No student shall be denied admission to the University System by reason of age, sex, nationality, religious belief, or political affiliation.
Every applicant for admission shall undergo a thorough health examination. No person shall be admitted to this University who is found by the University Health Service to be suffering from a dangerous, communicable, contagious, or infectious disease or who is physically unfit to take courses in any college of the University.
Every student shall, upon admission, sign the following pledge:
“In consideration of my admission to the University of the Philippines and of the privileges of a student in this institution, I hereby promise and pledge to abide by and comply with all the rules and regulations laid down by competent authority in the University and in the college in which I am enrolled.”
Refusal to take this pledge or violation of its terms shall be sufficient cause for summary dismissal or denial of admission.
Academic Calendar
The Academic Year is divided into two (2) semesters of at least sixteen (16) weeks each, exclusive of registration and final examination periods. Each semester shall consist of at least one hundred (100) class days. A midyear session of six (6) weeks follows the second semester. Class work in the midyear session is equivalent to class work in one (1) semester. The first semester begins in September, the second semester in February, and the midyear term in June.
Semestral System
All academic units of UP Diliman operate under the semestral system, except for the evening Master of Business Administration program and the Master of Science in Finance program of the Cesar EA Virata School of Business, Master of Management of the UP Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga/Olongapo, and Professional Masters in Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management program of the College of Science which are under the trimestral system.
Credit Unit
The unit of credit is the semester hour. Most classes taught at the University meet three (3) hours a week; these classes carry forty-eight (48) clock hours of instruction and three (3) units of credit.
Each unit of credit is at least sixteen (16) semester-hours of instruction in the form of lecture, discussion, seminar, tutorial, or recitation or in any combination of these forms. Laboratory work, field work, or related student activity is credited one (1) unit for at least thirty-two (32) semester hours.
Medium of Instruction
English is generally used as the medium of instruction in the University.
The UP Language Policy provides for the development and use of the Filipino language while maintaining English as a global lingua franca. The Policy states that Filipino shall be the medium of instruction in the University at the undergraduate level, within a reasonable time frame or transition period. Graduate courses of study shall be in English, though there could very well be graduate courses of study in which the medium of instruction is Filipino.
English shall be maintained as the primary international language in the University to serve as its chief medium of access to the world’s intellectual discourse.
General Education Program
The General Education Program is a set of courses classified under the Arts and Humanities (AH), Social Sciences and Philosophy (SSP), and Mathematics, Science and Technology (MST) domains that give students knowledge and competencies to better prepare them for the basic understanding of various ways of knowing. This makes the UP student a well-rounded person ready for lifelong learning skills.
The liberal education thrust of GE aims to mold the UP student to become a holistic person;, a more independent, creative, and critical thinker; a morally sound and intellectual individual of high integrity, and; someone who is well able to adapt to the fast-changing pace of today’s living
The GE Program was first adopted in 1958 and underwent several revisions thereafter. In 2001, the GE Program was revitalized. Known as the Revitalized General Education Program (RGEP), it was premised on freedom of choice and no prerequisites. It was implemented in the first semester AY 2002-2003.
In 2012, while retaining its philosophy, framework, course goals and aims, a revision was made in the GE program such that certain courses were prescribed under each domain while informally referred to as the “hybrid” RGEP, this is referred to as the existing General Education Program (GEP).
GEP Objectives
General
1. To broaden the student’s intellectual and cultural horizons;
2. To foster a commitment to nationalism balanced by a sense of internationalism;
3. To cultivate a capacity for independent, critical, and creative thinking;
4. To infuse a passion for learning with a high sense of moral and intellectual integrity.
Specific
1. To acquire basic skills and competencies in mathematics, reasoning, and communication;
2. To develop an awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the various disciplines of the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and philosophy;
3. To develop the ability to integrate and/or adapt the knowledge and skills acquired from the various disciplines.
GEP Framework
The GEP framework lays down the requirements of the Program and defines the character of the GE courses.
1. The GEP ensures that the domains of knowledge contain a healthy mix of disciplines.
The GEP framework requires that students take fifteen (15) units in each of the three (3) domains of knowledge – Arts and Humanities; Social Sciences and Philosophy; and Mathematics, Science and Technology – six (6) units of which must be in Philippine Studies, to be taken from any of the domains.
2. Every GE course, existing or to be instituted, must:
a. satisfy at least three (3) of the following four (4) objectives:
– broaden the student’s intellectual and cultural horizons
– foster a commitment to nationalism balanced with a sense of internationalism
– develop an awareness of various disciplines
– integrate knowledge and skills
b. apply at least one (1) of the following modes of inquiry
– quantitative and other forms of reasoning
– interpretive and aesthetic approaches
c) develop the following competencies – communication (oral and written) and independent, creative, and critical thinking
3. A GE course must not have a prerequisite
4. Academic units that offer GE courses must take into account the attributes of the ideal GE faculty.