November 30, 2015, 12:49p.m. – EIGHTEEN master’s programs of the UST Graduate School are set to obtain the highest accreditation status from a national quality assurance body for private higher education institutions.
According to the UST website, the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (Pacucoa) will recognize the following 12 Master of Arts (MA) programs with the Level IV status: MA in Development Studies, Economics, Education, English Language Studies, Guidance and Counseling, History, Hospital Administration, Literature, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, and Public Administration.
Six Master of Science (MS) programs will also be accredited at Level IV: MS in Biology, Biology Education, Chemistry, Mathematics Education, Microbiology, and Pharmacy.
UST’s Master in Business Administration (MBA) and MA in Library Science will retain their Level III status.
In a letter to Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. dated Nov. 5, Pacucoa said UST had the most number of accredited programs in Metro Manila, as well as the most number of programs with Levels III and IV or the highest levels of accreditation.
Before the Level IV grant to the Graduate School programs, UST had a total of 31 programs accredited by Pacucoa. Eleven programs have Level IV status, while six have Level III accreditation.
UST will receive the awards during Pacucoa’s 26th general assembly and awarding ceremonies on Tuesday, Dec. 1.
According to Pacucoa, academic programs granted the coveted Level IV status have prestige and authority comparable with similar programs in notable foreign universities. Level IV programs will have full autonomy from government regulators for the duration of the Level IV accredited status, which is until 2019.
The UST Graduate School, established in 1938, has 62 graduate programs. Its MBA program has the largest number of students with a total of 223 enrollees last semester. Jerome P. Villanueva and Dayanara T. Cudal
