General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) was initially established as the "General Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy" by the Parliamentary Act No 68 of 1981 and subsequently it was elevated to University status by the amendment Act No 27 of 1988, thereby empowering it to award Bachelors' and Postgraduate degrees in Defence Studies.KDU is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (United Kingdom) and maintains necessary standards for educating and grooming Officer Cadets to meet the challenges of modern defence management.KDU is now open for civil students who wish to continue their higher studies in the fields of Engineering, Law, Management, Social Sciences and IT.Officers with exceptional performance in reputed universities/institutions can pursue postgraduate studies in accordance with the requirements of the Service to which they belong. Civil professionals are also offered a place at postgraduate studies to excel in and study a post graduate degree in their related field of expertise.