Monday, November 28, 2011

Top 10 Best Universities in the Philippines

With a total of 2,080 public and private colleges and universities in the Philippines (as of August 2007), it is quite difficult for high school graduates in the Philippines to choose the college or university in which they will spend 4 to 5 years of their life. Many students and parents are looking for the best universities in the land because they believe that “school name” would have a huge impact on their career and success in board examinations. Many parents spend a fortune just to send their kids into the best universities. They simply want their children to gain an edge to hundreds of thousands of college graduates every year. Most likely, students and parents equate quality education to the popularity of a college or university. Some of them even look at the ranking of the school in international, regional, and local ranking of higher education institutions.

Ranking of colleges and universities in the Philippines and the world has received controversies. Many universities criticized these published rankings of universities because the criteria used are either inadequate or questionable. In fact, few Philippine university administrators expressed that they don’t want to be included in international ranking of colleges and universities claiming that the methodology used was problematic. However, they are still included in annual international rankings with few of them made it to the top 1000 worldwide.

In this post, I will give you the top 10 list of Philippine colleges and universities based on their average passing rate in the board examinations of all courses from 1991-2001. The ranking is based on the result of the study conducted by the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Take note that this study is conducted every 10 years and the last ranking was released in 2007.


1.University of the Philippines- Diliman

University of the Philippines Diliman (U.P. Diliman) is the flagship university and seat of administration of the University of the Philippines System, the national university of the Philippines. The university is located in Diliman, Quezon City and has about 23,000 students enrolled in its 26 colleges, schools, and institutes offering 296 graduate, undergraduate and diploma courses. The Commission on Higher Education declared nine units of the university as Centers of Excellence in 2009, the highest number recognized by the agency. U.P. Diliman houses notable research units such as the Marine Science Institute and the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. Admission to the U.P. Diliman requires passing the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT).


2. University of the Philippines –Los Baños

Located in Los Baños, Laguna, University of the Philippines Los Baños is considered as the country’s center of agricultural and forestry education. More than 10,000 students are enrolled in 27 undergraduate and 82 graduate degree programs through its 9 colleges and two schools. U.P. Los Baños houses the famous International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), ASEAN Center for Biodiversity, and the World Agroforestry Center. Passing the UPCAT is required to be admitted as freshman in the university.






3. University of the Philippines – Manila

Located in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, the University of the Philippines – Manila (U.P Manila) is the center of health sciences education in the country. It is considered one of the best universities for nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, and medicine in the Philippines. The university has administrative supervision over Philippine General Hospital (Philippine largest medical center) and the National Institutes of Health. Admission to U.P. Manila requires passing of the UPCAT just like any campus in the U.P. System.





4. Silliman University

Silliman University is a private research university located in Dumaguete City, Philippines. With more than 8,600 students, Silliman university is registered as National Landmark by the National Historical Institute and is one of few private higher education institutions in the Philippines that have been granted full autonomous status by the Commission on Higher Education. Silliman University is ranked among the top 150 Asian universities based on International Students’ Review by the QS Quacquarelli Symonds, an institution that ranks universities worldwide.






5. Ateneo de Davao University

Located in Davao City, Philippines, Ateneo de Davao University is a private and research Catholic university administered by the Society of Jesus. It has more than 8000 students enrolled in its School of Arts and Sciences, College of Nursing, College of Engineering and Architecture, School of Business and Governance and College of Law. The QS 2009 Asian University Rankings places Ateneo de Davao on the 127th place in the whole Asian region.








6. Ateneo de Manila University

Located in Quezon City, Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University has programs and departments as Centers of Excellence and Centers of Development and among the few universities granted autonomous status by CHED. It is a member of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and run by the Society of Jesus in the Philippines.









7. University of Santo Tomas

Located in Intramuros, Manila, University of Santo Tomas (UST) is a Roman Catholic University considered to be the oldest university charter in the Philippines and in Asia. Besides from being the largest university in the City of Manila, UST is also one of the largest Catholic universities in the world in terms of enrollment found on one campus. CHED has granted several degrees of UST as Centers of Excellence and Centers of Development. UST is a member of UAAP and the alma mater of the national hero Jose Rizal.





8. Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology

MSU-IIT is an autonomous external campus of Mindanao State University System located in Iligan City, Philippines. It offers 115 academic programs in a variety of fields such as nursing, law, mathematics, engineering, information technology, humanities, arts, education, and business. IT has received numerous institutional awards such CHED’s Center of Excellence and Center of Development recognition to some of its colleges.







9. Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Manila (PLM)

Located in Intramuros Manila, PLM holds the distinction as the first tertiary-level institution in the Philippines to offer tuition-free education and the first institution of higher learning to have its official name in Filipino. It is funded by the City of Manila and currently has 13,000 students enrolled in its undergraduate and graduate programs.









10. Saint Louis University (SLU)

Located in the summer capital of the Philippines, Baguio City, SLU is one of the largest universities north of Manila with more than 26,999 students enrolled in its schools and divisions. Besides being included in the top universities in the country based on the performance in board examinations, SLU is also ranked 216 in the 2009 QS Asian University Ranking and 288th in the International Faculty Review on the same survey. CHED has recognized several colleges of the university as Center of Excellence and Center of Development.







Also included in the top 20 list of CHED and PRC are University of San Carlos, Xavier University, Mindanao State University (Main), Urios College, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, De La Salle University, Mapua Institute of Technology, Adamson University, Central Mindanao University and University of Southern Philippines.


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