TL;DR: UNP runs 16 colleges on one Vigan campus, and the programme spread is wider than most regional state universities: a College of Law, a College of Medicine, sanitary and geodetic engineering, marine biology, library science and a full teacher education stack with its own laboratory schools. The majority of the undergraduate programmes end in a Professional Regulation Commission licence. Entry runs through the UNP College Admission Test, and the scholarship ladder sits on top of state-university tuition coverage.
The University of Northern Philippines is a state university in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. Location, contacts and the basics are on the University of Northern Philippines profile. This guide is about the programme list it publishes, what each cluster leads to, and the two or three offerings you would not expect to find outside Metro Manila.
The programme list, college by college
Everything below is from the university's own programme offering page.
College of Arts and Sciences. BA Communication, BA Political Science, BS Biology (majors in Medical Biology and Plant Biology), BS Environmental Science, BS Marine Biology, BS Mathematics, BS Physics, BS Psychology. Graduate: Master in Statistics.
College of Architecture. BS Architecture, BS Environmental Planning.
College of Business Administration and Accountancy. BSBA (Financial Management, Human Resource Development Management), BS Accountancy, BS Entrepreneurship, BS Cooperative Management. Graduate: Doctor of Business Administration, Master of Business Administration.
College of Criminal Justice Education. BS Criminology. Graduate: MS Criminal Justice with specialisation in Criminology.
College of Communication and Information Technology. BS Computer Science, BS Information Technology, Bachelor of Library and Information Science (Academic Librarianship).
College of Engineering. BS Civil Engineering (Structural, Transportation, Construction and Management), BS Geodetic Engineering, BS Sanitary Engineering.
College of Fine Arts and Design. BS Interior Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting, Visual Communication).
College of Health Sciences. BS Emergency Health Services, Bachelor in Medical Laboratory Science, BS Midwifery.
College of Law. Bachelor of Laws.
College of Medicine. Doctor of Medicine.
College of Nursing. BS Nursing. Graduate: Master of Arts in Nursing.
College of Social Work. BS Social Work.
College of Public Administration. Bachelor of Public Administration. Graduate: Master of Public Administration, plus a doctorate listed with tracks in Governmental Administration, Local Government, Police Administration and Culture-Based Governance.
College of Teacher Education. BSEd (Science, English, Filipino, Mathematics, Social Studies), Bachelor of Physical Education, BEEd, Bachelor of Early Childhood Education, Bachelor of Special Needs Education (Generalists), Bachelor of Technology and Livelihood Education (Home Economics, Industrial Arts), Bachelor of Technical-Vocational Teacher Education (Electronics Technology, Food Service Management). Graduate: MA Livelihood Education, MS Teaching Chemistry, MA Teaching Physics, MA Education (Educational Management), MA Mathematics Education.
College of Technology. BS Industrial Technology (Automotive, Electrical, Electronics), BS Mechatronics and Automation Technology.
College of Hospitality and Tourism Management. BS Hospitality Management, BS Tourism Management.
ETEEAP. BS Business Administration, BS Nursing.
The three things worth noticing
Law and medicine on a regional campus. A College of Law and a College of Medicine on the same provincial campus is rare. For a student from Ilocos, it means the professional ladder does not require relocating to Manila. Both are postgraduate-entry programmes, so they sit outside the undergraduate scholarship and tuition rules described later.
Sanitary and geodetic engineering. The College of Engineering deliberately does not run the common set. Instead of mechanical and electrical, it runs civil, geodetic and sanitary. All three are PRC-licensed. Geodetic and sanitary engineering are offered by comparatively few schools nationally, and both feed directly into government infrastructure and public works employment, which is a straightforward career line in a provincial setting. Our engineering courses list covers how these differ.
Marine biology and environmental science, not just biology. BS Marine Biology and BS Environmental Science are named degrees, not majors buried inside BS Biology, and BS Biology itself splits into Medical Biology and Plant Biology. That is a serious science spread for a regional university, and it matters if you are choosing between a general biology degree elsewhere and a specialised one here.
Which programmes lead to a licence
This is the practical filter for most applicants. A licensed programme has a PRC exam at the end that decides whether you can practise.
| Cluster | Licensed programmes | Exam |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture and design | BS Architecture, BS Environmental Planning, BS Interior Design | Architect, Environmental Planner, Interior Designer |
| Business | BS Accountancy | CPA Licensure Examination |
| Engineering | Civil, Geodetic, Sanitary | Respective engineering board exams |
| Health | Medical Laboratory Science, Midwifery, Nursing, Doctor of Medicine | MedTech, Midwife, Nurse, Physician |
| Public safety and social services | BS Criminology, BS Social Work | Criminologist, Social Worker |
| Information | Bachelor of Library and Information Science | Librarian Licensure Examination |
| Education | Every BSEd, BEEd, BECEd, BPEd, BSNEd, BTLEd and BTVTEd programme | Licensure Examination for Teachers |
| Law | Bachelor of Laws | Philippine Bar Examination |
Not licensed: BA Communication, BA Political Science, BS Mathematics, BS Physics, BS Biology and its majors, BS Marine Biology, BS Environmental Science, BSBA, BS Entrepreneurship, BS Cooperative Management, BS Computer Science, BS Information Technology, Fine Arts, Emergency Health Services, Public Administration, Industrial Technology, Mechatronics, Hospitality and Tourism Management.
BS Psychology sits in between: it is not licensed at bachelor's level, but it is the required foundation for the psychometrician exam and, with a master's, the psychologist exam.
If the licence is the point of the degree, ask the college for its most recent passing rate before you enrol. Our guide on reading board exam passing rates explains what a headline percentage does and does not tell you, and why the first-time-taker figure is the only one worth comparing between schools.
Getting in, and what it costs
Entry runs through the UNP College Admission Test. The university confirms it by name in its scholarship rules, which award a 100 percent tuition discount to the top three passers. Admission Services is at [email protected].
On cost: UNP is a state university, and tuition at state universities and colleges is covered for qualified Filipino undergraduates under the free higher education law. That covers tuition and some fees, not living costs, not everything on the assessment, and not postgraduate or law programmes. Our free tuition guide sets out what is and is not covered, and the list of state universities puts UNP in context.
On top of that, the university publishes an unusually detailed scholarship ladder:
- Entrance Scholar: valedictorian, 100 percent of tuition; salutatorian, 75 percent
- University Scholar: average of 1.25 or better with nothing below 1.75, 100 percent of all fees except the trust fund
- College Scholar: average 1.26 to 1.75 with nothing below 2.0, 100 percent of tuition
- Dean's List: average 1.76 to 2.0 with nothing below 2.5, 50 percent of tuition
- BS Physics Scholar: 100 percent of all fees except the trust fund
- Study privileges for the college choir, marching band, dance troupe, athletes by category, ROTC cadet officers, student council officers and the campus paper staff, scaled by role
The rules attached are worth reading before you apply. You may hold only one grant per term. A grade of 5.0 disqualifies you from any privilege. Applications must be filed before enrolment, or at latest one month after enrolment closes, and are renewed every term.
The graduate side, and the ETEEAP route
The graduate offering is not an afterthought. It runs a Doctor of Business Administration and an MBA in business, an MS in Criminal Justice, an MA in Nursing, a Master in Statistics, a Master in Public Administration, and five separate master's programmes inside teacher education alone, including MS Teaching Chemistry and MA Teaching Physics. For a working teacher in Ilocos who needs a master's for promotion, that concentration is the practical reason to look here rather than online.
Separately, the university runs the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program for BS Business Administration and BS Nursing. ETEEAP awards a degree on assessment of prior learning and documented work experience rather than full classroom attendance. It is not a shortcut and it is not open to everyone: you need substantial relevant work history and a portfolio that survives assessment. But for an experienced practitioner without the paper, it is the legitimate route, and only a limited set of universities are authorised to run it.
The laboratory schools
The College of Teacher Education runs laboratory schools covering childminding, Kinder 1 and 2, grade school, junior high and senior high, with STEM, HUMSS and ABM at senior high level. If you are looking at basic education in Vigan rather than a degree, that is the entry point. Other options in the city are on the schools in Vigan page.
Sources
- University of Northern Philippines, Program Offering page (unp.edu.ph/program-offering)
- University of Northern Philippines, Scholarships and Financial Assistance Program page
- University of Northern Philippines, Colleges index and contact directory
- SchoolFinderPH directory record for the University of Northern Philippines