option of employment in the public sector (secondary education, banks, government ministries and institutions etc.) or in pursuing postgraduate education in a particular field, should take sufficient electives in their main subjects in order to meet this requirement.

Students are expected to obtain advice from Faculty appointed Academic Advisors if they have any queries regarding their study programmes.

Registration for Course Units – Level I and Level II

  • Biological Science Stream and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Stream

All students in the Biological Science and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology streams shall offer core courses (a minimum of 06-07 core credits) from the three main subjects; Plant Sciences (BT), Chemistry (CH) and Zoology (ZL). Students, if they wish, may consider Computer Science (CS) or Nuclear Science (NS) as a fourth main subject, in which case they have to register for a minimum of 06 core credits from that subject. (Note: Both CS and NS cannot be selected as main subjects together). Furthermore, all courses marked “compulsory”. To make up the required minimum of 30 academic credits (maximum 33) per year, students can register for elective courses of their choice. It is also necessary to register for enhancement courses that add up to the required number of enhancement credits.

  • Physical Science Stream

Physical Science students are expected to select one of the 06 subject combinations (P1 – P6) given below. Each subject combination consists of three main subjects from a pool of five subjects; Applied Mathematics (AM), Chemistry (CH), Physics (PH), Pure Mathematics (PM) and Statistics (ST). In addition, Computer Science (CS) may be considered as a main subject for the subject combinations P1 – P6. Nuclear Science (NS) may also be considered as a main subject for the subject combinations P1 – P5. Students must choose a subject combination, and a minimum of 06 core/ compulsory credits from at least three main subjects. (Note: Both CS and NS cannot be selected as main subjects together).

Subject combination Main subjects
P1 Applied Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science / Nuclear Science
P2 Applied Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, Computer Science / Nuclear Science
P3 Applied Mathematics, Pure Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science / Nuclear Science
P4 Applied Mathematics, Chemistry, Statistics, Computer Science / Nuclear Science
P5 Applied Mathematics, Pure Mathematics, Chemistry, Computer Science / Nuclear Science
P6 Applied Mathematics, Pure Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science

To make up the required minimum 30 academic credits (maximum 33), students can select courses from within or outside their subject combination, provided it is permitted by the time table, space availability and other degree requirements. It is also necessary to register for enhancement courses that add up to the required number of enhancement credits.

  • Industrial Statistics & Mathematical Finance Stream

Industrial Statistics & Mathematical Finance students shall offer Industrial Statistics, Financial Mathematics and Management Science as their main subjects. Computer Science is also available as an additional (fourth) subject. Students should register for a minimum of 06 core credits from each main subject and to make up the required minimum of 30 academic credits (maximum 33) per year, students should register for elective courses. It is also necessary to register for enhancement courses that add up to the required number of enhancement credits.

Registration for Course Units – Level III (BSc Degree Programme, 03-year duration)

  • Biological Science and Physical Science Streams

Students who follow the 03-year BSc degree programme are required to register for at least 06 core credits from each of two main subjects of the three they followed in Levels I & II. To make up the required minimum of 30 academic credits (maximum 33), the remaining credits can be selected from any subject, provided time and space are available. In addition, students have the opportunity (provided the selection criteria are satisfied), to select either Internship Training or Service Learning in the sixth (final) semester of their degree programme.

  • Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Industrial Statistics & Mathematical Finance Streams

Students in the two study streams, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Industrial Statistics & Mathematical Finance, must follow in Level III, the specified core courses given for their streams in Annexes 7 and 10 respectively. To make up the required minimum of 30 academic credits (maximum 33) per year, students should select and register for elective courses from those given in the respective Annexes. In addition, students have the opportunity (provided the selection criteria are satisfied), to select either Internship Training or Service Learning in the sixth (final) semester of their degree programme.

The BSc degree programme (03–year duration) will span a total of six semesters with 90-99 academic credits and at least 04 enhancement credits.

Registration for course units – Levels III & IV (BSc Honours Degree Programmes, 04-year duration)

Students following the BSc Honours degree programme (research orientation) will be required to follow in Levels III & IV, the specified courses given under the relevant BSc Honours degree programme, including a research project. To make up the required minimum of 30 academic credits (maximum 33) per year, students should also register for elective courses from those given in the respective Annexes.

Students following the BSc Honours degree programme (industrial orientation) will be required to follow in Levels III & IV, the prescribed core courses of the specific programme including a research project and industrial training. They should also register for elective courses from that programme to make up the minimum 30 academic credit (maximum 33) per year requirement.

The 04-year BSc Honours degree programmes will span a total of eight semesters with 120-132 academic credits and at least 04 enhancement credits