The University of Santo Tomas (UST), the Pontifical, Royal, and Catholic University of the Philippines is a Dominican institution of learning founded by a Spanish friar, Father Miguel de Benavides in 1611, under the patronage of St. Thomas Aquinas. It is a private, Catholic, and research university in the Philippines that holds the distinction of being The Royal, Pontifical, Catholic University of the Philippines. It is officially granted the title “Royal” by King Charles III of Spain in 1785, and Pope Leo XIII made UST a pontifical university in 1902. In 1947, Pope Pius XII bestowed the title of “The Catholic University of the Philippines”. In pursuit of its mission, UST is dedicated to the generation, advancement, integration, dissemination, and application of knowledge to form competent and compassionate individuals committed to serve the Church, the nation, and the global community. Coupled with its preeminence in Philippine education, UST is known as the Asia’s oldest existing university with 410 years of existence. It houses the first and oldest medical, pharmacy, engineering, law, and nursing schools in the Philippines. 

​

UST is one of the world’s largest Catholic universities in one campus that is run by the Dominican Order of Preachers. The main campus seats on a 21.5 hectares of land and is the largest university in the city of Manila, home to 45,000 students, a parish church, and teaching hospital. In 2011, four of the university’s structures were declared National Cultural Treasures by the National Museum. The university offers programs in over 180 undergraduate and graduate specializations from 22 degree granting colleges.  It has 26 programs recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as Centers of Excellence and Centers of Development, ranking 2nd in the country and first among private educational institutions. It is awarded with an institutional accreditation by the CHED through the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP). The university has the highest number of Philippine Association of the Colleges and Universities’ Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA), and ASEAN University Network (AUN-QA)- accredited programs in the country.