University of the Philippines Diliman
The University of the Philippines Diliman is a public research university and the lead constituent university of University of the Philippines System, located in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. Established in 1949, UP Diliman originated from the transfer of most of the university’s academic functions from Manila, where its founding colleges had operated since 1909, as part of the planned expansion of the national university. It was developed as the main campus of the University of the Philippines during the period when the university functioned as a unified institution.
UP Diliman is the largest constituent campus in terms of the number of degree-granting academic units, student population, faculty, and library resources. There are 27 degree-granting units on campus, accounting for 26,349 students of which, 17,117 are undergraduates. UP Diliman had a complement of 1,620 regular faculty in 2023, of whom 499 have doctoral degrees.
In addition to the units in the main campus, UP Diliman has extension programs in Angeles City, Pampanga and Olongapo, Zambales, as well as a marine laboratory in Bolinao, Pangasinan under the Marine Science Institute, and a satellite campus at Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. The UP Diliman campus is also the site of the country's National Science Complex. UP Diliman offers academic programs in 247 major fields. There are 70 programs at the undergraduate level, 109 programs at the master's level and 68 at the doctoral level.
History
The University of the Philippines was founded on June 18, 1908, in Manila, offering programs in liberal arts, medicine, law, and engineering. As enrollment increased—from 67 students in 1908 to 7,849 by 1928—the need for a larger campus became evident. In 1939, the UP Board of Regents acquired a 493-hectare tract of land in Diliman, Quezon City, to accommodate the university's expansion. The site was envisioned to house modern facilities that would allow for further academic growth. Construction of the new campus commenced in 1939, but work was interrupted by World War II. During the war, many of the newly constructed buildings in Diliman were used as military barracks by the Imperial Japanese Army, delaying the relocation efforts. Following the liberation of Manila in 1945, efforts to rebuild and expand the campus resumed. By 1949, significant progress had been made in the development of the campus, allowing for the transfer of administrative offices, academic units, and faculty residences from UP Manila to UP Diliman. On February 12, 1949, a symbolic motorcade led by then-UP President Bienvenido Gonzales transported the Oblation statue from Padre Faura in Manila to its current location in front of Quezon Hall. This event marked the formal establishment of UP Diliman as the new primary campus of the UP System.Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, UP Diliman expanded its facilities, establishing new academic buildings, research centers, and residential areas. This period saw the construction of several architecturally significant structures, including Quezon Hall, Gonzalez Hall, and Benitez Hall, designed by National Artist for Architecture Juan Nakpil. Other modernist structures, such as Palma Hall and Melchor Hall, were designed by Cesar Concio, reflecting the post-war shift toward functionalist and modernist architecture.
In 1985, UP Diliman was granted institutional autonomy, retroactive to 1981, in response to the university system's restructuring.
Diliman Commune
The Diliman Commune was a significant student-led uprising that occurred from February 1 to 9, 1971, at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus. Initially sparked by a three-centavo increase in oil prices, the protest escalated following violent confrontations with government forces, resulting in the death of a student, Pastor "Sonny" Mesina. In response, students, faculty members, and residents established barricades around the campus, effectively declaring it a "liberated zone" free from military intrusion. Drawing inspiration from the 1871 Paris Commune, the protesters referred to themselves as "Communards" and renamed the campus the "Malayang Komunidad ng UP Diliman". They also took control of the university's radio station, DZUP, and published their own newspaper, Bandilang Pula. The Diliman Commune stands as a testament to the university community's resistance against state repression and its commitment to academic freedom.Contemporary history
The Management Review Committee was created by UP President Edgardo Angara in the 1980s to evaluate and recommend measures for the university's improvement. The report made by the MRC led to the decision of the Board of Regents to further decentralize the UP administration, declaring UP Diliman an autonomous unit on March 23, 1983. This also furthered the reorganization of some major units of the university, with the College of Arts and Sciences being split into three colleges: the College of Science, the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. UP Diliman was formally established as a constituent university on April 23, 1985, at the 976th Meeting of the U.P. Board of Regents.Campus
The UP Diliman campus is the largest and most architecturally diverse among the constituent universities of the UP System. Spanning 493 hectares in Quezon City, it serves as the system's administrative and academic center, housing the Office of the UP President, the Office of the Chancellor, and the nation's leading research institutions. The campus reflects a rich architectural heritage, with structures ranging from neoclassical landmarks to modernist academic complexes and contemporary, sustainability-focused buildings.At its core is the Academic Oval, a tree-lined loop that defines the university's central academic and administrative district. Along this axis are Quezon Hall, the university's main administration building designed by Juan Nakpil; Gonzalez Hall, the University Library, also by Nakpil; and Benitez Hall and Malcolm Hall, two mirror-image neoclassical structures that house the College of Education and the College of Law, respectively. Other major colleges, including the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, the College of Engineering, and the College of Science, are strategically located within or near the Oval.
Beyond the Academic Oval, UP Diliman extends into distinct academic clusters, research hubs, residential zones, and open spaces, reflecting a well-planned balance between built and natural environments. To the east, the National Science Complex and Engineering Complex house state-of-the-art STEM research facilities. The southern sector features cultural institutions, such as the UP Film Institute, Jorge B. Vargas Museum, and Abelardo Hall, which serve as centers for artistic expression and historical preservation.
The Oblation and Academic Oval
The U.P. Diliman campus is connected to Commonwealth Avenue via University Avenue. It stretches where traffic enters the campus or proceeds towards C.P. Garcia St., which connects Commonwealth Avenue to Katipunan Avenue. At the end of University Avenue, the Oblation Plaza of the Diliman campus faces the road. Behind it, the facade of Quezon Hall can be seen.The Oblation is the most iconic figure of the U.P. System. The statue was originally created by National Artist Guillermo E. Tolentino in 1935 in a collective effort by the students of the U.P. System. During the 40th anniversary of the University of the Philippines in 1949, the Oblation was transferred to Diliman in Quezon City from their original site along Padre Faura St. in Manila as a symbol of transfer of administrative seat. The Oblation was originally nude and made of concrete and stands in height. For morality and censorship purposes, U.P. President Jorge Bocobo suggested to put a fig leaf to cover the genitals. In 1950, the Board of Regents ordered the statue to be cast in true bronze. Tolentino made a trip to Italy to personally supervise the casting of his old masterpiece into bronze. The bronze statue, unveiled on November 29, 1958, is now housed at Gonzalez Hall where the University Library is also located.
The main and largest road in the university is the Academic Oval, informally known as "Acad Oval". This road is composed of two joining avenues, the Roxas and Osmeña Avenues. Having a total circumference of about, the oval connects the rest of the colleges of the university from the main University Avenue. The avenue derives its name from several colleges located around it, namely the College of Media and Communication, College of Music, College of Engineering, College of Law, School of Economics, College of Business Administration, College of Education, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy and School of Library and Information Studies. The oval also covers Quezon Hall, the U.P. Theater, National Engineering Center, Student Activity Center/Vinzons Hall, Center for International Studies and Jorge B. Vargas Museum. Additionally, the Academic Oval is planted with over 500 acacia and fire trees.
Benitez Hall and Malcolm Hall
Benitez Hall and Malcolm Hall, two of the oldest and most architecturally significant buildings on the UP Diliman campus, stand as mirror images of each other at the head of the Academic Oval. Designed by Juan Marcos Arellano y de Guzmán, their construction began in 1939 and was completed between 1941 and 1949.Benitez Hall, home to the College of Education, is named after Francisco F. Benitez, the first dean of the School of Education. Its design features a balanced facade with a prominent pediment and pilastered entrance, reinforcing its function as a center of learning and teacher training. During World War II, the building was repurposed as a military quarters by Japanese forces, and it was reportedly the site of wartime atrocities, leading to persistent stories of paranormal activity within its halls.
Standing directly across from it, Malcolm Hall houses the UP College of Law and is named after George Malcolm, a former Associate Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court and the founding dean of the College of Law. As a mirror image of Benitez Hall, Malcolm Hall exhibits the same neoclassical symmetry, with its tall Corinthian columns and arched windows.