About UP
The University of the Philippines is the country’s national university. By any measure, it is one of the most influential institutions in the country.
Established in 1908, it has built a reputation as a university that produces scientific and artistic outputs which have received national and international recognition. Surviving global wars, colonial occupations, civil rights struggles and cultural upheavals, economic downturns and upsurges, UP has played a role in shaping the nation’s political and social consciousness. Ultimately, it has helped shape and define the national identity.
From a small campus in old Manila with only seven colleges, it has grown into eight constituent universities and one autonomous college located in 21 campuses throughout the Philippine archipelago.
UP prides itself in its academic excellence, outstanding research and public service. Its constituent universities offer 240 undergraduate and 402 graduate programs. No other academic institution in the country can match the scope and range of the University’s course offerings which include almost all disciplines and embrace all interests and inclinations. Almost 26.6 percent of the faculty have doctorate degrees and 36.2 percent have master’s degrees.
UP’s student population of almost 52,000 thrives in the liberal atmosphere that is an integral part of the tradition of a UP education. UP graduates have become the country’s leaders in education, politics and governance, business, law, sciences, the arts and several other disciplines.
To date, 36 out of 37 National Scientists in fields as diverse as history, engineering, physics, agriculture, biophysical chemistry, psychology, medicine, plant physiology, genetics, and cytogenetics are from UP. In this age of technological breakthroughs, UP leads in the exploration of “emerging fields” in science and technology. The overarching goal is to identify high-priority, cutting-edge technologies where the University can make a difference, with applications in Materials, Biotechnology, Pervasive Computing, and Measurement and Instrumentation. In support of these fields, the University’s scientists are breaking new ground in bio-fuels, pharmaceuticals, robust crops, new vaccines, cutting-edge microchips, early warning systems for disasters, energy efficient sensors and instruments, and nanomaterials. These applications have a significant effect on production in key sectors of the country.
Because of UP’s leadership in science and technology, the Philippine President signed Executive Order No. 583 in 2006 which established the National Science Complex at the University. UP was also at the forefront of the establishment of the Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT) consortium which was given a P3.5-billion budget by the national government in 2007.
But UP’s strength does not lie in its scientific pursuits alone. Thirty-four out of 57 National Artists are from UP. They are recognized for outstanding achievements in literature, visual arts, music, dance, theater, film, and architecture.
UP has also sustained an exemplary record in professional licensure examinations in the law, accounting, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, chemistry, geology, engineering, environmental planning, education, library science, social work, nutrition and dietetics, interior design, architecture, fisheries, and agriculture, among many others.
Internationally recognized as the leading educational institution in the country, UP is the only Philippine university in the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) where membership is based on the nomination and votes of member universities. UP is also the only Philippine university in the ASEAN-European University Network (ASEA-UNINET), a network of universities offering comprehensive graduate degree programs. It is a founding member of and is one of only three Philippine universities in the ASEAN University Network (AUN).
The university currently has 266 international linkages with institutions from 27 countries.
UP System
Ms. Maria Angelica D. Abad
Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs and Director, Office of Alumni Relations
Email: [email protected]
Tel/Fax No.: (02) 8929-8226 | 981-8500 local 4251
UP Diliman
Fondly referred to as the “Diliman Republic,” this university lies at the heart of Quezon City on 493 hectares of sprawling terrain. As the largest constituent unit, UP Diliman (UPD) is home to almost half of the whole System’s student population. It also offers the most number of degree programs.
UPD leads all Philippine universities in science education and research. Its outstanding research efforts are consistently recognized by national agencies such as the Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development and the National Academy of Science and Technology. It also excels in the fields of Law, Engineering, Economics, Business Administration, Education, Public Administration and Mass Communication, as well as in other fields that require professional and licensure examinations.
Moreover, UPD has a strong commitment to the arts, where its accomplishments parallel its excellence in the sciences. Through units like the Vargas Museum, UP Film Institute, Likhaan: the UP Institute of Creative Writing, Dulaang UP and Center for Ethnomusicology, the arts have been provided the space and encouragement to flourish.
Offering a full range of courses, including creative writing, dance, film, music, theater and visual arts, the “Diliman Republic’s” faculty members are active practitioners in their disciplines. Both faculty and student artists are multi-awarded and have been recognized locally and abroad.
Aside from the main campus in Quezon City, this constituent university also administers the UP Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga. The latter is located at the Clark Special Economic Zone which is less than 20 kilometers north of Manila.
Dr. Imee S. Martinez
Deputy Director, UP Diliman Information Office; Alumni Officer
Email: [email protected]
UP Los Baños
UP Los Baños (UPLB) is located in Laguna, roughly 65 kilometers south of Manila. Nestled at the foot of Mt. Makiling and overlooking Laguna de Bay, UPLB is the first constituent university of the UP System. As the recognized leader in agriculture, forestry, and veterinary medicine, UPLB has expanded its expertise to include the biological and environmental sciences, engineering, mathematics, computer science and information technology.
The union of science and nature has never been so evident. Because of its strategic location and its fields of expertise, UPLB is host to two international institutions devoted to research and graduate study: the International Rice Research Institute and Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture.
Other national and international research centers established on campus are the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (NIMBB), National Crop Protection Center, Postharvest Horticulture Training and Research Center, Institute of Plant Breeding, Agriculture Machinery and Testing Center and Asia-Pacific Center for Technology Exchange and Training for Small and Medium Enterprises.
A pioneer in forest conservation, UPLB has stewardship over the 4,244-hectare Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve, a venue for instruction, research, and extension in the fields of forestry and environment and natural resource management. UPLB’s research programs are geared toward sustainable productivity and the efficient use of natural resources while maintaining ecological balance. They also focus on the safeguarding of biodiversity in the vicinity, as well as the preservation of watershed areas for hydro or geothermal development and downstream water consumption.
Dr. Eileen Lorena M. Mamino
Director, Office of Alumni Relations
Email: [email protected]
Tel/Fax No.: (049) 536-0844
Website: http://oar.uplb.edu.ph
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/UPLBAlumniRelations
UP Manila
UP Manila (UPM) is located in Ermita, Manila where the University was born. It is the country’s Center of Excellence in the Health Sciences, including health education, training, and research. It is home to a National Center of Excellence—the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—and to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), the largest government tertiary hospital in the country.
PGH provides direct health care to almost half a million patients from all over the country each year. It also trains hundreds of medical interns, residents, and fellows, as well as students of allied medical professions. Meanwhile, the NIH serves as the coordinating unit for health research programs and projects.
The College of Nursing is the World Health Organization’s Regional Collaborating Center in Nursing Development while the College of Public Health is the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Network in Tropical Medicine and Public Health Regional Center for Public Health. In addition, the School of Health Sciences offers a step-ladder curriculum which consists of integrated courses on barangay health work, community health work, midwifery, nursing and community medicine. It has extension campuses in Baler, Aurora (Luzon); Palo, Leyte (Visayas); and Koronadal, South Cotabato (Mindanao).
Although it is known for its outstanding health sciences programs, UPM also has a College of Arts and Sciences that provides the liberal arts and basic sciences foundation for all its students. It offers various degree courses, as well as service courses for the health sciences curricula of other colleges. As a venue for multidisciplinary studies, its diverse programs promote critical thinking and a well-rounded education.
Dr. Melfred L. Hernandez, MD, MHA
Director, Office of Alumni Relations
Email: [email protected]
Tel/Fax No.: (02) 525-3802
c/o Marie Liz T. Felix ([email protected])
UP Visayas
UP Visayas (UPV) operates three campuses in Iloilo, Miagao, and Tacloban. As the country’s acknowledged leader in marine science education and research, fisheries and aquaculture, UPV conducts studies which are widely published, recognized and featured in various local and international fora and journals. Providing support for these endeavors are its research stations—Brackishwater Aquaculture Center, Freshwater Aquaculture Station, Batan Mariculture Station and Marine Biological Station.
Like UPD and UPLB, UPV also has the NIMBB which contributes to the attainment of the Philippine government’s development goals. UPV is also the base agency of the Western Visayas Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium, an organization that brings together experts who optimize resources for research and development in Region VI.
UPV also offers strong regional studies programs on the preservation and enrichment of the Visayan cultural heritage. Its excellence in the areas of management, arts and sciences is evidenced by faculty members and students who win national and international awards and graduates who top licensure examinations.
Because of its wide reach in the Visayas, UPV is able to institutionalize and maintain regional studies programs, gender advocacy programs, and environment information systems. It has three regional studies centers: the Center for West Visayan Studies, Central Visayas Studies Center and Leyte-Samar Heritage Center. These centers are tasked with identifying, documenting, studying, preserving and promoting local history and culture.
Dr. Rey Carlo T. Gonzales
OIC, Office of Alumni Relations
Email: [email protected]
Tel/Fax No.: (033) 336-8837
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/upvoar
UP Open University
UP has established itself in cyberspace through the UP Open University (UPOU). While its base of operations is in Los Baños, Laguna, it is basically a virtual university—providing quality education to students in the country and abroad who are not able to attend conventional colleges and universities due to personal or professional constraints. At the UP Open University, students learn at their own pace and convenience.
It has 10 learning centers with 19 testing centers all over the country. For its students abroad, it has a virtual learning center to address academic concerns. Examinations for these students are either administered online or in the Philippine Consulates.
Most of UPOU’s course offerings are on the graduate level—ideal for professionals who want to earn master’s and doctoral degrees without having to adjust their work schedules. It is also the first university in the country to offer graduate programs in Land Valuation and Management and the only university in the UP System that offers an undergraduate degree in Multimedia Studies and a master’s degree in Distance Education.
Dr. Myra Almodiel
Director, Office of Public Affairs
Email: [email protected]
Tel/Fax No.: (049) 536-5992
UP Mindanao
Through its programs in the sciences and the arts, UP Mindanao (UPMin) is committed to lead in providing affordable quality education, scholarly research and responsive and relevant extension services to diverse, marginalized and deserving sectors in Mindanao and neighboring regions. It seeks to inculcate a passion for excellence, critical thinking and nationalism in the context of cultural diversity in a global community.
Established in 1995 under Republic Act No. 7889, UPMin has embarked on an affirmative action program in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to attract more Muslim and Lumad students.
Geared toward becoming the best science university in Southern Philippines, UPMin initiated a major project in 2004—the Mindanao Science and Technology Park Consortium. Though still finalizing its policies and thrusts, UPMin’s S&T Park focuses on food science in partnership with the Department of Agriculture. UPMin also plans to combine local agricultural experience and scientific expertise to alleviate problems in food production. Its colleges are also heavily involved in research. Embracing cultural diversity, UPMin’s College of Humanities and the Social Sciences is currently undertaking studies on the indigenous communities in the area. The School of Management is conducting research on Supply Chain Management. Finally, the College of Science and Mathematics is studying local flora and alternative fuel, particularly coconut diesel.
In line with its aim of developing UPMin as a Center of Culture and Languages, there are activities and studies designed to strengthen and enrich Filipino as the national language and develop other Philippine languages and literature, especially those spoken in the region. Courses in Philippine literature and translation courses have been incorporated into the revised curriculum.
UPMin is also involved in the activities of the Davao Colleges and Universities Network-Cultural Committee.
Prof. Annabelle U. Novero
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Email: [email protected]
Tel/Fax No.: (082) 293-0402
UP Baguio
UP Baguio (UPB) is the youngest constituent university in the UP System. Formerly a regional unit of UPD, this “UP of the North” was granted autonomy as a college in 1999 and elevated to university status in December 2002.
UPB is the leading institution in Northern Philippines in the areas of science and mathematics, social sciences and the humanities.
Through its research arm, the Cordillera Studies Center (CSC), UPB aims to contribute to higher education in Northern Luzon through partnerships with other institutions and expanding its research on the preservation of the cultural traditions of the Cordilleras, Northern Luzon, and Cagayan Valley.
The CSC is internationally known for its track record in ethnic and interdisciplinary research programs in areas like biodiversity conservation, ethnicity studies, governance, public policy, language, and literature. Its contributions to basic research in the natural sciences explore new theoretical directions and practical applications, highlight innovative technologies and build on indigenous mathematical and biological knowledge systems. Meanwhile, in the humanities, research is ongoing for the retrieval, annotation, and translation of existing Cordillera and Northern Philippine literature.
Prof. Cecilia Fe Abalos
Director, Office of Public Affairs
Email: [email protected]
Tel/Fax No.: (074) 444-8719 c/o Jennifer Guimpol
UP Cebu
Formerly one of the UPV campuses, UP Cebu became an autonomous college under the UP Office of the President in September 2010.
Autonomy was granted to better serve the needs of its region—one that has a potential for investments. This is why its focus is on the strengthening of its information technology and business programs. In fact, since 2009, it has been offering graduate programs in Computer Science and Business Administration.
To show its support for this unit, the Cebu City government donated to UP a five-hectare lot in the South Road Properties in 2009 to serve as an extension campus of UP Cebu. The site is expected to house the facilities of programs in Computer Science, Business Administration, Management, Communications Design and Product Design.
In 2016, UP Cebu was declared a constituent university of the UP System.
Ms. Jeraline Gumalal
Director, Office of Alumni Relations
Email: [email protected]
Tel/Fax No.: (6332)232-8104; (6332)231-3086; 0925-7775973