Ateneo de Manila University

Ateneo de Manila University (Filipino: Pamantasang Ateneo de Manila; Spanish: Universidad Ateneo de Manila), commonly referred to as Ateneo de Manila or Ateneo, is a private, Catholic, teaching and research university, and a basic education institution located in Quezon City, Philippines. Established in 1859 by the Jesuits, it is among the oldest Jesuit-administered institutions of higher education in the Asia-Pacific.
Ateneo de Manila is widely regarded as one of the leading universities in the Philippines, offering primary and secondary education, as well as undergraduate and graduate programs in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, and business. The university provides professional degrees through the Graduate School of Business, the School of Government, the School of Medicine and Public Health, and Ateneo Law School. It follows a Jesuit tradition of liberal arts education, emphasizing the humanities at all educational levels.
The Jesuits first established Colegio de San Jose (College of St. Joseph) seminary in 1605. The Jesuits were later banished from the Philippines in 1768 by royal decree of King Charles III of Spain. The college was then placed under the control of the Dominicans. The Jesuits returned to the Philippines in the 19th century following their expulsion from Spanish lands in the late 18th century, and were tasked with managing a small public school in Manila called the Escuela Municipal in 1859, renaming it the Ateneo Municipal in 1865.
Initially situated in Intramuros, the school, which forcibly became privatized in 1902 at the start of the American colonization, was renamed into Ateneo de Manila to reflect the transition and moved to Padre Faura Street, Ermita, Manila, after the original campus was destroyed by fire in 1932. However, the new campus was then destroyed during the Battle of Manila by Japanese forces in 1945. Post-World War II, in 1952, the university relocated to its present campus in Loyola Heights, Quezon City, and eventually sold the Ermita site (now Robinsons Manila).
Fr. Pacífico Ortíz, SJ became the first Filipino president of the university in 1959 and again for his second term on September 25, 1969. During his tenure, the Graduate School was divided into the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and what would later become the Graduate School of Business. In 1968, Ateneo co-founded the Asian Institute of Management. Women were first admitted to the college in 1973. By 1976, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences had moved to Loyola Heights, and the Padre Faura campus was finally closed in 1977.
In the 1970s, Ateneo students became active in protests against the Marcos dictatorship and its imposition of martial law, and many later participated in the 1986 People Power Revolution.
In 1991, the Ateneo Law School became the first in the country to offer the Juris Doctor degree. The School of Government was established in 1996, and a new campus for the Graduate School of Business, Law School, and School of Government opened in Rockwell Center in 1998. Significant developments in the 2000s include the establishment of the Loyola Schools and completion of various educational and recreational facilities.
The university continued to expand and innovate, launching the Pathways to Higher Education initiative in 2002, and consecrating the Church of the Gesù at the Loyola Heights campus in July 2002.
In 2003, the Ateneo formalized its partnership with Gawad Kalinga for university-wide social action. The Manuel V. Pangilinan Center for Student Leadership opened in 2006, and the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health began operations in 2007.
In recent years, significant events include a shooting incident in July 2022 that led to the cancellation of the law school's graduation ceremonies, and the consolidation of the university's higher education units in October 2022.
Ateneo de Manila's main campus is located in Loyola Heights, Quezon City, covering 83 hectares (210 acres). It houses the university's primary, secondary, and tertiary education units, along with various research centers and institutes.
The Loyola Heights campus, adjacent to Miriam College, includes the grade school, high school, and college. It features facilities such as the Henry Lee Irwin Theater, the Science Education Complex, and the John Gokongwei School of Management Complex. In 2018, the university inaugurated the Areté, a creative hub that includes the Ateneo Art Gallery, theaters, and collaborative spaces.
The Rizal Library and several research centers are located here, including the Institute of Philippine Culture and the Manila Observatory. Athletic facilities include the Blue Eagle Gym and the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center.
The campus also hosts the Church of the Gesù and multiple chapels for various departments. The university is also home to the largest Jesuit community in the Philippines.
The Rockwell Center in Makati houses the School of Law and the Graduate School of Business, among other units. The Salcedo Village campus contains various facilities, including the Ateneo Center for Continuing Education. The Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health is located at the Don Eugenio López Sr. Medical Complex in Ortigas Center, Pasig, alongside its partner hospital, The Medical City.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ateneo launched the Ateneo Blue Cloud, a virtual campus providing online, blended, and face-to-face learning materials.
The university is overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Bernadine T. Siy. The current university president, priest and economist Roberto Yap SJ, leads the central administration. The university's present sectoral structure includes vice-presidents for social development, university and global relations, finance, and administration and human resources.
Ateneo de Manila has been granted autonomous status by the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED) since 2001, granting it flexibility in introducing new programs. It is one of a select few universities in the country to receive this status.
The university is organized into twelve schools, divided between the higher education and basic education units. Each unit is managed by a vice-president.
Ateneo's higher education unit comprises nine schools: the School of Humanities, the John Gokongwei School of Management, the School of Science and Engineering, the School of Social Sciences, the Gokongwei Brothers School of Education and Learning Design, the Graduate School of Business, the Ateneo School of Law, the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health, and the Ateneo School of Government.
The Ateneo de Manila Grade School (AGS) offers elementary education and was the university's first unit. The school transitioned to co-education in the 2024–25 academic year. The AGS was one of the first to adopt the Singapore math curriculum in the Philippines. On August 1, 2024, School Year 2024-2025 saw 200 girls admitted into the Grade School, 72 in kindergarten and 128 in grade 1 – the first time in the university's 165-year history.
The Ateneo de Manila Junior High School (AJHS) provides middle school education and was founded in 2013 to comply with the Department of Education K-12 system.
The Ateneo de Manila Senior High School (ASHS) offers the eleventh and twelfth grades since 2013, and became co-educational in 2016.
The ASHS provides four academic strands in the K-12 program: Accountancy and Business Management (ABM); Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS); Science and Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM); and the General Academic strand (GAS).
In May 2024, president Roberto Yap appointed Rosanna “Sansan” M. Borja as Senior High School Principal for a 3-year term (July 1, 2024-May 2027). On August 2, 2024, Ateneo welcomed female students in Grade 7 for the school year 2024–2025. It announced that by the school year 2029–2030, Basic Education from kindergarten to grade 12 will be fully co-educational.
The Loyola School of Theology, affiliated with the university, offers baccalaureate, licentiate, and doctoral degrees in theology and pastoral ministry.
Ateneo de Manila University provides education at the primary, secondary, undergraduate, and graduate levels. The university offers 48 undergraduate, 93 graduate, and 11 professional degree programs. Dual and joint degrees are also available, including partnerships with international universities.
The primary language of instruction is English, with some classes offered in Filipino.
Ateneo de Manila University emphasizes a liberal arts undergraduate core curriculum that includes philosophy, literature, theology, history, and the social sciences. This curriculum is designed to foster student-centred learning and community engagement.
Ateneo is ranked as a top institution in the Philippines by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the QS World University Rankings. It was first among private universities and second overall in the Philippines in both QS's World and Asia rankings.
As of 2025, Ateneo is ranked fourth in the Philippines by the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities and third by EduRank.
The university has 11 Centers of Excellence (CoE) and 6 Centers of Development (CoD) as recognized by CHED. The CoE status is given to Literature (English), Philosophy, Business Administration, Entrepreneurship, Biology, Chemistry, Information Technology, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology and Sociology. The CoD status is granted to Electronics Engineering, Environmental Science, Communication, History, Literature (Filipino) and Political Science.
Ateneo's academic programs are accredited at Level IV by CHED and the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU).
The Legal Education Board has ranked the Ateneo de Manila School of Law as the top law school in the past decade, producing a 7.18% share or 1,794 out of total new lawyers. The school continues to consistently have the highest passing rate for first-time examinees, topping the 2020/2021 and 2022 Philippine Bar Examinations. Graduates of the Ateneo Law School have an average grade of 89.2 in the Bar Examinations and the school has produced 23 top notchers in history, the second highest number of bar top notchers.
The Professional Regulation Commission has ranked the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health as the best-performing medical school in the Philippines in 2019, as the school had a 100% passing rate in the Philippine Physician Licensure Examination out of 133 examinees.
The Ateneo School of Government has been ranked as one of the top public policy schools and is the only Philippine institution listed in the first-ever ranking of public-policy schools in the Asia-Pacific region. The school was ranked 25th by citation impact factor, with a total of 7 citations scoring 1.17 impact factor.
Eduniversal ranked the Ateneo Graduate School of Business as one of the top business schools in the country, ranking 3rd with 3 Palmes of Excellence in 2021.
Ateneo houses numerous research centers focusing on disaster risk reduction, public education, human migration, and governance, among other fields. These include the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development, the Institute of Philippine Culture, and the Manila Observatory.
Ateneo de Manila University integrates social engagement into its curriculum at all levels. Key initiatives include the Ateneo-Mangyan Project for Understanding and Development, the Bigay Puso program, and housebuilding activities with Gawad Kalinga. These projects aim to promote social responsibility and leadership among students.
The university's main social action program is its partnership with Gawad Kalinga, focusing on community-building and rehabilitation efforts in various regions.
The Ugat Foundation, which supports grassroots families, is also hosted by Ateneo de Manila University.
Ateneo collaborates with various global institutions, facilitating exchange programs for students and faculty. It partners with Sun Yat-sen University in running the Confucius Institute, which offers Mandarin language courses and a master's program in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language.
Ateneo also has joint master's programs with Queen Mary University of London and partnerships with Le Cordon Bleu, École supérieure des sciences commerciales d'Angers, Kyushu University, Regis University, and the University of Sydney.
The university's Asian Peacebuilders Scholarship, in collaboration with the Nippon Foundation and the University for Peace, trains students in peacebuilding, awarding degrees from both Ateneo and UPEACE.
Ateneo de Manila University's largest library is the Rizal Library, which is split into the Old and New Rizal Libraries. The New Rizal Library, inaugurated in November 2009, contains the circulation section, technical services, and modern study areas.
The Ateneo Art Gallery, established in 1960, is the first museum of modern art in the Philippines. It is housed in the Arts Wing of the Areté and features a collection of modern and contemporary Filipino art.
The University Archives, located in Faber Hall, preserve the historical records and documents of Ateneo de Manila University. They support research on the university's history and administrative functions.
Ateneo de Manila University offers on-campus housing through several residence halls: Cervini Hall, Eliazo Hall, the University Dormitory–North Tower, the University Dormitory–South Tower, and the International Residence Hall. These facilities provide accommodations for both undergraduate and graduate students.
The Ateneo Debate Society ranks among the top debate teams in Asia, having secured a top 15 global ranking and winning the 2023 World Universities Debating Championship.
The Ateneo College Glee Club (ACGC) is the oldest university chorale in the Philippines and has achieved international recognition for its performances.
Dulaang Sibol, founded in 1955, is noted as the oldest high school theater group in the Philippines.
Tanghalang Ateneo is the oldest undergraduate student theater group.