The University of Santo Tomas (UST) is the oldest existing university in Asia. Located in Manila, Philippines, this university was founded on April 28, 1611, by Miguel de Benavides.
Benavides was a Spanish Dominican prelate and sinologist who served as the third Archbishop of Manila and the first Bishop of Nueva Segovia. During the Spanish colonial oppression in the Philippines, he was the one who strongly defended native Filipinos and the Chinese communities against Spanish.
His vision of justice and education laid the foundation for UST for centuries. This campus is a Dominican institution of learning under the patronage of St. Thomas Aquinas.
Today, UST is recognized as the world’s largest Catholic university in terms of student population on a single campus. According to its official site, UST hosts over 44.000 students.
The History of the Oldest Campus in the Philippines
The institution began through the initiative of Bishop Miguel de Benavides, O.P. On July 24, 1605, he donated 1,500 pesos and his entire personal library to establish a seminary college.
He wanted to train young men for the priesthood. This fund and collection of books served as the core foundation for UTS and its library.
However, even though the initiative had begun in 1605, UTS was officially funded on April 28, 1611. The original campus was located inside Intramuros, the Walled City of Manila.
At first, the school was named Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario. Later, the name changed into Colegio de Santo Tomas to honor the famous Dominican theologian, Saint Thomas Aquinas.
In 1619, the institution received authorization to confer academic degrees in theology and philosophy. Then, in November 20, 1645, Pope Innocent X officially elevated the college to the status of a university. Later, Pope Innocent XI declared it as a Pubic University of General Studie, allowing the institution to expand and confer degrees in other fields of study.
Royal and Pontifical Titles
Over its long history, UST received several prestigious titles. Its full official name is "The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas." These titles were earned through major historical events.
In 1785, King Charles III of Spain gave the school the title of "Royal" university. He did this because the students and teachers at UST volunteered to defend Manila when British troops tried to invade the city.
Many years later, in 1902, Pope Leo XIII named it a "Pontifical" university. This is a very rare honor for any school located outside of Rome. Finally, in 1947, Pope Pius XII gave UST the official title of "The Catholic University of the Philippines."
Surviving Wars
As the years passed, the number of students at UST grew rapidly. Therefore, in 1927, the university moved its main operations to a much larger piece of land in the Sampaloc district. This new campus covers 21.5 hectares, and it remains the main campus today.
However, the school had to stop its regular classes twice because of war. The first time was during the Philippine Revolution against Spain in 1898.
The second time was during World War II. From 1942 to 1945, Japanese forces occupied Manila and took control of the UST campus. They turned the university buildings into an internment camp.
The Japanese held more than 3,000 civilian prisoners there, mostly American and British citizens. The war caused a lot of physical damage to the property, but the university survived and reopened shortly after the war ended.
UST Today
UST is consistently ranked among the top universities in the Philippines. It also regularly places pretty well in international charts like the QS World University Rankings.
The university now hosts dozens of thousand students across its 21 faculties and colleges. Some of its programs, such as Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Engineering, and Teacher Education, are designated as Centers of Excellence by the Philippine government due to their high quality.
UST also has large satellite campuses outside Manila, including UST Santa Rosa in Laguna and UST General Santos in Mindanao, to accommodate its growing student population.
