The short version. The University of Luzon publishes 33 undergraduate programmes, 23 graduate programmes and one associate programme across ten colleges. Roughly half the undergraduate list leads to a PRC board exam. The university publishes a full PACUCOA accreditation table — which is far more useful than the programme list itself — and publishes senior high fees but not college tuition.
For the address, phone number and profile, see our University of Luzon page. This post is about what you can actually study there.
The ten colleges
UL organises itself into ten colleges plus a Graduate School: Hospitality and Tourism Management; Medical Laboratory Science, Pharmacy and Biology; Computer Studies; Nursing and Midwifery; Criminology; Accountancy; Education; Engineering and Architecture; Business Administration; and Liberal Arts. Elementary and secondary schooling runs through the Laboratory School under the College of Education.
Undergraduate programmes, and which end in a licence
This is the split that should drive your choice, so here it is directly.
Leads to a PRC board exam
| Programme | Board exam |
|---|---|
| BS Accountancy | CPA licensure |
| BS Architecture | Architect licensure |
| BS Chemical Engineering | Chemical engineer |
| BS Civil Engineering | Civil engineer |
| BS Computer Engineering | Computer engineer |
| BS Electrical Engineering | Electrical engineer |
| BS Electronics Engineering | Electronics engineer |
| BS Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical engineer |
| BS Criminology | Criminologist licensure |
| BS Nursing | Nurse licensure (NLE) |
| BS Pharmacy | Pharmacist licensure |
| Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science | Medical technologist licensure |
| Bachelor of Elementary Education | LET (elementary) |
| Bachelor of Physical Education | LET (secondary) |
| BSEd — English, Filipino, Mathematics, Science, Social Science, Values Education | LET (secondary) |
No board exam
BA English Language, BA Political Science, BA Psychology, BA Public Administration, BS Business Administration (Business Management, Financial Management, Marketing Management), BS Computer Science, BS Hospitality Management, BS Information Technology, BS Management Accounting, BS Public Administration, and the Associate in Computer Technology major in System Management.
If a licence is the point of your degree, our board exam passing rates by course shows how hard each one is nationally. If it is not, what employers weigh instead is your internship record and portfolio. Criminology and nursing are two of UL's larger and better-accredited programmes, and our nurse licensure exam guide is worth reading before committing to the latter.
Note the pair that catches applicants out: BS Accountancy and BS Management Accounting are not the same thing. Only the first leads to the CPA board. Our BS Accountancy vs Accounting Technology piece covers why that distinction costs people years.
Graduate programmes
Seven doctorates: Doctor of Arts in Educational Management, Doctor in Business Administration, Doctor of Philosophy in Criminal Justice with specialisation, in Development Education, in Language Education and in Mathematics Education, and Doctor of Public Administration.
Sixteen master's programmes, including Master in Business Administration, Master in Information Technology major in Cyber Security, Master in Public Health, Master of Science in Criminal Justice, Master of Arts in Nursing major in Nursing Administration, four non-thesis Master in Education tracks, and Master of Arts in Education in six majors including Guidance and Counseling and Physical Education and Sports Science.
The non-thesis Master in Education options — Educational Leadership, Literacy Education, Mathematics Education, Science Education — are the practical route for working teachers who need the credential rather than the research output.
Read the accreditation table, not the brochure
UL publishes something most Philippine universities keep quiet: a full PACUCOA accreditation table, programme by programme, with levels and validity dates. PACUCOA is recognised by CHED and DepEd, and its levels are a rough proxy for how long a programme has been running well.
| Level | Programmes |
|---|---|
| Level IV | Criminology (2nd re-accredited), Elementary Education, Secondary Education, Liberal Arts, Business Administration, Computer Science, Nursing |
| Level III | MS Criminology, MA Nursing, MA Education, MBA, Master in Public Administration |
| Level II | Hotel and Restaurant Management, Tourism Management, Information Technology |
| Level I | Doctor of Arts, Doctor of Public Administration, Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Business Administration, Master in Public Health, High School, Elementary |
| Candidate status | Accountancy, Accounting Technology, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering |
Two honest observations. First, the engineering and accountancy programmes sit at candidate status, the earliest rung — which does not mean they are bad, but does mean they are less established than criminology or education at this university. Second, several validity dates in the table have already lapsed — a number of the Level IV entries show windows ending in 2023 or 2024, and the doctoral entries show 2019 to 2022. That may simply mean the page has not been updated after re-accreditation. Ask the Registrar for the current status of the specific programme you want rather than assuming either way.
Getting in: no exam, but a Dean decides
UL's undergraduate admission page describes a document-based process, not a test. Applications go to the Office of the Dean of the college you want to study in, and you proceed only after that Dean accepts you.
- Freshmen submit Form 138, a certificate of good moral character signed by the principal or guidance counsellor, and a birth certificate.
- Transferees submit a certificate of transfer credential (honorable dismissal), a certificate of academic or scholastic records — plus RLE records for nursing — and a good moral certificate.
- Cross-enrollees are taken case by case on a written request from their own Dean or Registrar, stating the total units and the specific subjects authorised.
- International students must satisfy the Bureau of Immigration, CHED, NBI and NICA, and submit proof of financial support, authenticated scholastic records, a police clearance from their home country or an NBI clearance if resident here more than 59 days, a quarantine medical examination, and a personal history statement.
Transferring and foreign applicants get a final interview with the Dean. And the page states in capitals that admission to the university does not guarantee admission to a particular programme of study.
There is also a published ineligibility list: applicants who cannot present transfer credentials or were refused admission elsewhere for academic or discipline reasons; those previously expelled from UL; those transferring from schools without a government permit or recognition; and those with highly contagious diseases or mental disorders. That last clause is the university's own wording.
Thinking about moving in mid-degree? Our college transferee guide covers the credit arithmetic that decides whether it is worth it.
Money
Senior high is published, and it is tiered by where you came from.
| You are | Published annual fee |
|---|---|
| Junior high completer from a public school | PHP 2,500 |
| Private school completer with ESC or QVR | PHP 6,000 |
| Private school completer without ESC or QVR | PHP 20,000 |
| Grade 12 transferee, private with ESC or QVR | PHP 6,000 |
| Grade 12 transferee, private without ESC or QVR | PHP 20,000 |
| Grade 12 transferee from a public school | PHP 20,000 |
The gap between PHP 2,500 and PHP 20,000 is entirely about voucher and ESC status, which is worth checking before you assume you cannot afford it. Our SHS voucher programme guide explains who qualifies for which tier.
College tuition is not published. No figure appears anywhere on ul.edu.ph for undergraduate or graduate programmes. Ask the Dean or Registrar for a written assessment.
What is published is a long financial aid list: entrance scholarships at 100% for valedictorians and 50% for salutatorians for one semester; academic scholarships on a sliding scale from 20% at a 91-92 average up to free tuition at 99-100, requiring at least 18 units and no grade below 2.0; student assistantship grants that exempt you from tuition in exchange for work; cultural and athletic scholarships; a 50% discount for children of faculty and staff; sibling discounts; CHED's TES and Tulong Dunong at PHP 7,500 a semester; and three loan schemes including Study Now Pay Later. Our guide to TES vs Tulong Dunong vs free tuition explains which of the government schemes you can hold at once.
Note the fine print on the academic scholarships: they cover tuition only. RLE fees, textbooks and uniforms stay yours.
How to choose a college here
UL is large enough that "should I go to UL" is the wrong question. The right one is "should I take this programme at UL", and the university has handed you the tool to answer it.
Work in this order. First, decide whether you want a licensed profession, because that halves the list immediately. Second, look up your shortlisted programme in the accreditation table above — a Level IV programme has been through several accreditation cycles and survived them; a candidate-status programme has not been through one yet. Third, ask the Dean of that specific college for the last three years of board exam results for the programme, since the university publishes accreditation levels but not pass rates, and a licence-track degree is only as good as the pass rate behind it. Fourth, get the fee assessment in writing, because it is not on the website and the scholarship percentages mean nothing without it.
The pattern that emerges from the accreditation table is worth naming: UL's oldest strengths are criminology, education and liberal arts, all sitting at Level IV, with nursing and computer science joining them. The engineering block is the newest addition and sits at candidate status across the board. Neither fact decides anything on its own, but a Grade 12 student choosing between criminology at UL and civil engineering at UL is choosing between programmes at very different stages of institutional maturity, and should know that before deciding.
Sources
- University of Luzon — Degree Programs
- University of Luzon — Colleges
- University of Luzon — Accreditation Levels
- University of Luzon — Undergraduate Admission
- University of Luzon — Senior Highschool Admission
- University of Luzon — Financial Aid and Scholarship
Looking at other options in the area? Our Dagupan schools listing has them.