The University of the Philippines is composed of eight constituent universities and one autonomous college, located in 20 campuses throughout the Philippines. UP Diliman offers the most number of undergraduate and graduate degree programs and is composed of almost 50 percent of the entire UP System student population. UP Diliman also administers the UP Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga (UPDEPP
) in the Clark Special Economic Zone, as well as the UP Bonifacio Global City (UP BGC). It is home to the National Institutes of Health and the UP Philippine General Hospital, the country’s largest government tertiary hospital. UP Manila has extension campuses of its School of Health Sciences in Luzon (Baler, Aurora), Visayas (Palo, Leyte), and Mindanao (Koronadal, South Cotabato). UP Los Baños in Laguna, is the country’s recognized leader in agriculture, forestry, and environmental management. Situated at the foot of Mt. Makiling, 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. UP Visayas, with its campuses in Iloilo City, Iloilo 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. UP Open University is the pioneer institution in distance education and open learning in the Philippines. While it is based 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. UP Mindanao is the only constituent university created by law, in response to the clamor of the people of Southern Philippines to have equitable access to a UP education. Architecture, biotechnology, and agribusiness are UP Mindanao’s strongest programs. UP Baguio attained its status as 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 the Cordillera Studies Center, UP Baguio contributes to higher education by focusing on the preservation of the cultural traditions of the Cordilleras, northern Luzon, and Cagayan Valley. UP Cebu, formerly one of the UP Visayas campuses, 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—a region that is aggressively asserting itself as an area for direct and foreign investments. This is why its focus is on the strengthening of its information technology and business programs. In 2016, UP Cebu was declared a constituent university of the UP System. UP Tacloban, previously also a campus under 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 in 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.
