Urdaneta City University

Urdaneta City University is a local university run by the city government of Urdaneta rather than by the national government, which places it in a different category from the state universities and colleges that make up most of public higher education in Pangasinan. It was founded in 1966 by Dr. Pedro T. Orata as the Urdaneta Community College, with the support of Mayor Amadeo R. Perez Jr. and the Sangguniang Bayan, and is recognised as the first community college established in the Philippines. That origin matters to how the institution describes itself: the community college model was intended to open post-secondary education to students in municipalities without a university, funded locally rather than nationally. It has since been converted into a city university. Urdaneta City sits at a major road junction in eastern Pangasinan, and the university shares the city with a campus of Pangasinan State University. Because it is locally funded, its fee position differs from a state university's: Republic Act No. 10931 extends free tuition to local universities and colleges as well as to state institutions, but the details of what a given local college charges outside that coverage are set locally. Confirm directly with the registrar.