ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS for Bachelor’s Degree Programs

The University of the Philippines in its commitment to the pursuit of academic excellence and in light of its mandate as the national university seeks to democratize admission into the University through the UP Admission Index (UPAI). The UPAI aims for a greater geographic distribution as well as socio-economic equity among the students admitted to UP while maintaining high academic standards.

Admission into a bachelor’s degree program is covered by the following guidelines:

1.     Graduates of Department of Education-accredited high schools may be admitted as freshmen into the University based on their performance in the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) and their weighted average in the first three (3) years of high school.

2.     Applicants who are holders of the Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT) Certificate, in lieu of a high school diploma, may be admitted to the University provided they qualify in the UPCAT.

3.     Applicants who graduated from high schools abroad and who have not enrolled in college may be admitted as beginning freshmen into a degree programs with available slots without taking the UPCAT; provided, that they meet the following requirements:

·       Completion of the high school program in the country where they had their education. (Includes the completion of one or two-year university education in a country where such is a prerequisite for admission to a bachelor’s degree program).

·       Passing a college-qualifying national or international foreign-administered examination such as the

·       General Certificate of Education (GCE) Examination or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or equivalent examination:

·       GCE: 3 ordinary levels passes and 2 advance level passes

·       SAT: minimum total score of 1200

·       IBE: International Baccalaureate Diploma; and

·       In the case of an applicant whose native language or whose medium of instruction in the secondary school is not English, a minimum score of 500 in the paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or a minimum score of 173 in the computerized form.

4.     A graduate from a high school abroad who fails to satisfy the requirements for automatic admission (i.e., item b above) may take the UPCAT.

5.     A Filipino who graduates from a secondary school abroad and applies for freshman admission to the University must satisfy the same requirements as those for foreign students.