About UPCED

It was on July 1, 1918 when the five-year old School of Education in the College of Liberal Arts of

the University of the Philippines was reorganized by the Board of Regents of the University into a

College of Education. The School of Education was created during the presidency of Dr. Murray Bartlett,

the first president of the University. In 1919, a four-year University High School was established as a

laboratory for practice teaching.

The period between 1934 to the outbreak of war saw many changes in the College curriculum

and other programs. The college closed at the outbreak of the war and re-opened on July 1, 1945.

Classes then were held in two rooms on a wing of the Philippine General Hospital. In 1947, courses

leading to the degrees of Master of Arts in Education and Master of Education were offered and in

January 1949, the College transferred to its present site in the Diliman campus.

Significant curricular changes and revisions were implemented in 1954. Foundation courses

were strengthened, and off-campus teaching was given more emphasis.

From 1959 to 1966, the College had begun to be called the Graduate College of Education

because of the markedly higher enrolment at the graduate level than at the undergraduate level.

The Department of Home Economics of the College became an Independent College in 1962.

Two years later, the Science Education Center was established in close collaboration with the Science

Teaching Department of the College. Despite the socio-political upheaval of the Marcos regime, the

College continued to stimulate educational innovations and movements that benefitted national

development thrusts. The merging of the UP Elementary School, UP Preparatory School, and the UP

High School with the UP Integrated School was one such initiative. This new school’s organization,

content, methodology, and orientation of basic education were designed to meet the emerging needs of

formal and non-formal instruction and differentiated staffing.

It was in the early 80’s when the College was designated as an Associated Center of the Asian

Programme of Educational Innovations for Development (APEID). Furthermore, the College became the

National Center for Drug Education, as well as the National Development Center (NADEC) attached to

the ASEAN Network of Development Education Centers. When the College reached its 70th year in 1988,

it had graduated almost 11,000 students.

From one undergraduate academic program in 1918, the Bachelor of Science in Education with

four major areas (English, Economics, History, and Mathematics, the College currently offers four

programs: Bachelor of Elementary Education (4 areas of concentration), Master of Arts in Education (22

major areas) and Doctor of Philosophy in Education (15 major areas). From nine courses offered, 95

years ago, the college now offers over 200 courses each school year.

Through the years, several UP Education graduates have taken on choice positions at every level

of public and private educational bureaucracy. Through the College of Education, the vision of the

University of the Philippines to provide the country with the best training for teachers in the basic

grades and with the most qualified leaders in the field has been realized and sustained.

Currently, the College is a Center of Training of the Department of Education and the

Commission of Higher Education and a home base to several professional organizations. It also has

expanded linkages with UNESCO, ASEAN, and other international organizations. The UP College of

Education continues to fill the country’s need for qualified teachers and teacher-leaders as it remains at

the forefront of teacher education.