THE UST Faculty of Civil Law is the sixth leading law school in the Philippines based on the average performance in Bar examinations held from 2013 to 2024, according to the Legal Education Board (LEB).
Results of the LEB analysis showed UST averaging an 80.09% passing rate across the 11 cycles — the fourth best tally among Metro Manila schools and the fifth best among private higher education institutions.
Faculty of Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina said the rankings reflected the continued commitment to academic excellence of UST, which houses the oldest existing law school in the Philippines.
“Placing sixth among law schools is a recognition of the Faculty of Civil Law’s consistent pursuit of academic excellence, especially considering the evolving standards of legal education and licensure in the country,” Divina, who has been dean since 2009, told the Varsitarian.
Here’s how UST performed in the Bar examinations since 2013:
- 2013 – 63.67%
- 2014 – 59.13%
- 2015 – 82.22%
- 2016 – 96.25%
- 2017 – 89.89%
- 2018 – 71.5%
- 2019 – 77.88%
- 2020-2021 – 93.06%
- 2022 – 79.87%
- 2023 – 85.25%
- 2024 – 80.35%
Ateneo de Davao University had the highest passing rate among the 46 law schools ranked by the LEB within the timeframe, averaging 88.94%.
Two other Jesuit-run schools landed in the top 10: Ateneo de Manila ranked third with an 87.70% average, while Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan placed eighth with a 70.97% rating.
State-funded University of the Philippines registered the second highest average of 88.74%, while San Beda University ranked fourth with an 84.54% average passing rate. Cebu-based University of San Carlos placed fifth with an 83.94% average rating.
Other institutions that figured in the top 10 were the University of Cebu (No. 7; 71.15%), St. Louis University (No. 9; 70.76%), and the city-funded Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (No. 10; 70.46%).
Divina pointed out that the LEB rankings did not account for the number of passers, which was higher for UST compared with other law schools.
“Despite this, our faculty has performed exceptionally well, producing a solid bar passing rate and competitive placers over the years,” he said.
“It also bears stressing that during the relevant rating period, we have narrowed the gap with the other top law school in terms of passing rate,” he added.
In last year’s Bar examinations, UST emerged as the fourth top-performing school, recording an 80.35% passing rate with 139 out of 173 examinees making the cut — including two topnotchers.
The 2023 cycle was historic for UST, as it produced its first Bar topnotcher in over two decades with Ephraim Bie scoring 89.2625% to lead the new roll of lawyers. UST Civil Law placed fifth among the top-performing schools.
LEB’s analysis also showed UST exiting the list of top 10 Bar performers after the pandemic.
From 2015 to 2019, UST averaged an 83.62% passing rate, the fourth highest among Philippine law schools. Starting the pandemic-altered 2020-2021 cycle, however, UST fell out of the top 10 despite averaging an improved 86.88% passing rate.
UST’s Faculty of Civil Law was established in 1734 and has since produced four Philippine presidents: Manuel Quezon, Sergio Osmeña, Jose Laurel, and Diosdado Macapagal.
Six chief justices read the law in UST: Cayetano Arellano, Victorino Mapa, Manuel Araullo, Ramon Avanceña, Roberto Concepcion, and Andres Narvasa.
LEB is the government arm that regulates legal education in the Philippines by supervising law schools, setting academic standards, prescribing curricula, and ensuring quality among legal education institutions.
