Montana State University continues excellence in engineering through two Lankan students

Montana State University, located in beautiful Bozeman, Montana, is the largest and fastest-growing university in Montana. As the state’s land grant institution, MSU inspires students to engage with fellow students, staff, and faculty through excellence in education and research opportunities. 

Minura Malalamayake and Kisal Athukorala are Lankan students who joined the MSU campus in 2014 and have excelled in many aspects of campus life.  Both of them are third-year students in Mechanical Engineering with Aerospace minors and have achieved excellence, both academically and socially, while giving back to the MSU community.  

Here are just a few of their accomplishments:

Minura transferred to MSU with almost a year’s worth of credits by taking the A and A/S level Cambridge exams while in Sri Lanka.  Academically, he received a spot on the Undergraduate Honor Roll and earned an annual scholarship from the Office of International Programs based on these high marks.  To assist in paying for the costs of his education, Minura also works in the Langford Hall Dining Room. Between work and his studies, he is also a regular in the Hosaeus Fitness Center. 

Kisal also received a spot on the Undergraduate Honor Roll while working as a Residence Advisor (RA) for the Engineering Living/Learning community in the all-male residence Langford Hall. The students in this community choose to live with like-minded engineering students and offer support to each other while studying for the rigorous engineering courses.

To help fellow students unwind while learning, Kisal helped organise a contest for engineering students to see who could build the tallest building in 80 minutes. While taking a break from studying and working, he is a member of the Tae Kwan Do Club and takes advantage of the sporting facilities on campus.

The College of Engineering at Montana State University is known nationally for its outstanding collaborative community that achieves excellence in learning, innovation, discovery, and knowledge. The engineering undergraduate programs are all accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, by the Engineering Accreditation Commission.

Since 2001, MSU engineering graduates have consistently passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam at a rate of more than 10 percentage points higher than the average national pass rate. The exam is a step toward becoming a licensed professional engineer.

MSU is recognised nationally for its prominence in research among leading public research universities. 

 A spokesman for Scholarships for USA (SUSA) said both Minura Malalanayake (Ananda Vidyalaya Colombo 10) and Kisal Athukorale (Lyceum International – Panadura) reached Scholarships for USA Ltd. seeking admissions to a US university to major in Engineering. 

Among many offers SUSA was able to secure for them from both private and public universities from Iowa to North Dakota and from Montana to Indiana both decided on Montana State due to its affordable cost, excellence in education, reasonable scholarship and generous transfer of credits based on A-L results. 

Since 2001 SUSA has been passionately dedicated to making US college education increasingly affordable to Lankan middle class. SUSA, having passed 300 mark serving students across the island looks forward to introduce even more affordable schools during their summer visit in 2016.