About the University of the Philippines
The University of the Philippines is the country’s national university. It was officially designated as the national university in 2009 during its centennial year through Republic Act No. 9500, the UP Charter of 2008. Established on 18 June 1908 through the ratification of Act No. 1870 of the First Philippine Legislature, UP is now a university system consisting of eight constituent universities and one autonomous college, located in 23 campuses across the archipelago.
Under RA 9500, UP is mandated to perform its unique and distinctive leadership in higher education and development as a teaching, graduate, public service, as well as regional and global university.
A Global University
Internationally recognized as the leading educational institution in the country, UP is the only Philippine university in the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, whose membership is composed of top universities from 18 economies known worldwide for their academic research excellence.
UP is the only Philippine university in the ASEAN-European University Network, a network of universities that aim to promote continuous internationalization of education and research. It is a founding member of only three Philippine universities in the ASEAN University Network. The University is also an active member of the Korean Studies Association of Southeast Asia (KoSASA), Southeast and South Asia and Taiwan Universities (SATU), and Erasmus Mundus Program Network. As of 2025, UP has 585 international partnerships with 350 higher education and research institutions in 43 countries. Its members across undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate, faculty, research, extension, and professional staff (REPS), and administrative staff are recipients of its international programs such as Mobility for Vigor and Excellence- University of the Philippines (MOVE-UP), Continuous Operational and Outcomes-based Partnership for Excellence in Research and Academic Training Enhancement (COOPERATE), Travel Grant, Hosting, and World Experts Lecture Series (WELS).
An Academic Leader
UP offers 618 academic programs in various disciplines with 205 undergraduate and 413 graduate programs, cultivating diverse talents in a vibrant, world-class learning environment. In the A.Y. 2024-2025, the University has 66,248 bright, socially conscious students developing as leaders and innovators, ready to serve communities in the Philippines and beyond.
University of the Philippines Constituent Universities
UP Baguio
Northern Luzon Indigenous Studies
UP Baguio became a UP constituent university in 2002. It is a leading institution in the areas of science and mathematics, social sciences, and the humanities in Northern Philippines. Through its research arm, the Cordillera Studies Center, UP Baguio is focusing on the preservation of the cultural traditions of the Cordilleras, Northern Luzon, and Cagayan Valley.
UP Manila
Health Sciences
UP Manila is the leading academic institution in the health sciences. It is home to the National Institutes of Health and the UP Philippine General Hospital, the country’s largest government tertiary hospital. The UP Manila College of Nursing is the WHO’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 Regional Center for Public Health. It has also established extension campuses of its School of Health Sciences in Luzon (Baler, Aurora, and San Isidro, Tarlac), Visayas (Palo, Leyte), and Mindanao (Koronadal, South Cotabato).
UP Diliman
Comprehensive Education
UP Diliman offers the most number of undergraduate and graduate degree programs and has almost 50 percent of the entire UP System student population. Aside from the 493-hectare main campus in Quezon City—home to the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology— this constituent university also administers the UP Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga (UPDEPP). The latter is located at the Clark Special Economic Zone which is less than 20 kilometers north of Manila.
UP Los Baños
Agriculture, Forestry, and Environmental Science
UP Los Baños in Laguna—roughly 65 kilometers south of Manila—is the country’s recognized leader in agriculture, forestry, and environmental management. Because of its location at the foot of Mt. Makiling and its fields of expertise, it is host to two international research institutions: the International Rice Research Institute and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture. As a pioneer in forest conservation, UP Los Baños has stewardship over the 4,244-hectare Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve.
UP Open University
Distance Education and Open Learning
The UP Open University is the pioneer institution in distance education and open learning in the Philippines, 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 UPOU, students learn at their own pace and convenience. UPOU has ten learning centers with 19 testing centers all over the country, and a virtual learning center to address UP students’ academic concerns.
UP Tacloban College
Eastern Visayas Studies
The UP Tacloban, previously a campus under the UP Visayas, was elevated to an autonomous college under the UP Office of the President in 2023. It has four academic divisions offering nine undergraduate programs and three graduate programs. It is known for its Accountancy, Biology, Computer Science, Management, and Psychology programs. It also hosts the Leyte-Samar Heritage Center, the Regional Environmental Information Systems (REIS) for Eastern Visayas and the Office of Continuing Education and Pahinugod.
UP Visayas
Fisheries and Aquaculture
UP Visayas, with its campuses in Iloilo City and Miag-ao, Iloilo, is the acknowledged authority in marine science education and research, fisheries, and aquaculture in the country. Its research endeavors are supported by the following facilities: Brackishwater Aquaculture Center, Freshwater Aquaculture Station, Batan Mariculture Station, and Marine Biological Station. It is also the base agency of the Western Visayas Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium. Apart from its focus on the sciences, this constituent university also prioritizes the preservation and enrichment of Visayan cultural heritage.
UP Cebu
IT and Business
UP Cebu became an autonomous college under the UP Office of the President in September 2010 to better serve the needs of its region, which is asserting itself as an area for direct and foreign investments, hence UP Cebu’s focus on strengthening its information technology and business programs. In 2016, it was declared a UP constituent university.
UP Mindanao
Mindanao Studies
UP Mindanao is the only UP constituent university in Mindanao with the primary mandate to provide equitable access to quality UP education to Mindanaoans. It offers academic programs in the humanities, architecture, mathematics, food, economics, social, natural, and computing sciences. It also offers PhD by Research and graduate degrees in management, food science, urban and regional planning, and sports science. It will soon open additional academic programs and new colleges in human kinetics, medicine, and engineering.
Para sa Bayan (For the Nation)
The University has 384,312 alumni leading in education, health, governance, business, law, sciences, and art and humanities, shaping progress across disciplines. To date, UP consistently secured top placements in the 2024 PRC Licensure comprising 49 clusters with 16 alumni members placed as Top 1, and 254 placed as board topnotchers.
Today’s leaders are produced by UP - 18 out of 25 are UP Presidents; 14 out of 17 are Philippine Presidents; 8 out of 15 are Philippine Vice Presidents; 19 out of 25 Senate Presidents; including 21 Chief Justices out of 28; and 16 out of 27 Lower House Speakers are represented by UP. Meanwhile, 42 out of 44 National Scientists; 44 out 86 National Artists and 8 out of 8 National Social Scientists are from the University.
“Since 1999, CHED has designated Centers of Excellence and Centers of Development that‘ serve as potent catalysts in specific program areas needed for the development of world-class scholarships, nation building and national development’ through rigorous selection processes based on program quality, research, publication, extension and linkages of higher education institutes (HEIs).” Today, UP has 41 Centers of Excellence, 30 National Institutes/Centers, and 5 Centers of Development across the UP constituent units. UP has achieved the Top 1 Public University in the Philippines in the THE World University Rankings 2025 as well as in the QS World University Rankings 2025. With 1,161 publications, the University was recognized under the International Publication Awards (IPA0 in 2024.
Guided by honor and excellence, UP serves the people, applying its expertise to uplift communities and drive meaningful change. The Ugnayan ng Pahinungód has established 99 Pahinungód Programs across all constituent units, and has launched 8 Flagship Programs. As of 2023, it has reached 322 communities. 445 signed up for the deployment of Gurong Pahinungód Volunteers in 2025.
As the National University Hospital, UP-PGH delivers world-class care, advances impactful research, and collaborates to train future global health leaders. UP has been able to serve 3,731,294 patients from 2018 to 2024. It has also rendered 19,699,518 laboratory and radiologic services during this period.
Source: UP System Media and Communication Office. (2025). “UP by the Numbers.”
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