I had finally proven... that a student from a humble home could become a pillar of health for the community.
Jimboy DM 44th Batch · Where Courage is Born Read Full Story ↗
UPM School of Health Sciences
UPM School of Health Sciences
University of the Philippines Manila - School of Health Sciences
Since 1976, UPM SHS has trained generations of health professionals who go where they are needed most — into the communities, roads, and stories of the Filipino people.
Golden Week Countdown
Until the Celebration
For five decades, the UP Manila School of Health Sciences (UPM SHS) has stood at the forefront of community-oriented health education in the Philippines — training generations of health professionals who serve where they are needed most.
Founded in 1976 as the Institute of Health Sciences — the "Tacloban Experiment" — UPM SHS was built on a radical conviction: that rural communities deserve not just healthcare, but health workers who speak their language, walk their roads, and carry their stories.
Fifty years on, that conviction remains the heartbeat of every student we send home to serve.
The heart of UPM SHS — where the "Tacloban Experiment" found its permanent home.
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Opened as a UP Centennial Project for Aurora Province.
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SHS mission reaches Mindanao with LGU partnership.
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Newest campus, extending health education to Region III.
Facebook Page ↗"A relevant center of excellence for innovative health human resource development, for the attainment of health, for marginalized Filipino, in context of nationalism and globalization in the 21st century." UPM School of Health Sciences · Vision
Six days of homecoming, tribute, and celebration across Palo, Leyte.
Grand Alumni Homecoming and opening celebration.
Fun walk, Zumba session, and Alumni Gala Night.
Opening Program and Sports Activities.
Continuation of sports events and competitions.
Official launch of the 50th Founding Anniversary year-long celebration.
Candle Lighting, Commitment Building Ceremony, and Students' Fellowship Night.
Six days of celebration — select a day to see its full schedule
Before there was a school, there were visionaries who dared to imagine a different kind of health education.
To learn more, read: Tayag, J.G., & Clavel, L. (Eds.). (2011). Bringing health to rural communities: Innovations of the U.P. Manila School of Health Sciences.
Dean Florentino B. Herrera Jr. convenes a select group of health professionals and social scientists to craft a curriculum that would develop clinically competent but, more importantly, socially conscious health professionals.
The Institute of Health Sciences (IHS) is approved, implementing a step-ladder curriculum in Tacloban City. The first batch of 96 students is admitted. Dr. Amparo Banzon becomes the first Director.
IHS moves its main campus to Palo while retaining classrooms in Tacloban. The first batch of 12 medical students is admitted as the MD curriculum takes shape.
On May 3, 1989, following the Reorganization of U.P. Manila in 1988, the Institute of Health Sciences is formally renamed the School of Health Sciences (SHS).
The first non-MD and first non-physician appointed as Dean. The BOR approves a major budget for SHS development. An inaugural ceremony is held with the full Board of Regents present.
SHS receives the Lingkod Bayan Award from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for "establishing a world-class medical school." The Baler, Aurora campus opens as a UP Centennial Project on July 21. Sen. Edgardo Angara referred to it as UP's gift to the Filipino people on the occasion of the UP Centennial.
The SHS mission reaches Mindanao. A new campus opens in Koronadal City, South Cotabato — a third generation of community-oriented health workers begins their journey.
Following a MOA with the Provincial Government of Tarlac, the newest campus opens — bringing the step-ladder curriculum to Region III.
We gather — alumni, faculty, students, partners, and communities — to celebrate half a century of service, social accountability, and solidarity. The next fifty years await.
Alumni, faculty, and community partners share what five decades of the UPM SHS mission has meant to them.
Fifty years of mission, lived one story at a time.
I had finally proven... that a student from a humble home could become a pillar of health for the community.
Jimboy DM 44th Batch · Where Courage is Born Read Full Story ↗
Nakaka miss ang buhay SHS, yung nagiging resourceful ka minsan dahil sa kaba.
LionQueen CHW 39th / BSN 38th Batch · "Walang Kasalanan Effect" Read Full Story ↗
What a privilege it is to experience something one for the books — learning new things with compassion and humanity.
Aubrey Maye A. Arrieta, MD MD 24th Batch · The First That Stays Read Full Story ↗Here, my heart wasn't empty; it was rooted. Each lesson was an invitation to understand the heartbeat of a community.
Anonymous MD Lateral Entrant · How SHS Changed My Life Read Full Story ↗UPM SHS did not simply educate me — it formed me. It was the step-ladder that built my life, my purpose, and my calling.
AJ Gonzaga CHW 34 / BSN 37 / MD 24 · The UPM SHS Step-Ladder Read Full Story ↗SHS gave me more than just education. It gave me a family that chose to stay, even when life took so much away.
Chin CHW 6 / BSN 5 / MD 23 · Koronadal · The Family I Found in SHS Read Full Story ↗My journey as a midwife doesn't end in delivering new life — it extends to guiding communities in sexual and reproductive health.
Emmanuel Avalon Tijares, RM CHW 33rd Batch · Palo, Leyte · Serving with Heart Read Full Story ↗Foundation Day taught me something important: I am stronger than my fears. Step by step, I began to find my confidence.
Chubicxx DM 45th Batch · Palo, Leyte · More Than Just a Student Read Full Story ↗When I lost my true love, I reconnected with my first love — serving the underserved communities. Service was never just something I learned. It was my first love.
Mary Joy Escalante-Ducusin BHW 18 / CHW 18 / BSN Supp 1 / Faculty 2002–06 · How SHS Changed My Life Read Full Story ↗From mountain barangays to the halls of the DOH — fifty years of UPM SHS graduates are changing healthcare across the Philippines.
Share your story and be featured in our 50th Anniversary Alumni Spotlight. Your journey is part of fifty years of history.
As a keepsake of fifty years of mission, we offer you a limited-edition 50th Anniversary merchandise. Proceeds go directly to the celebration fund.
Embroidered front and back. L, XL, XXL available.
Anniversary colors, sublimation print, all sizes.
Forest green with embroidered 50th anniversary seal.
3 sets of UP/SHS pride stickers. Choose your set.
5 designs. Size: 3.5 × 2.5 in.
9 designs, 58 mm size.
Jacket + Thermoflask + Tote Bag + Notebook & Pen + Laptop Sleeve
Laptop Sleeve + Powerbank + Data Cable Set + Baseball Cap
UV Automatic Umbrella + Sandalwood Fan + Maroon Totebag
Your support carries the mission forward — into the next fifty years.
All contributions — big or small — are warmly welcomed and deeply meaningful. Fill out the form to officially record your donation and receive your certificate of appreciation.
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Brgy. Luntad, Palo, Leyte — a small address that has sent thousands of health professionals across the Philippines. Fifty years on, the mission remains unchanged.
Questions about sponsorships, alumni registration, event participation, or merchandise? Reach us at the email above.
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