Campus Overview
The University of the Philippines Manila (UP Manila) is a constituent unit of the UP System primarily mandated as a Health Sciences Centre, thus seeking and emphasizing the highest standards of training and research in the various health sciences in the Philippines. On June 18, 1908, the University of the Philippines was formally established in Ermita, Manila, under the Philippine Legislature Act No. 1870 as premier institution of higher learning. Initially, the campus was opened to service the public’s health care delivery needs, together with the Philippine General Hospital. The Training School for Nurses was established as a department of the said hospital. Other departments of Pharmacy, Dentistry and Public Health were established on 1914, 1915, and 1927, respectively.
During World War II, the institution attended to the injured and the sick but the events have left the campus in havoc and damage. Thus, on December 15, 1948, the UP System was transferred to Diliman, Quezon City. The units of Medicine, Dentistry, and Public Health, however, stayed in Ermita, Manila. Despite the setback of the war damage, the campus continued its commitment by establishing more units such as the Philippine Orthopedic Center (formerly called the National Orthopedic Hospital) in 1962, and the Philippine Eye Research Institute in 1965. With this, the Health Sciences Center was established to answer to the needs of the growing population in 1967.
Through Executive Order No. 519, the Health Sciences Center became an autonomous component of the UP System. It was composed of College of Medicine (CM), College of Pharmacy (CP), College of Dentistry (CD), Institute of Public Health (IPH) now College of Public Health (CPH), School of Allied Medical Professions, now College of Allied Medical Professions (CAMP), Philippine General Hospital (PGH), University of the Philippines Health Service (UPHS), Philippine Eye Referral Institute (PERI) renamed as the Institute of Ophthalmology, National Teacher Training Center for the Health Professions (NTTC-HP), Comprehensive Community Health Program, and the Anesthesiology Center Western Pacific.
Finally, on October 22, 1982, the Center was renamed University of the Philippines Manila and became the second autonomous unit of the UP System. The campus’ official location occupies 14 ha of land covering two blocks in Ermita, Manila. It is bounded on the north by the United Nations Avenue; on the east by Taft Avenue; on the south by Pedro Gil Street; and by Maria Orosa Street on the West.
For academic years 2009 to 2014, UP Manila had an average of 4,991 enrollees annually for the undergraduate programs, and 988 for graduate programs. Out of this number, sixty-five percent are females while the remaining are males, garnering a gender ratio of 2:1. Most of the unit’s enrollees are from NCR or Metro Manila (48%), while Luzon (39.5 %), Visayas (6%) and Mindanao (5.8%) follow respectively. A very small proportion of enrollees come from foreign countries (0.7%). Graduates from UP Manila are recognized through various achievements and awards, not only in the Philippines but in other countries such as Canada, as well. The Philippine General Hospital has also been renowned for management of hospital infection and hand hygiene by the Philippine Hospital Association and the Philippine Hospital Infection Control Society.