Philippine Studies is an academic discipline encompassing the study of Filipino society and culture and its constituent ethnolinguistic groups. The Tri-College Ph.D. Philippine Studies Program is jointly offered by the Asian Center (AC), the College of Arts and Letters (CAL), and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP) of the University of the philippines Diliman.

The program seeks to problematize the distinct identity of Filipinos, produce specialists capable of identifying and studying Philippine programs using multi- and interdisciplinary approaches and methodologies, expose students to different disciplinal perspectives, and impart a holistic approach to Philippine problems.

Philippine Studies Council

The Tri-College program is headed by the Tri-College Council, which consists of the deans of the Asian Center, College of Arts and Letters, and College of Social Sciences and Philosophy; coordinators from each college; and the head of the Secretariat.

Deans

Bernadette Abrera, PhD, Dean, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (current chair)
Henelito A. Sevilla, Jr. PhD, Dean, Asian Center
Jimmuel C. Naval, PhD, Dean, College of Arts and Letters

Coordinators

Noel Christian Moratilla, PhD (Asian Center)
Nancy Kimuell Gabriel, PhD (College of Arts and Letters)
Lou Angeli Ocampo, PhD (College of Social Sciences and Philosophy)

Secretariat

Maria Dulce F. Natividad, PhD (Head)
Julie Ann dela Paz (Staff)

History of the Program

The Tri-College Ph.D. Philippine Studies Program traces its roots to two Diliman-based Ph.D. programs, instituted by the Asian Center and the then College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). In 1983, CAS split into three colleges. Two of the colleges that emerged, namely the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, continued to offer the degree separately.

In 1983, the UP Board of Regents initiated steps to integrate the three programs. A single curriculum with the same core courses for all three colleges was developed and instituted in 1993, but administered by each college separately, although the colleges coordinated in selected aspects of program administration. In 2000, a new initiative was launched by then Chancellor Emerlinda Roman to effect the full integration of the program under a single administrative structure. In 2004, the Tri-College Ph.D. Philippine Studies Program was established.

The Asian Center serves as the Secretariat of the Program.

Overview

Students are required to complete the following to be awarded the PhD:

• • • Core Courses: 9 units (3 courses)
    • Major Area: 12 units (4 courses)
    • Cognates: 9 units (3 courses)
    • Electives: 6 units (2 courses)
    • Qualifying Exam
    • Comprehensive Exam
    • Dissertation: 12 units (equivalent to four courses)
    • Language proficiency if applicable (see below)

Core Courses

All PhD students regardless of topic/field/dissertation must take the following courses:

• Philippine Studies (PS) 301
• Philippine Studies (PS) 302
• Philippine Studies (PS) 399

Majors, Cognates and Electives

What these are will depend on, among others, your dissertation topic, and will be determined once you are accepted in the program in consultation with your program adviser. Generally speaking, these courses can be taken in any unit across the university. View the course catalogs of each college.  MA-level courses of the UP Asian Center can be found here (Asian Studies or Philippine Studies). 

Academic Requirements: Beyond Coursework

Apart from coursework, the PhD program mandates the following

• Minimum General Weighted Average. The student must obtain  a general weighted average of 1.75 in the three core courses to be able to take the qualifying examinations. To remain in good standing, the student should maintain a commulative weighted average grade (CWAG) of 1.75 or better at the end of each academic year until completion of the Program of Study
  
  
• Language Examination. When necessary for the research proposal and as determine by the students program committee, the student will take a proficiency examination in a pertinent foreign and / or Philippine language  to be administered by an appropriate language department.
  
  
• Qualifying Examination. The student should pass a qualifying examination after completion of the core courses. Core courses should be taken within the first three semesters following the admission.
  
  
• Candidacy Examination. The candidacy examination is a sit down examination to be taken in two to three sessions based on the students' discipline or area(s) of study jointly prepared by a panel of examiners.
  
  
• Dissertation Proposal Defense. Upon advancement to candidacy, the student shall defend his/her disseratation proposal before the dissertation adviser and two readers of the committee.
  
  
• Oral Defense of Dissertation. The student shall defend his/her dissertation before a committee composed of the adviser, two reader-critics, and two members, at least one of whom was a member of the dissertation proposal committee.

• MA or MS degree from a recognized institution of learning

• Grade weighted average of 1.75 or better (MA)

• Letter of application for admission addressed to the Chair, Philippine Studies Council, UP Diliman.

• Original AND Photocopy of transcript of records (TOR) of undergraduate and graduate studies (Transcript must comply with the following guidelines).

• Three (3) letters of recommendation from former professors or experts from the applicant's discipline(s) /areas(s) of study (Download Recommendation Form)

• Duly accomplished Personal Data Form (Word • PDF)

• A two-page description of the proposed dissertation with a multi-disciplinal orientation to be presented to the Admissions Committee (Download Proposal Form)

• Application fee of PhP 100 for Filipino Students and US$ 25 for foreign applicants (See "Application Fee: Payments" tab for procedures and billing statements).

• Two (2) passport-sized photos

• NSO Birth Certificate: Original and photocopy

• NSO Marriage Certificate: Original and photocopy (for married female applicants)*

• GWA Computation Form (see formula in 'Application Process' tab)

International applicants should contact the Tri-College Secretariat for additional requirements.

*For this form, please fill out the following fields: Payor and Date. If there are problems with the forms, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

How to Apply

How to Apply: PhD Program

1. Send soft copy of requirements to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (cc: Mr. Abel Golondrina at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) as one zip file on or before the deadline. File name of the zip file must be formatted thus: Navarro, Mara V.zip. See file naming guide below.
   
   

2. The original documents should be submitted personally, by a representative, or via courier of your choice. Original and authentic documents are important to submit for verification and evaluation purposes. Address the documents to Mr. Abel Golondrina, TriCollege Staff.

   • Hall of Wisdom, GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Center, Magsaysay Avenue cor. Katipunan Avenue,  University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 1101

3. Online interviews (via Zoom) of shortlisted candidates will be conducted. Kindly make sure you have a registered/authenticated (i.e., you used a verified email address to sign up) Zoom account by then. Also, please make sure you have filled out the online application form above so that you can be notified of the/your schedule (s).
   
   
4. All applicants will be notified of the results. Accepted applicants await further instructions/updates.

File Naming Guide: PhD

For faster processing, except for the Passport photo (jpg or png) and GWA Computation Form, all files must be sent as PDF (and in one zip file) and must be named thus:

• 01 Letter of Application - Last Name, Given Name

• 02 Transcript of Records Undergrad - Last Name, Given Name
• 03 Transcript of Records Masters - Last Name, Given Name
• 04 CV - Last Name, Given Name
• 05 Personal Data Form - Last Name, Given Name
• 06 Passport Photo - Last Name, Given Name
• 07 Birth  Certificate - Last Name, Given Name
• 08 Dissertation Proposal - Last Name, Given Name
• 09 Marriage Certificate - Last Name, Given Name (For Married Female Applicants only)
• 10 GWA Computation Form Undergrad and Masters - Last Name, Given Name (One sheet each for undergrad and masters; one sheet per degree, but only 1 Excel file will be submitted; please refer to "Application Forms" tab to download the GWA Computation Form.

GWA Computation

To get GWA, multiply each grade in your course by the number of units for that course. Add all the results of each of these, then divide the sum by the total number of units (excluding PE and NSTP). View sample computation.

Recommendation Forms

Kindly ask the person recommending you to fill out the form and email it directly to the Tri-College Secretariat. File name should be: Recommendation_LastName_GivenName. (Name of student). But please secure hard copies of the recommendation forms—still sealed—and send it to the Tri-College Secretariat on or before the deadline. You may coordinate with the TCS  regarding this matter. 

If you already have them, do not open and scan the recommendation forms. They will be submitted—still sealed—later on. 

Submission Guidelines: PhD

All items in the file naming guide—except 07 and 09—must be submitted online by the deadline. But if you already have items 07 and 09, please include them in your online submission by the deadline. It is strongly recommended, however, that you already have these documents by the time you apply.

Applicants who are yet to submit these three items may still be shortlisted and interviewed online. However, applicants endorsed for admission to the Office of the University Registrar must submit later on to the Admissions and Registration Section (ARS) of the OUR original hard copies of the following: 

• • • PSA Birth Certificate (BC)
    • PSA Marriage Certificate (if applicable)
    • Certificate of Transfer Credentials (for applicants from non-UP Diliman universities)
    • Transcript of Records (marked with "Copy for UP Diliman)

The deadline for the submission of these original hard-copy documents to the OUR will be given to you by the Office of the College Secretary. These requirements are part of longer list of documents necessary to formalize one's admissions into the university (See University Admissions Slip tab). Non-compliance may affect your ability to register for classes. Please coordinate with the Office of the College Secretary regarding this matter. Any updates regarding deadlines and other procedures will be emailed to you.

Application Deadlines

• For Second Semester, Academic Year 2023–2024 (January/February 2023 intake): 11 December 2023, 5PM

• For other semesters, please sign up below and choose the application deadlines for the semester (s) you wish to apply.

EMAIL ME WHEN THE DEADLINES ARE ANNOUNCED

1. Please fill out the Application Fee Billing Statement (see below)

2. Deposit the amount to the UPD Revolving Fund (Account No. 3072-1006-96) through any of the following payment methods.

a. Payment using Landbank Linkbiz: 
 https://bit.ly/StepsforPaymentthruLinkbiz


b. Online Payment Transaction: https://bit.ly/OnlineBankTransfer

c. Direct Bank Payment: https://bit.ly/DirectBankPayment

3. Send your proof of payment (deposit/payment slip) and billing statement to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and cc UP Cash Office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.*

Billing Statement

• Billing Statement for Payment of Application Fee*: PDF | Excel
• Billing Statement for Payment of Application Fee (International Applicants)*: PDF | Excel

Payment Guide

GCash

View process: https://bit.ly/gcashupd

LinkBiz

 View Steps or click https://bit.ly/StepsforPaymentthruLinkbiz


• • • Account number pertains the account number of the payor.
    • Account code is the account number of the UPD Revolving Fund, which can be seen when you generate the payment slip via CRS (see "registration tab). This is for registration-related transactions via CRS (tuition, dropping, residence, LOA, etc),

Other non-enrollment/non-CRS transactions (see non-CRS tab) may require a different account code, which will depend on the SOA/Billing Statement that will be issued to you by the office you're contacting. Please coordinate with them as necessary.

UPD Cash Office

The UP Diliman Cash Office is now accommodating face-to-face transactions for tuition and registration payments (Form 5/ChangeMat/AddMat/Dropping/LOA).

The location is at the PNB Building.

For other questions and concerns, you may contact the UPD Cash Office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and at 8981-8500 local # 2760.

• Tuition fees for Asian Center-offered courses: PhP 500.00 per unit (PhP 1,500 for a three-unit course)
• Tution fees for non-Asian Center courses (CAL or CSSP): PhP 500 (PhP 1,500 for a three-unit course)
• Library Fee: PhP 1,200
• Athletics: 75
• Registration fee: 40
• Medical: 50
• Cultural: 50
• Student Fund: 50
  

To view scholarships for PhD research and dissertation writing, view the Tuition and Financing page.

Visit the Thesis and Dissertation page to see the list of dissertations. The General Rules on Graduate Programs (pp. 11–14) discusses the following:

Forms:

• • TriCollege Approval Sheet: PDF
  • TriCollege Dissertation Title and Permissions Pages: PDF

To learn more about the dissertation writing, including forms and applicable policies, please visit the Thesis and Dissertation tab of the Student Corner.

• Office: Room 203, Hall of Wisdom
• Telefax: 63.2.8981.8500 local 3578
• Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Address: Room 203, Hall of Wisdom, GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Center, University of the Philippines Diliman

Vicinity Map

Please note that vehicles entering the GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Center grounds can only do so via the gate on Magsaysay Avenue that is near a UP guardhouse and a few meters away from Katipunan Avenue. A small gate for pedestrians on Guerrero St., which lies across the College of Law parking lot and a few meters away from a waiting shed, where the Ikot jeepney, and jeepneys from Philcoa and SM North pass by.  View an entire map of the UP Diliman campus.