The University of the Philippines is a state university system in the Philippines, and is the country's national university. Founded by the American colonial government on June 18, 1908 for the Filipinos, it was established through the ratification of Act No. 1870 of the 1st Philippine Legislature to provide "advanced instruction in literature, philosophy, the sciences and arts, and to give professional and technical training" to eligible students regardless of "age, sex, nationality, religious belief and political affiliation". UP has institutional autonomy as the country's national university as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 2008).
UP, as a whole, is often cited as the Philippines' top university. As of 2012, 7 Philippine Presidents, 13 Chief Justices of the Philippine Supreme Court, 36 National Scientists and 40 National Artists of the Philippines have been affiliated with UP. It has also produced 15,000 doctors, 15,000 engineers, 8,000 lawyers, 23,000 teachers, and thousands of graduates in other academic fields, which comprise some of its approximate 260,000 living alumni worldwide. UP has the most National Centers of Excellence and Development among higher education institutions in the country, and is one of the only three schools in Asia that have received institutional recognition in the Ramon Magsaysay Awards. Senate Resolution No. 276 of the Senate of the Philippines recognizes the institution as "the nation's premier university"; United Kingdom-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) ranks UP as the country's No. 1 university, among the top 100 Asian universities, and among the top 400 universities worldwide its annual university rankings.
