The Faculty of Science, which is clearly distinguished by its icon the University tower, was formed with the advent of the University College in Colombo in 1913. It continued in the same location with the establishment of the University of Ceylon in 1942. Though a section of the University moved to Peradeniya in 1949, the Faculty of Science continued in Colombo. The Faculty, in 1967, became a part of the University of Colombo, Ceylon, later renamed University of Ceylon, Colombo. In 1972 the Faculty came under the University of Sri Lanka, Colombo Campus and finally in 1978, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Presently the Faculty of Science has about 1529 undergraduate students and 371 postgraduate students, 102 academic staff and 104 other staff. The annual intake to the Faculty increased to 487 in 2007 with the introduction of two new streams, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Industrial Statistics & Mathematical Finance.