University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery

Also known as: UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery · USTFMS · UST Medicine · Facultad de Medicina y Farmacia (original Spanish-era name)

Education

Definition

The University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery (USTFMS) is the medical school of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines, and the oldest medical school in the country. It was founded on May 28, 1871, during the Spanish colonial era, opening originally as the Facultad de Medicina y Farmacia under the educational reforms of the Moret Decree of 1870. The faculty forms part of the University of Santo Tomas, established in 1611 and holder of the oldest extant university charter in Asia, and is housed in the St. Martin de Porres Building on the university’s España, Sampaloc campus. (Wikipedia — UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Santo Tomas)

USTFMS offers a four-year Doctor of Medicine program admitting roughly 480 first-year students annually on the basis of academic standing and National Medical Admission Test (NMAT) scores, an accelerated six-year LEAPMed program introduced in 2018, and graduate programs in fields such as clinical audiology, pain management, and public health. The Commission on Higher Education recognizes it as a Center of Excellence, and its clinical training is anchored to the University of Santo Tomas Hospital. National hero José Rizal studied medicine here from 1878 to 1882. (Wikipedia — UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery)

Identities

Source Type	Identity
Wikipedia	University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery
Wikidata	University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery (Q7896262)
DBpedia	University_of_Santo_Tomas_Faculty_of_Medicine_and_Surgery
ProductOntology	N/A
Wiktionary	N/A
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)	N/A
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Google Scholar	University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine history medical education Philippines
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Also Known As

UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery
USTFMS
UST Medicine
Facultad de Medicina y Farmacia (original Spanish-era name)

Examples and Analogies

Oldest medical school: Founded in 1871, USTFMS predates every other medical school in the Philippines; its 1877 first commencement produced just seven graduates — three Spaniards and four Filipinos — a contrast with today’s classes of several hundred. (Wikipedia — UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery)
A storied alumnus: José Rizal, the Philippine national hero, studied at the faculty from 1878 to 1882, earning the rare privilege of taking the preparatory course and first-year medicine simultaneously and ranking second in his class in his final year. (Wikipedia — UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery)
Modern training complex: The St. Martin de Porres Building (erected 1952) and the Henry Sy Sr. Hall simulation center inaugurated in 2024 illustrate how a 19th-century faculty has been retooled with contemporary simulation-based medical education. (Wikipedia — UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery)

Usage Scenarios

1. Undergraduate Medical Education

Aspiring physicians complete the four-year Doctor of Medicine program, with admission based on general weighted average and NMAT performance across about 480 first-year slots each year. (Wikipedia — UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery)

2. Accelerated Pathway (LEAPMed)

Since 2018, about 90 top entrance-exam qualifiers per year enter LEAPMed, a six-year program that combines a Bachelor of Science in Basic Human Studies with the M.D. degree. (Wikipedia — UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery)

3. Graduate and Professional Programs

Practicing clinicians pursue master’s degrees in Clinical Audiology (since 1999), Pain Management (since 2008), and a ladderized Public Health program offered with the University of Leeds since 2018. (Wikipedia — UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery)

4. Clinical Training and Research

Students rotate through the University of Santo Tomas Hospital and contribute to the Journal of Medicine, UST (JMUST), the peer-reviewed publication shared by the faculty and the hospital. (Wikipedia — UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery)

Strategies

Prepare early for the NMAT and maintain a strong pre-medical grade average, the twin bases of USTFMS admission.
Consider LEAPMed when targeting an accelerated, straight-from-secondary-school route into medicine.
Use the faculty’s simulation facilities and hospital rotations to build clinical competence progressively from years one to four.
Engage with JMUST and faculty research groups to develop the publication record expected of competitive residency applications.
Draw on the faculty’s alumni network — which includes national heroes, armed forces surgeons-general, and secretaries of health — for mentorship across Philippine medical institutions.

Security and Safety Measures

Anatomy and laboratory work follow strict biohazard handling, chemical safety, and specimen disposal protocols.
Clinical rotations require standard infection-prevention practices, occupational exposure reporting, and adherence to hospital safety policies of the UST Hospital.
Campus safety services cover the España campus, where the St. Martin de Porres Building is located.

Historical Context

Petitions to establish colleges of medicine and pharmacy at Santo Tomas date to 1682, but financial and technical obstacles delayed approval for nearly two centuries. Under the Moret Decree reforms of 1870, the faculty opened on May 28, 1871, during the rectorship of Domingo Treserra, O.P., initially offering a six-year course leading to the Licentiate in Medicine. A royal decree of the Spanish king in 1875 affiliated the faculty with San Juan de Dios Hospital for clinical training, and the first commencement followed in 1877. Classes were held at the Intramuros campus until 1927, when the university moved to its present España site. (Wikipedia — UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery)

The faculty admitted its first women in 1932 — 30 graduated by 1937 — and has since produced much of the country’s medical leadership, including José Rizal, revolutionary figure Mariano Trias, Armed Forces surgeon Basilio Valdes, obstetrician Fernando Calderon, and multiple Secretaries of Health. In the 21st century, the faculty added LEAPMed (2018), graduate programs with international partners, and the Henry Sy Sr. Hall simulation center (2024), sustaining its position as a Commission on Higher Education Center of Excellence within Asia’s oldest chartered university. (Wikipedia — UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Wikipedia — University of Santo Tomas)

Challenges and Controversies

Access and Competitiveness

With about 480 first-year slots against tens of thousands of applicants nationwide, admission is intensely competitive, feeding broader debates about the supply and distribution of Filipino physicians.

Cost of Private Medical Education

As a private Catholic institution, USTFMS tuition is substantial relative to public medical schools, which raises perennial questions about socioeconomic access to the medical profession.

Balancing Heritage and Modernization

Integrating a 150-year-old Spanish-era institution with contemporary competency-based curricula, simulation training, and research output requires continuous curriculum reform, a balance the faculty has managed through programs like LEAPMed and its graduate offerings. (Wikipedia — UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery)