How many colleges does Silliman University have?

Silliman lists ten colleges (Agriculture, Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Computer Studies, Education, Engineering and Design, Law, Mass Communication, Nursing, and Performing and Visual Arts), plus a Divinity School, a School of Basic Education, a School of Public Affairs and Governance, a Medical School, and three institutes covering clinical laboratory sciences, environmental and marine sciences, and rehabilitative sciences.

Does Silliman University require an entrance exam?

Not for every programme. Silliman admission page says applicants to Accountancy, Architecture, Engineering, Nursing, Nutrition and Dietetics, Physical Therapy, and the Environmental and Marine Sciences programmes must pass a Qualifying Examination and an interview. Medical Technology, Sociology, Anthropology, Geology and Biology are listed as interview only. Other programmes may still require a passing qualifying exam score where a CHED memorandum order calls for one.

What grade average do you need to get into Silliman?

The published baseline is a Grade 12 general average of at least 80 percent. Silliman lists a higher bar of at least 85 percent for Accountancy, Architecture and Engineering, and for English, Computer Studies, Literature, Medical Technology, Nursing, Nutrition and Dietetics, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, and Public Affairs and Governance.

Does Silliman University publish its tuition?

Yes. Silliman is unusual among Philippine private universities in publishing an Estimated Tuition and Fees page that breaks costs down by programme, year level and semester, alongside a separate basic education table labelled SY 2026-2027. Always read the figure for your exact programme and year rather than a headline average.

Does Silliman have a medical school and a law school?

Yes. The Medical School confers the Doctor of Medicine and the College of Law confers the Juris Doctor. Both are listed as separate academic units with their own admission requirements, and both are entered after a bachelor degree rather than straight from senior high school.

Does Silliman offer Occupational Therapy?

Yes, through the Institute of Rehabilitative Sciences, which lists both BS Physical Therapy and BS Occupational Therapy. BSOT does not appear on the consolidated Academic Offerings list, so if you are choosing between the two, check the institute page and the fee schedule rather than the summary list.

What is the difference between the ABM and Non-ABM business curricula?

Silliman lists most College of Business Administration programmes twice, once for graduates of the ABM senior high strand and once for graduates of other strands. The degree conferred is the same; the difference is the curriculum map, because non-ABM entrants pick up business foundation subjects that ABM graduates already took in senior high.

Courses Offered at Silliman University

Silliman University publishes its complete programme list in one place, which is more than most Philippine universities do. The list is grouped by academic unit, and fourteen of those units run undergraduate degrees: nine colleges, the Divinity School, the School of Public Affairs and Governance, and three institutes. The College of Law and the Medical School sit on top of that with the Juris Doctor and the Doctor of Medicine.

This post reproduces what the university itself publishes, unit by unit, and then covers the part that trips applicants up: Silliman does not admit everyone on the same terms. Your senior high general average and whether you sit a qualifying exam both depend on which programme you name. If you want the address, contacts and campus overview, that lives on the Silliman University profile.

Undergraduate programmes by academic unit

College of Agriculture

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Business
Bachelor of Science in Agriculture major in Agronomy
Bachelor of Science in Agriculture major in Animal Science

College of Arts and Sciences

This is the largest single unit by programme count and it carries both the humanities and most of the pure sciences.

Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology
Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing
Bachelor of Arts in English Language Studies
Bachelor of Arts in Filipino
Bachelor of Arts in History
Bachelor of Arts in Literary and Cultural Studies
Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy (a six-year variant for scholars is listed separately)
Bachelor of Arts in Physics
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology
Bachelor of Science in Biology
Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with Certificate in Chemical Technology
Bachelor of Science in Geology
Bachelor of Science in Mathematics
Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy
Bachelor of Science in Physics
Bachelor of Science in Psychology
Bachelor of Science in Social Work

Two things are worth flagging here. Silliman offers both a BA and a BS in Physics, which is rare, and the chemistry degree bundles a Certificate in Chemical Technology into the same four years. Note also that Pharmacy, Psychology and Social Work in this list lead to licensure exams while the rest of the college's science degrees do not.

College of Business Administration

Silliman lists nearly every business programme twice, once for ABM senior high graduates and once for non-ABM graduates. The degree is identical; the curriculum map differs because non-ABM entrants take business foundation subjects that ABM graduates already covered.

Bachelor of Science in Accountancy
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Business Analytics
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Business Economics
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Financial Management
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Human Resource Management
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Marketing Management
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Operations Management
Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship
Bachelor of Science in Office Systems Administration

College of Computer Studies

Bachelor of Library and Information Science
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
Bachelor of Science in Information Systems
Bachelor of Science in Information Technology

College of Education

Bachelor of Elementary Education
Bachelor of Early Childhood Education
Bachelor of Special Needs Education
Bachelor of Physical Education
Bachelor of Secondary Education major in English, Filipino, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, or Values Education
Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics

Nutrition and Dietetics sitting under Education rather than a health sciences unit is a Silliman quirk. It is a licensure programme, so check the college placement when you file rather than assuming it lives with the allied health courses.

College of Engineering and Design

Bachelor of Science in Architecture
Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering
Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Five engineering and design programmes is a narrower offering than the big Manila and Cebu engineering schools carry. If your target is a field Silliman does not run, such as chemical, electronics, industrial or geodetic engineering, you will need to look elsewhere in the region.

College of Mass Communication

Bachelor of Mass Communication
Bachelor of Mass Communication major in Broadcasting

College of Nursing

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Nursing is one of the programmes that requires both a higher grade average and a qualifying exam plus interview. Our BS Nursing guide covers what the CHED programme standards require nationally.

College of Performing and Visual Arts

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art
Bachelor of Music in Music Composition
Bachelor of Music in Music Education
Bachelor of Music in Music Performance major in Voice, Piano, or Choral Conducting
Bachelor of Music major in Music Therapy
Bachelor of Performing Arts major in Speech and Theatre

Music Therapy is genuinely uncommon in the Philippines and it is one of the reasons students travel to Dumaguete for this college.

Divinity School

Bachelor of Liturgy and Church Music
Bachelor of Theology major in Pastoral Ministry

Institute of Clinical Laboratory Sciences

Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology

Medical Technology is housed in its own institute rather than under Arts and Sciences. See our BS Medical Technology guide for the national picture on internship and the licensure exam.

Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences

Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science
Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology

This is the unit Silliman is best known for outside the Philippines. It also runs the coastal resource management certificates and diplomas at graduate level. Our BS Marine Biology guide explains what the degree covers and what it does and does not qualify you to do.

Institute of Rehabilitative Sciences

Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy
Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy

Note the mismatch: the institute page and the published fee schedule both carry BS Occupational Therapy, but the consolidated Academic Offerings list shows only Physical Therapy. If OT is your target, work from the institute page and confirm with the admissions office, because the institute also published a restriction for SY 2026-2027 barring shiftees, transferees and second-coursers from BSOT.

School of Public Affairs and Governance

Bachelor of Science in Foreign Affairs
Bachelor of Science in Public Administration

Professional and graduate programmes

The College of Law confers the Juris Doctor. The Medical School confers the Doctor of Medicine. Both are post-baccalaureate and both have their own application packets separate from the general university admission form.

At master's level, Silliman runs programmes out of Agriculture, Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Computer Studies, Education, Engineering and Design, Nursing, Performing and Visual Arts, the Divinity School, the Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences, and the School of Public Affairs and Governance. The heaviest concentrations are in psychology, nursing, theology and the marine and environmental sciences, where the university lists master's degrees in coastal resource management, environmental policy, environmental science and marine biology, plus a double-degree research master's in marine ecosystems and governance.

Doctoral offerings include PhDs in English and Literature, Psychology (clinical and socio-organizational), Education, Nursing, Marine Biology, Public Administration and Social Science, plus the Doctor of Education, Doctor of Public Administration and Doctor of Theology.

Which programmes are hardest to get into

Silliman publishes its admission bar plainly, and it is programme-specific. From the admission procedures page for SY 2026-2027:

Requirement	Programmes it applies to
Grade 12 general average of at least 80%	Baseline for all applicants
General average of at least 85%	Accountancy, Architecture, Engineering; also English, Computer Studies, Literature, Medical Technology, Nursing, Nutrition and Dietetics, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Public Affairs and Governance
Qualifying exam and interview	Accountancy, Architecture, Engineering, Nursing, Nutrition and Dietetics, Physical Therapy, Environmental and Marine Sciences
Interview only	Medical Technology, Sociology, Anthropology, Geology, Biology

Everything else may still carry a qualifying examination where a CHED memorandum order for that programme requires one. Silliman does not publish the qualifying exam coverage, item count or passing score, so treat any number you see quoted elsewhere as unverified. For how this compares with the big national entrance tests, see our comparison of Philippine college entrance exams.

The application itself runs through the university online admission portal. Applicants upload documents, wait for department-level assessment, then send original hard copies to the Admissions Office in Hibbard Hall before a Notice of Acceptance and student ID number are issued. A down payment of ₱6,500.00 is required before the enrolment record unlocks. Standard supporting documents are the Grade 12 report card, certificates of good moral character from both school and community, a PSA birth certificate, a passport photo, and a medical certificate issued by the university clinic after chest X-ray, CBC, urinalysis and dental examination. Our college admission requirements checklist covers the documents that recur across schools.

What Silliman publishes about cost, and what it does not

Silliman is one of the few private universities in the country that puts a real fee table online rather than a "contact us" form. The Estimated Tuition and Fees page breaks costs down by programme, year level and semester, and includes a separate column for foreign students in the basic education table, which is labelled SY 2026-2027.

Because the table is per programme and per year, there is no single Silliman tuition figure. First-year first-semester amounts on the published table vary widely by course, with the laboratory-heavy health and engineering programmes at the top and several arts and social science programmes well below them. Read the row for your exact programme and year level, and check the midyear and summer term columns separately, since some programmes carry required summer subjects that others do not.

The university also publishes a schedule of fees, dormitory and board rates, and payment scheme options on the same section of the site. What it does not publish in the same place is a per-programme breakdown of laboratory and internship fees. The Pharmacy row, for example, carries an explicit note that the internship fee is to be determined by the department. Budget for that gap rather than assuming the table is the full cost.

Before you file

Three practical points that come out of the university's own pages:

Choose ABM or non-ABM correctly on the business application. Filing under the wrong track means a different curriculum map and possibly a longer path to graduation.
If your programme requires the qualifying exam, the department assesses you before the Admissions Office does. The department-level review is where programme-specific requirements are enforced, so contact the department directly if anything in your record is unusual.
Confirm anything you cannot see on a Silliman page. The Occupational Therapy gap above is a good example of why a programme list on an aggregator site is not a substitute for the school's own page. If you are still shortlisting schools, our guide on how to choose a school in the Philippines sets out what to compare beyond the course list.

Sources

Silliman University, Academic Offerings (undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate programme lists) — https://su.edu.ph/academics/academic-offerings/
Silliman University, Academic Units — https://su.edu.ph/academics/
Silliman University, Institute of Rehabilitative Sciences — https://su.edu.ph/schools-colleges/institute-of-rehabilitative-sciences/
Silliman University, Admission Procedures and Requirements (SY 2026-2027) — https://su.edu.ph/admissions/admission-procedures/
Silliman University, Estimated Tuition and Fees — https://su.edu.ph/costs/estimated-tuition-fees/