Philippine Women's University

The Philippine Women's University or PWU is a non-stock, non-profit, non-sectarian educational institution duly existing under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines. PWU was founded in 1919 by seven pioneering women and was the first University for women in Asia founded by Asians. Now co-educational, PWU is carrying on its rich legacy of academic leadership with an educational approach that empowers its students both within and beyond the classroom. [1] [2]
PWU’s Basic Education Department, Jose Abad Santos Memorial School (PWU-JASMS), provides a homegrown, progressive, learner-centered educational approach known as the JASMS Way. Encapsulated in the phrase "learning to be free," the JASMS Way builds on a child's natural inclination for discovery and exploration with inquiry-based class work and experiential activities, set in a culturally diverse environment. The school has two campuses: (1) Manila and (2) Quezon City. [1]
On earning her graduate degree from the United States, Doreen Gamboa returned to the Philippines and was appointed Principal of the PWU Elementary Department in 1949 bringing about a reorganization of the elementary school in response to the clamor of parents that the pre-school experience of the children be carried over into the grade school strengthening the Child Development approach that was initially implemented in 1948.
On June 19, 1919, the Philippine Women’s College was founded by seven forward-looking Filipino women: Clara Aragon, Concepcion Aragon, Francisca Tirona Benitez, Paz Marquez Benitez, Carolina Ocampo Palma, Mercedes Rivera, and Socorro Marquez Zaballero. The goal was to prepare young Filipino women for a life of productive citizenship.
The school was originally located at 310 A. Flores, Ermita, Manila. In 1926, the University moved to its present campus on Taft Avenue, occupying a whole city block.
In 1932, thirteen years after it was established, it became the Philippine Women’s University, the first university for women in Asia founded by Asians.
Historically, the University is known for its innovative programs and is credited with a number of ‘firsts’ in the Philippines. Some of these programs include: the first School of Pharmacy for women organized in 1924; the first private school to establish a four-year Business Administration course for women in 1926; the first to offer Home Economics as a bachelor’s degree course in 1928; and establishing a Graduate School in 1931. PWU’s Child Development Center became JASMS in 1949 (Jose Abad Santos Memorial School), a pioneer in Early Childhood Development. JASMS is the basic education department of PWU, offering classes from Kindergarten through Senior High School. In the humanities, the formal teaching of music at PWU began in 1925, and its School of Music is recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as a Center for Excellence in Instruction and Research. PWU’s School of Fine Arts & Design has developed a curriculum that continues to produce artists who excel in the arts. PWU set up its Philippine School of Social Work in 1950, the first school in the Philippines to professionalize the study of social welfare and development. It was the first university to offer gender studies as well as environmental science management programs at the graduate school level. PWU has always sought to bridge the gaps between work and home, the professions and the family, and the academy and the community in the interest of public life. Towards this end, PWU’s social and civic training has evolved into the present MSCED (Moral, Social, and Civic Education) course required at all levels in all courses and disciplines. MSCED, which has been a hallmark of a PWU education since 1938, has produced graduates who actively participated in nation-building.
PWU is known for the diversity of its student population. It has always educated women as well as men (it first became co-educational in the 1960s). PWU now has a population of approximately 25% men and 75% women and a total population of about 5,000 students from pre-school to post-graduate levels. The University attained deregulated status in 2003 and was accorded Autonomous status by the Commission on Higher Education in 2008. It offers 14 academic programs, and its graduates consistently pass government and professional licensure examinations and are trained to become leaders of their communities and professional organizations in the Philippines and around the world.
The PWU Quezon City campus on EDSA was established under a separate charter in 1956 as a community college offering tertiary programs for working women and men. Its tertiary programs have since been consolidated at the PWU Manila campus on Taft Avenue. Also located on EDSA was JASMS, the first progressive, non-traditional elementary school in the country which started as a teaching laboratory for PWU’s Education programs. In 2017, the EDSA campus closed its doors after a failed joint venture with STI was settled amicably through the donation of land owned by the Benitez family. JASMS QC was relocated to a 6-storey building on Congressional Avenue, Q.C. JASMS Manila has two locations: one on Pilar Hidalgo Lim Street (long known as the “Indiana” campus) for elementary students and the combined PWU-JASMS High School on Leon Guinto St. within the main campus.
In May 2019, the PWU Board of Trustees conducted a search for a new president following Dr. Francisco B. Benitez’s election as a member of the House of Representatives from the third district of Negros Occidental. The Search Committee, led by Dr. Carmelita Quebengco and Brother Armin Luistro, presented its recommendation to the Board of Trustees, and they announced the appointment of Mr. Marco Alfredo M. Benitez as the 10 University President on November 28, 2019. The latter was inducted during the Turn of a Century Homecoming on February 22, 2020, at the Manila Hotel.
Less than a month after his installation, a pandemic brought on by a Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) hit the world and gravely affected the country’s economy, as well as the health and education sectors. This compelled the government to implement an Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in the entire Luzon from March 17, 2020, to April 14, 2020, in the hope of preventing the spread of the said virus. In strict compliance with the government’s safety protocols and to prioritize the health of the University’s stakeholders, the PWU community collaboratively adopted a flexible mode of teaching, learning, and work arrangements. Due to the enormous impacts of the pandemic, this learning modality and work-from-home setup lasted for nearly two years, specifically until January 2022.
In February 2022, PWU successfully completed the requirements set forth by CHED and the City of Manila to conduct limited face-to-face classes for Nursing and Medical Technology. This was further expanded in May 2022 to include other laboratory, skills, and performance-based courses, including Pharmacy, Fine Arts and Design, Music, and sports programs. Before the School Year 2022-2023 started, all programs had gained approval for a return to limited in-person classes. Meanwhile, the faculty and staff took on the gradual return to onsite work under Alert Level 1.
Amidst those trying times, strong ties among the members of the PWU community prevailed. This became evident in the numerous academic achievements of its students in the board examinations, successful virtual accreditations from the basic education and senior high school programs up to the undergraduate and graduate programs, continuous partnership with an education financing firm, giving out PWU health kits to most of the employees, digitization of various processes from admissions to enrollment to registering for student activities, and various retrofitting and refurbishments of the school facilities.
As we witness the gradual relaxation and normalization of health and safety protocols in the country, the PWU community has continuously adapted a blended mode of hybrid learning and work arrangements.
Today, as PWU faces the challenges of a new century, such as climate change, geopolitical tensions in various regions of the globe, as well as the emergence of artificial intelligence and disruptive technologies, it is strengthened by a rich heritage that is revitalized by dynamic leadership committed to the future while being deeply rooted in the core values, vision, and mission established by the institution's founders over a hundred years ago.
The 1940s and 1950s were a time of rapid expansion, with the University opening campuses in Iloilo in 1945 and Davao in 1953, allowing more women access to quality education that was relevant to their ever-evolving role in society. Due to unavoidable circumstances and market forces however, only PWC Davao exists to this day. But alumni from PWC Iloilo, which existed from 1945 to 1973, still call PWU their alma mater and are considered bona fide PWU alumni.
PWU has likewise assembled a network of Career Development and Continuing Education Center (CDCEC) affiliates to further widen its reach and presence. As of 2025, there are four PWU CDCEC franchisees in Bataan, Tarlac, Sta. Cruz and Calamba (Laguna).
PWU President Marco Alfredo M. Benitez serves as the President and a Board member of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU) for the academic years 2024-2026.
PWU is accredited and recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Education (DepEd), Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU), and Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA).
PWU is also a member institution of the International Association of Universities (IAU), South Manila Educational Consortium (SMEC), Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA), and the local and international Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning (ASAIHL).
PWU is a member school of the Women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (WNCAA), Inter-Scholastic Athletic Association (ISAA), Universities and Colleges Athletic League (UCAL), Women’s Colleges Sports Association (WCSA), and Men’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (MNCAA).
The students and the community within PWU, collectively known as the Patriots, uphold the vision, mission, and objectives of the University.