Saint Mary’s University

Saint Mary’s University, in the town of Bayombong, roughly 300km from the Filipino capital, Manila, was founded by Catholic missionaries. They began in 1928, by setting up an elementary school for the Christian education of local children; six years later, a high school followed. And, in 1947, they established a higher-education college offering a handful of degrees, as well as teaching certification. 

Though the university has expanded considerably since then, it remains true to its religious roots: it has both a university hymn and a university prayer. 

Undergraduate degrees are offered through four academic schools: accountancy and business; engineering, architecture and information technology; health and natural sciences; and teacher education and humanities.

The university offers’ men and women’s dormitories. 

A range of cocurricular organisations are run by the academic schools to enhance students’ education. These are subject specific organisations, such as the young educators’ club and the association of civil engineering students. Extracurricular societies, by contrast, are open to all students. These include the anime community, the guild of arts and crafts, a band, a choir, a dance troupe and a peer-counselling group.