University of the Philippines Diliman

Academic Oval, U.P. Diliman

Fire trees of U.P. Diliman

The U.P. Diliman campus is connected to Commonwealth Avenue via University Avenue. It stretches 800 meters (2,600 ft) 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 statue (Tagalog: Pahinungod/Oblasyon) 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.[17] 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.[18][19] The Oblation was originally naked and made of concrete and stands 3.5 meters (11 ft) in height.[17] For morality and censorship purposes, U.P. President Jorge Bocobo suggested to put a fig leaf to cover the genitals.[20] 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.[21] The bronze statue, unveiled on November 29, 1958, is now housed at Gonzalez Hall where the University Library is also located.[22]

Several replicas of Tolentino's Oblation statue were created during the creation of new U.P. campuses, some were made by the National Artist Napoleon Abueva. U.P. Diliman's Oblation statue located in the Oblation Plaza is also a concrete-made replica of Tolentino's.

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 2.2 kilometers (1.4 mi), 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 Mass 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.[23] Additionally, the Academic Oval is planted with over 500 acacia and fire trees.[23][24]

The Alumni Walk was launched in U.P.’s centennial year in 2008. A project of the UPD administration under then-Chancellor Sergio S. Cao, the project sought to transform the inner sidewalk of the Academic Oval into a tile-paved footpath with commemorative slabs bearing UPD alumni-donors’ names, and whose donations went to the UPD Faculty Development Fund.[25] In March 2008, however, the Academic Oval was turned into one-way in order to lessen traffic volume entering the university. According to then vice chancellor for community affairs Cynthia Grace Gregorio, the policy also promotes lessening air pollution by creating biking lanes on the inner side of the circle.[26]

Quezon Hall

Quezon Hall is the seat of administration of both the UP System and UPD, was designed by Juan Nakpil, who has conferred the first National Artist for Architecture title in 1973. He was one of eight children of the Philippine Revolution veterans Julio Nakpil and Gregoria de Jesús (who married the former after the death of her first husband Andrés Bonifacio).[27]

It is the front-most building of the university from University Avenue. It houses many of the administrative offices for the entire university. It is situated behind the Oblation statue as a gateway or entrance position, with four columns supporting the main hall itself. The building is classified as eclectic architecture. Eclectic Architecture can be described as using the elements of different historical styles and multiple theories in a single structure. It is a combination of a variety of influences.

Quezon Hall was among the buildings constructed at the Diliman campus in the early 1950s, following the university's exodus from Padre Faura to Diliman in 1949. An imposing colonial structure at the end of University Avenue, it was completed in 1950.

A marker from the National Historical Institute (NHI) is located on its front lawn along with the oblation statue.

The Carillon Tower and Carillon Plaza as seen from Magsaysay Avenue

The only carillon in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia that is manually played by a clavier or a wooden keyboard, the U.P. Carillon towers about 130 feet tall.[28] The U.P. Carillon was originally constructed in 1940 by National Artist Juan Nakpil, Conservatory of Music director Ramon Tapales and UP President Bienvenido Gonzales with an initial idea of building a concrete structure that may tower the grounds of the university.[29] Several years later, on August 1, 1952, the tower was finished and dedicated as the U.P. Carillon. Forty-eight bells with four octaves were installed by the Dutch carillonneur Adrian Antonisse, with the efforts laid by the U.P. Alumni Association.[29] These bells were forged by Van Bergen Co. in Netherlands and the largest of them weighs five tons, where the total cost of construction summed up to ₱200,000.[30]

Apart from playing the U.P.'s anthem UP Naming Mahal (U.P. Beloved), the carillon tuned many music such as the Magtanim ay Di Biro (Planting Rice, a Filipino folk song) and The Beatles sounds.[30] One of the most important tunings of the carillon was when it played the socialist anthem The Internationale at the 1971 Diliman Commune.[31][32] During this time, U.P. students declared the university as a republic and as a separate entity from the Philippines.[33]

Due to age and rust, the carillon ceased to play in 1981. In 1988, the last symphonies of U.P. Naming Mahal and Push On U.P.! (U.P. Diliman's athletic cheer) from the tower was played during the December's Lantern Parade. Since then, the carillon was never tuned.[28] But as late as 2001, students said that they could hear the rhymes of London Bridge Is Falling Down and Sing a Song of Six Pence, despite the carillion being closed to prevent further mishap.[28]

In 2005, through the collective efforts of the U.P. Alumni Association and various private donors, the U.P. Carillon Restoration Project of the U.P. Centennial Commission launched a fund-raising program to collect ₱20 million to restore the carillon, as a projection of using the tower again in the coming 100th year of the University of the Philippines.[34] After two years, the Project was able to collect ₱14 million which will be used to clean up and repair the tower itself and to replace the bells.[35]

In 2007, the carillon was formally reintroduced to the public after two years of restoration. The original 48 bells were put into archives and were replaced by 36 bells bought from Dutch company Petit & Fritsen for ₱12 million, for which the construction engineers were provided by the Royal Bell Philippines. According to project engineer Matthew Bergers, each bell was made from 80% bronze and 20% an admixture of zinc, magnesium and phosphorus. The largest of these bells weighs 635 kilograms (1,400 lb) and the smallest 14 kilograms (31 lb).[28] The original wood claviers were replaced by heavy-duty oakwood; all bells are designed to hold refurbished steel pipes.[35] Another project engineer, Eduardo Otacan, said that the new bells will have a three-octave range, and can be programmed using computers attached to the clavier.[28]

At the same time, a small amphitheater named Carillon Plaza was constructed at the base of the tower. After about two decades of silence, the U.P. Carillon was heard again during the Lantern Parade of 2007.[28]

The Sunken Garden in U.P. Diliman during the wet months

The Sunken Garden during the summer

The Gen. Antonio Luna Parade Grounds, or commonly known as the Sunken Garden, is a 5-hectare (12-acre) natural depression found on the eastern side of the campus and at the end of the Academic Oval circle. Sunken Garden is enclosed by the UP Diliman Main Library, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy's Department of Psychology, College of Education, Student Activity Center/Vinzons Hall, College of Business Administration, School of Economics and College of Law. The Grounds was originally a property of the UP Reserved Officers' Training Corps when the campus was founded in 1949.[36]

Gen. Antonio Luna Parade Grounds acquired its name Sunken Garden due to its basin-shaped low-level formation that has the deepest point of 65 meters above sea level (contrary to the university's height that is over hundreds of meters above sea level).[37] The Sunken Garden is the venue of the annual U.P. Fair as well as for sports tournaments, including football, frisbee and volleyball. Sometimes, the Department of Military Science and Tactics hold training in the area.[36]

According to local lore, the Sunken Garden sinks by about two inches every year. Though this has not been verified in any study, some have posited reasons for the sinking: one is that it is because of underground trenches over the campus' sewer system that connects to the Marikina Fault Line, an active geologic structure that runs across the east of Metro Manila.[38] Another theory is that the depression was due to the emptying of former streams in the Sunken Garden that were prominent in the 1950s. These streams formerly run from Katipunan Avenue, going to the garden itself and leaves the campus for Commonwealth Avenue.[37]

UP Promenade

Inaugurated in 2018, the UP Promenade is a 120-meter walkway equipped with internet and Wi-Fi capable facilities available for the use of every student and faculty member of the Diliman campus.[39][40][41] Fronting Gonzales Hall (Main Library), it is a 7.5-meter-wide (extending to 16 meters, more or less, at certain portions)-by-120-meter-broad walkway with alcoves, plazas and benches. It is a legacy project donated by Upsilon Sigma Phi as part of an external learning center within the campus.[42][43][44] In the middle of UP Promenade is called the “Freedom Plaza".[44]

The academic arms of the university are called colleges, institutes, or schools. A number of colleges and schools offer a variety of undergraduate, graduate, and diploma programs, while some offer programs only within a specific field. Most institutes offer no degrees whatsoever, but provide research facilities for academic development.

Each college or school is headed by a dean, who is appointed by the U.P. Board of Regents upon the recommendation of the chancellor and the president of the university. The dean acts as the head of the faculty of his college and assumes administrative duties assigned by the Board. The dean has a tenure of three years, which may be extended for up to two terms upon reappointment. The associate dean, on the other hand, assists the dean in the administration of the unit. The tenure of the associate dean is determined by the Board of Regents upon the recommendation of the chancellor and the dean.[53]

Some of U.P. Diliman's academic arms assume the title of "Institute" (such as the Asian Institute of Tourism, and the Institute of Islamic Studies) and function as their own units, with their own departments. Some institutes are within colleges (such as the Institute of Civil Engineering within the College of Engineering). Some of U.P. Diliman's academic arms also assume the title of "School" (such as the School of Economics), which might function independently and have their own departments or which may operate as a unit within a particular college.

U.P. Diliman's institutes are headed by institute directors, who assume the duties assigned by the chancellor. Each director has a tenure of three years, which may be extended for up to two terms upon the reappointment of the chancellor. A director cannot be an academic head of any department or division under his institute. Each college or school is composed of clusters of institutes or departments.

The university's departments are headed by department chairs, who assume the duties assigned by the dean and the chancellor. Each chair is appointed by the chancellor, as recommended by the dean or institute director, and has a tenure of three years, which may be extended for up to two terms upon reappointment.[53]

Some units of the university are known as National Institutes, such as the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. The status of being an institute is determined by the Board of Regents, but recognition as a national institute is governed by Philippine legislation.[54] The head of a national institute, also the director, is not appointed by the chancellor but by the president of the university.[53]

U.P. Diliman is composed of 26 colleges, schools, and institutes. Officially, these are called degree-granting units.[55] The oldest of these colleges is the College of Fine Arts, established in 1908 and originally located in Manila.[56] On the other hand, the first college to operate on the Diliman campus is the College of Music (then Conservatory of Music) in 1949.

Academic performance is rated from 1.00 being excellent to 5.00 as failed. Grades from 1.00 to 3.00 are separated by increments of 0.25, while 3.00 is followed immediately by 4.00 and then 5.00. Some professors use 0.50 as increments instead, and some colleges, particularly the College of Engineering do not give 4.00 grades. A grade of four (4.00) is a conditional grade and a student needs to remove the grade of 4.00 during a prescribed period (usually determined by the college where he/she is enrolled) or else it will become 5.00 once the period has lapsed. A conditional grade can only be removed by a removal exam; if the student passes the exam, he/she will obtain a grade of 3.00; otherwise, it is 5.00. An alternative for 4.00 is the rating of "INC", which means incomplete, and is given to students who have unfinished requirements for a particular subject. If a student drops the subject before the "subject dropping period" his/her record for that subject will be replaced by "DRP".[57][58]

Students who attain a grade point average of 1.20 or better, 1.45 to 1.20, and 1.75 to 1.45 are awarded upon graduation as summa cum laude, magna cum laude and cum laude respectively. Up until 2014, graduation occurred every April and October, with commencement exercises being held only in April. The shift in the academic calendar moved graduation dates to June and December, with commencement exercises being done only during the month of June. U.P. Diliman had an average of 3,190 undergraduates, 627 MS graduates, and 73 Ph.D. students graduating every year. The most number of honor graduates came from the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, followed by the College of Business Administration, College of Engineering, College of Mass Communication and College of Architecture.[59]

The academic year is divided into two semesters, each having at least 16 weeks, excluding the registration period. The first semester starts in August and ends in December, followed by the Christmas holidays. The second semester starts in January, with a semestral break during the Holy Week. There is a short mid-year term from June to July.

The consulting organization and publisher of global academic rankings Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) ranks U.P. Diliman as third among all Philippine universities and 1,758th worldwide.[63]

As of 2018, U.P. Diliman has the most Centers of Excellence of all higher education institutions in the Philippines.[64] The accreditation "Center of Excellence" is awarded by the Philippines' Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to "department[s] within higher education institution[s], which continuously demonstrate excellent performance in the areas of instruction, research and publication, extension and linkages and institutional qualifications."[65]

As part of the University of the Philippines System, U.P. Diliman is also considered as an SUC and the only national university of the Philippines.[66] The nature of the University of the Philippines puts it in a position where it does not need any accreditation by any other local body.[67]

The University of the Philippines Alumni Association announced its launching of a special three-volume U.P.A.A. 2008 Centennial Yearbook on June 21, 2008, at the U.P.A.A. Grand Alumni-Faculty Homecoming and Reunion at the Araneta Coliseum, Cubao, Quezon City. The theme was “U.P. Alumni: Excellence, Leadership, and Service in the Next 100 Years,” with the three cover designs showing the works of national artists Napoleon Abueva, Abdul Imao, and Benedicto Cabrera. Chief Justice Reynato Puno was the yearbook's most distinguished alumnus awardee (among 47 other awardees).[74]