The academic tradition and the history of the Faculty of Humanities date back to the inception of the Vidyālankāra Pirivena. The Vidyālankāra Higher Educational Centre was established in 1875 by the initiative of the Most Venerable Sri Dharmālōka Thero and was subsequently upgraded to the status of a university as Vidyalankara University in 1959. The Most Venerable Kiriwaththuduwe Sri Pangnāsāra Thero was the first Vice Chancellor of the Vidyālankāra University. Today, the former faculties of the Vidyālankāra Pirivena, the Faculty of Languages, the Faculty of Buddhism, and the Faculty of Arts come under the aegis of the Faculty of Humanities.