Academics

Programs Offered

UNDERGRADUATE

The College of Arts and Letters (CAL), through its various degree programs, asserts its leadership in the arts and letters in the country. Through its functions of teaching, research, and extension, CAL upholds humanistic ideas amidst technological advancement; promotes the arts and letters as an instrument of liberation and empowerment; and inculcates values that will serve as the foundation for a nationalistic culture.

Two departments of the College Departments have been recognized as National Centers of Excellence by the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

These are the Department of English and Comparative Literature for its English language program and literature program and the Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature for its program in Filipino and its program in literature.

Students may choose from among ten major fields under the Bachelor of Arts program: Art Studies, Comparative Literature, Creative Writing, English Studies, European Languages, Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas, Malikhaing Pagsulat sa Filipino, Philippine Studies, Speech Communication, and Theatre Arts. Some programs provide further concentrations or specializations.

The College also offers two pre-baccalaureate programs: Associate in Arts Malikhaing Pagsulat sa Filipino and Associate in Arts Theatre Arts.

DEPARTMENT OF ARTS STUDIES

Bachelor of Arts Studies

The BA program is grounded on the study of a broad array of art forms, framed by the methods and approaches of Art History, Art Criticism, Art Theory and Aesthetics, Curatorship, and Arts Management. It prepares students for careers in writing, criticism, research, teaching, curatorship, art management, and cultural work. The program also provides knowledge and competencies that are useful in a wide range of fields including art production, foreign service, tourism, media, and the legal profession.

Upon admission, students have to choose one of three tracks: Art History, Interdisciplinary, and Philippine Art.

BA Art Studies (Art History)

This track offers a broad perspective of art history across cultures using a multi-disciplinary approach. It also aims to enable critique of the practice of art history itself, from the canonical to the critical.

BA Art Studies (Interdisciplinary)

This track grounds the students in art studies while giving them the opportunity to choose courses from related disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, allowing for a broader perspective of art studies and its applications in other fields.

BA Art Studies (Philippine Art)

This track focuses on the study of Philippine art and the discourses that shape its numerous forms, practice, and reception within changing contexts. Students in this track acquire a strong foundation in Philippine art.

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

BA English Studies: Language

The English Studies: Language Program offers a Bachelor of Arts (BA), a Master of Arts (MA), and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). On all levels, the program offers courses that examine both the internal subsystems and applied dimensions of the English language, specifically within the context of its use and practice in the Philippines. In the BA curriculum, the modern linguistic courses focus on the subsystems of English (e.g., phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics), while the applied courses deal with the study of language in use (e.g., stylistics, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, and critical language studies). The program also allows students to take electives from other fields (e.g., Literature, Linguistics, and Education) to complement and enrich the students’ research trajectories. In the MA and PhD curricula, the same mix of courses is offered but with the goal of increasing specialization from the MA to the PhD level.

BA English Studies: Literature

Focuses on studies in British and American literatures within the contexts of historical, cultural, and literary developments in Britain and in the United States

BA Creative Writing

This program aims to provide the student with an adequate store of knowledge, both general and specific to creative writing; sharpened reading and writing skills; and an open, inquiring, and sensitive mind on which the students can advance as a writer. The ideal aim of the program is to encourage its students to become authors; the practical aim is to prepare them for the kind of employment that favors critical and creative thinking and writing, and this includes teaching.

BA Comparative Literature

Stresses the use of Philippine and Southeast Asian cultures as matrix for comparative studies in literary theory, gender studies, etc. Students may specialize in one of three areas: Philippine literature in English and in English translation, Asian literatures, or European literatures.

DEPARTMENT OF EUROPEAN LANGUAGES

BA European Languages

This course aims to distinguish different critical lenses through which students understand themselves, other cultures and the world. Students must choose either Plan 1 or Plan 2. All students major in one of the following European languages: French, Italian, German, or Spanish (FIGS).Students in Plan 1 study another European language: German, Russian, Italian, French, Portuguese, or Spanish (GRIFPS). Students in Plan 2 study another non-EL discipline: English, Comparative Literature, Creative Writing, Filipino, Panitikan ng Pilipinas, Speech Communication, Theater Arts, Art Studies, Social Sciences, Philosophy, Theory in Fine Arts, Reading, Teaching in the Early Grades, Language Teaching, Communication Research, and Tourism.

DEPARTAMENTO NG FILIPINO AT PANITIKAN NG PILIPINAS (DEPARTMENT OF FILIPINO AND PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

Asosyado sa Arte sa Malikhaing Pagsulat sa Filipino

The program aims to give the students the basic ideas and concepts in relation to the creative expression in Filipino and the skills of creative writing in Filipino. After graduating from the program, the student can continue to any Bachelor of Arts program of the department provided that he/she meets the minimum general weighted average (GWA) of each BA program and other requirements.

BA Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas

This is a four-year program aimed at providing the students the knowledge of the history and development of the national language and Philippine literature within the context of Philippine society, an understanding of the nature and uses of language in the Filipino communities and the various approaches in studying literature; and equipping them with the skills related to the critical analysis of Filipino and Philippine Literature.

BA Malikhaing Pagsulat sa Filipino

This is a four-year program that serves as a formal academic skills training for future creative writers using the national language. The program aims to provide the students with the intensive skills in the key principles and approaches to creative writing in various forms; knowledge in the traditions of Philippine literature, and an understanding of the characteristics of Filipino as a tool for creative expression.

BA Philippine Studies (Araling Pilipino)

This program is unique in training the students in an interdisciplinary study of Philippine culture and society. It is a four-year program anchored in the key interdisciplinary courses and essential courses in language, literature and society because these courses are relevant in understanding Philippine culture and society as a whole. Students, with the help of their advisers, can design their own program according to their interests. Aside from the core courses, students can choose any academic discipline offered by the department: Wika, Panitikan, or Malikhaing Pagsulat and another academic discipline from the Arts and Letters, Social Sciences, Community Development, Economics, Fine Arts, Islamic Studies, Mass Communications, Music and other related disciplines.

DEPARTMENT OF SPEECH COMMUNICATION AND THEATRE ARTS

Associate in Arts Theatre

This program aims to produce graduates with exemplary skills to work in the creative industries as theatre and performance managers, event organizers, production assistants, technical directors or as teaching assistants and administrative staff in arts, education, cultural and similar institutions. The program is envisioned to contribute towards the vision of the Department to be the University’s forefront of creative expressions and discourses in theatre and performance in the local and global communities. The program is also geared towards the Department’s mission to produce knowledgeable and competent graduates to come to terms with the complexity of recasting the theatre and performance as transformative phenomenon. Graduates of the program are expected to exhibit intermediate level of skills on the theatre as a cultural and as a creative industry. As earlier mentioned, graduates who do not wish to continue the BA program are projected to be cultural, teaching and administrative aides in arts and cultural institutions, events organizers, assistants in managing performance events such as festivals and cultural shows.

BA Speech Communication

This program is designed to develop students’ knowledge and competence in understanding the study of human interaction and its use of verbal and nonverbal symbols in order to impact different communicative phenomena. This undergraduate program introduces four major strands of interest, namely: Performance Studies, Rhetoric, Interpersonal Communication, and Instructional Communication. Consequently, these strands are further clustered into two major areas of specialization or concentration: Rhetoric and Performance, on the one hand, and Interpersonal and Instructional Communication, on the other. This clustering is broadly based on the humanistic and social scientific orientations of the said four strands.

BA Theatre Arts

This program leans towards intellectual praxes through practice-based-research and performance-led-research activities and critical interrogations of theatre and performance as socio-cultural idioms for the understanding of the self, society and culture. To date, the BA (Theatre Arts) program has five areas of specializations: theatre and performance studies, performance, dramaturgy and directing, theatre management, technical theatre and design.

GRADUATE

The graduate degree programs of the College promote and uphold the highest standards of excellence, integrity, and academic freedom through a roster of mentors who are specialists in their respective fields.

Programs are available for both MA and PhD degrees. Graduate students are expected to complete a program of study which involves both course work and the production of a scholarly research which will contribute to the advancement of knowledge in their chosen discipline.

Programs are offered by the various Departments of the College, with the Graduate Studies Office (GSO) acting as Secretariat. The GSO implements the policies, rules, and guidelines of graduate programs as approved by the appropriate bodies. It is headed by a Graduate Studies Coordinator working in consultation with the office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the College.

The different departments of CAL offer the following graduate degree programs:

DEPARTMENT OF ART STUDIES

MASTER OF ARTS IN ART STUDIES

The MA program provides graduate level knowledge and competence in art studies. The program caters to students looking for advancement in careers in the academe, art writing and criticism, research, education, museum work, art management, curatorship, cultural work, and art production.

Students have the option to choose from three tracks: Art History, Art Theory and Criticism, and Curatorial Studies.

MA Art Studies (Art History)

This track provides graduate level knowledge and competence in research in Philippine art history from a multi-disciplinary perspective.A non-thesis plan is also available. Instead of taking the thesis, additional courses have to be taken.

MA Art Studies (Art Theory and Criticism)

This track provides graduate level knowledge and competence in the development of theoretical frameworks and methodologies for the study of art, particularly in the Philippine context.

MA Art Studies (Curatorial Studies)

This track provides graduate level knowledge and competence in curatorial studies that can be useful for individuals seeking work or are already working in the museum sector, as well as those engaged in curatorial practices that operate beyond traditional platforms.

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

MA (Comparative Literature)

Foregrounds multi-disciplinary approaches to the study of European, Asian, African, Latin-American, and Philippine literatures in English or in English translation

MA (Creative Writing)

The program builds from the terminal knowledge and skills gained from the undergraduate program and assumes a graduate-level proficiency in applying said skills and knowledge in writing and analysis of others’ work. It aims to produce graduates who can produce publishable work and are also equipped with relevant literary, socio-cultural, and critical frameworks and research skills to produce scholarly work about creative writing.

MA (English Studies: Anglo-American Literature)

Focuses on studies in British and American literatures within the contexts of historical, cultural, and literary developments in Britain and in the United States

MA (English Studies: Language)

PhD (Comparative Literature)

Focuses on the literature of Asia and the Third World but does not exclude the study of Western literature

PhD (Creative Writing)

The Doctor of Philosophy in Creative Writing program is organized into genre tracks but also leans heavily on English Language and Literature courses of the other programs in the department. The rationale is that PhD candidates should produce publishable work and should also be equipped with relevant literary, socio-cultural, and critical frameworks and research skills to produce scholarly work about creative writing with an awareness of Philippine concerns and contexts vis-a-vis global relations and processes.

PhD (English Studies: Anglo-American Literature)

Focuses on studies in British and American literatures within the contexts of historical, cultural, and literary developments in Britain and in the United States

PhD (English Studies: Language)

DEPARTMENT OF EUROPEAN LANGUAGES

MA (French Language)

Allows a choice between two areas of concentration: Language and Translation

MA (German)

MA (Spanish)

Allows a choice from among four areas of concentration: Language,Literature, Translation or Rizal Studies.

PhD (Hispanic Literature)

Allows a choice from among three areas of specialization: Spanish Filipino Literature, Spanish Peninsular Literature or Spanish American Literature.

DEPARTMENT OF FILIPINO AND PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

MA Araling Pilipino (Philippine Studies)

The program aims to widen the knowledge and perspective of the students of society and Filipino culture by training them in the interdisciplinary method.The first discipline is anchored in the language and literature of the Philippines. The second discipline can be chosen by the students from any of the following fields of study: Anthropology, Architecture, Art Studies, Comparative Literature, Economics, Fine Arts, Geography, Islamic Studies, History, Mass Communications, Music, Philippine Spanish Literature, Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology, Speech Communication, Theater Arts, Women and Development, and more.

MA Filipino: Wika

The program aims to further enhance the knowledge of the students in the importance of the national language, as well as its condition, function, and role in the Philippine society. The students are trained in critical analysis to widen their perspective on the characteristics of the national language and other languages in the Philippines.

MA Filipino: Pagsasalin

The program highlights the importance of translation in enriching the national language and culture, and reinforcing interaction among cultures. The program aims to broaden the skills and knowledge of the students in the principles of translation; to produce basic researches in the field of translation; and to analyze translations in Filipino from different languages.

MA Malikhaing Pagsulat

The program is a response to the need for a much professional training in creative writing in Filipino and other regional languages. This program aims to broaden the knowledge of the students in the nature and art of creative writing; to deepen their understanding of the development and popularity of particular literary forms within the context of literary tradition in the Philippines; and to raise their consciousness in the importance of translation as a form of creative writing towards the building of national literature.

MA Panitikan ng Pilipinas

The program aims to broaden the knowledge of the students in the literary tradition of the Philippines. The program focuses on the different literary forms of the ethnolinguistic groups in the Philippines and the literary production of social movements and other emerging groups. As a whole, the program seeks to help in outlining the fundamental thought on national literature and to identify writers and literary pieces that can be included in the canon of national literature.

PhD Filipino

It has two areas of study: the Filipino Language and the Literature of the Philippines which has three areas of concentration:Istruktura ng Wikang Filipino (Structure of the Filipino Language), Pagpaplano sa Wikang Filipino (Planning for the Filipino Language), Pagsasalin (Translation)

DEPARTMENT OF SPEECH COMMUNICATION AND THEATRE ARTS

MA Speech Communication

This program aims to advance the field of speech communication, particularly in knowledge building and critical research. It is designed to provide graduate students and professionals a deeper understanding of the fields of Rhetoric, Performance, Interpersonal Communication, and Instructional Communication.

Master of Arts in Theatre Arts

This program is designed for scholars, researchers, teachers and critics of Philippine theatre.

PhD(Performance Studies)

This program is designed for students to familiarize themselves with the epistemic and methodological traditions of Euro-American, Asian, and Philippine theatre, oral studies, rhetoric and performance scholarship, as well as to identify specific trajectories of individual research projects.

PHILIPPINE STUDIES PROGRAM

In addition to these programs, the College works with the Asian Center and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy to administer the Tri-College PhD Philippine Studies Program. This Program highlights Philippine Studies (Araling Pilipino) as a distinct discipline. Philippine Studies encompasses the study of Filipino society and culture and its constituent ethnolinguistic groups; problematizes the concept of Filipino identity, produces specialists capable of identifying and studying Filipino or Philippine problems using multi- and /or interdisciplinary approaches and methodologies, exposes students to different disciplinal perspectives, and upholds a holistic approach to addressing challenges in Philippine society.

ADMISSION POLICIES/REQUIREMENTS

INCOMING FRESHMEN (BA)

Graduates of accredited high schools who are UPCAT qualifiers may be admitted as freshmen into the College of Arts and Letters.

No student shall be denied admission into the University by reason of age, sex, nationality, religious belief, or political affiliations.

Every applicant for admission shall undergo a thorough health examination. No person shall be admitted to CAL who is found by the University Health Service to be suffering from a dangerous, communicable, contagious, or infectious disease, or who is physically unfit to take courses in this College.

No person who has not duly matriculated may be admitted to the classes. In exceptional cases, the University Registrar may, on the recommendation of the Dean, authorize the admission of a visitor to a class for a maximum of five sessions.

ASSOCIATE PROGRAMS

In CAL, there are two (2) pre-baccalaureate associate programs: Associate in Arts in Theatre Arts (AAT, two [2] years) under the DSCTA and Associate in Arts sa Malikhaing Pagsulat sa Filipino (AAMPF, two [2] years) under the DFPL. A freshman applicant to either of these programs need not be an UPCAT qualifier but must pass the audition/workshop given by the department concerned. Application to these certificate programs is made directly to the department.

GRADUATE ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Admission to the doctoral or master’s degree programs is subject to the General Rules for Graduate Programs of the College of Arts and Letters[b] unless otherwise specified.

Applicants are requested to direct their inquiries to the Graduate Studies Office of the College.

MASTER’S DEGREE PROGRAM

Admission to a Master’s program shall require: 1) a Bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution of higher learning; 2) intellectual capacity and aptitude for advanced studies and research; 3) language proficiency; and 4) satisfaction of additional University requirements such as a health clearance and other special admission requirements that may be imposed by the head of the Unit concerned and/or appropriate Graduate Committee/Office, through channels.

Proof of English and/or Filipino proficiency shall be required of students whose native language is not English or Filipino, except those who graduated from institutions where the medium of instruction is English or Filipino. For English proficiency, a score of at least 500 in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) shall be required. For Filipino proficiency, a certification shall be required from a duly authorized Unit of the University.

Each application for admission into a Master’s program shall be accomplished in the official application form and accompanied by the official transcript of records, and two (2) written recommendations from former professors or experts in the field.

Each application shall be submitted to the appropriate College/Unit Graduate Office/Committee, and referred to the head of the College/Unit concerned for evaluation. The deserving applicant shall be recommended for admission by the latter to the Dean/Director, through channels.

Applications for a system program shall be submitted to the appropriate body in the autonomous unit where the system program is being offered.

DOCTORAL PROGRAM

Admission to a doctoral program shall require: 1) a Bachelor’s degree, in the case of a direct doctoral program, or a Master’s degree or its equivalent, from a recognized institution of higher learning; 2) intellectual capacity and aptitude for advanced studies and research; 3) language proficiency; and 4) a health certificate from the university health service and other additional and special admission requirements that may be imposed by the University and the head of the College/Unit or Graduate Office/Committee concerned, through channels; 5) a GWA of 2.00 or better, in the case of a Bachelor’s degree or a GWA of 1.75 or better in the case of a Master’s degree (exceptions can be made in meritorious cases – the applicant should exemplify a very high degree of accomplishment in his/her desired field of study); and 6) should pass an essay/admissions test/interview.

If for any reason an applicant fails to meet the required GWA, a Department shall require the applicant to complete at least nine (9) units of undergraduate work before he/she will be allowed to enlist in a graduate-level course.

Proof of English and/or Filipino proficiency shall be required of students whose native language is not English or Filipino. Except for the doctoral programs of the Department of European Languages, proof of English and/or Filipino proficiency shall be required of students whose native language is not English or Filipino. Those who graduated from institutions where the medium of instruction is English or Filipino are exempted. For English proficiency, a minimum score in one of the standard language tests is a requirement for admission. These scores are: 7.5 in IELTS or 500 in TOEFL (or 173 in the new computer-based test) or in the English Validation Test by the Department of English and Comparative Literature: 4.5 in TWE; 5.5 in TSE.

Each application for admission into a doctoral program shall be accomplished with the official application form of the College and accompanied by the official transcript of records of the BA and MA degrees, and two (2) written recommendations from former professors or experts in the field. Each letter of recommendation should incorporate: 1) the applicant’s emotional maturity; 2) the applicant’s ability to pursue graduate work; 3) the applicant’s sense of commitment in pursuing graduate studies; 4) whenever applicable, the applicant’s potential to create, innovate and/or produce cutting-edge work or ideas; e) whenever applicable, the applicant’s creative promise; f) other variables to be decided on by each department.

Each application shall be submitted to the CAL Graduate Office then referred to the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department for evaluation. The deserving applicant shall be recommended for admission by the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department to the Dean, through channels.

Applications for a system program shall be submitted to the appropriate body in the autonomous unit where the system program is being offered.

The normal minimum qualification to be eligible for admission as a UP Diliman graduate student is the completion of an undergraduate degree. Each applicant must submit an official transcript of records from a recognized institution of higher learning.

PRIVATE SCHOLARSHIPS

The College offers the following scholarship programs to deserving students.

Carlos Palanca Foundation Scholarship
Faustino Aguilar Scholarship
Manuel Arguilla Scholarship
Maximiano Guiwa Scholarship
Aguilar- San Juan Scholarship