Arts and Culture in UST

Home to National Cultural Treasures

The National Cultural Treasure is defined as a cultural property that is a unique object found locally, possessing outstanding historical, cultural, artistic and/or scientific value which is significant and important to the country and nation.

The University of Santo Tomas, being the oldest existing Catholic university in the Far East, is home to five National Cultural Treasures of the Philippines. Four of these treasures are structures, while one is a document.

Credit: National Museum of the Philippines

Main Building (2010, by the National Museum)

Arch of the Centuries (2010, by the National Museum)

Central Seminary (2010, by the National Museum)

Grandstand and Open Spaces (2010, by the National Museum)

The Baybayin Documents (2015, by the National Library)

Spaces of Creativity

Auditoria, Recital Halls, and Performing Arts Stages

Art Studios and Gallery

Apart from lecture rooms, the College of Architecture and the College of Fine Arts and Design have art studios where students practice their craft.

At the ground floor of the Beato Angelico Building is the Beato Angelico Gallery, where the latest exhibitions of the College of Fine Arts and Design are showcased.

Broadcast Media Studios

The University has an in-house broadcasting arm, the Tiger Media Network, in which student volunteers from all disciplines can be trained in radio and television broadcasting, as well as online broadcasts. The facilities for use include a Television Studio, a News Room, and a Radio Booth.

Safeguards of Heritage

UST Museum

Archivo de la Universidad de Santo Tomas

Antonio Vivencio Heritage Library

Exemplars of Art

Francisco Sionil Jose

National Artist for Literature (2001)

Bienvenido Lumbrera

National Artist for Literature (2006)

Nicomedes “Nick” Joaquin

National Artist for Literature (1976)

Cirilo Bautista

National Artist for Literature (2016)

Juan Nakpil

National Artist for Architecture (1973)

Leandro Locsin

National Artist for Architecture (1990)

Ildefonso Santos, Jr.

National Artist for Architecture (2006)

Jose Maria Zaragoza

National Artist for Architecture (2016)

Francisco Mañosa

National Artist for Architecture (2019)

Arturo Luz

National Artist for Visual Arts

Elizalde Navarro

National Artist for Visual Arts

Victorio Edades

National Artist for Visual Arts

Ang Kiukok

National Artist for Visual Arts

Ernani Cuenco

National Artist for Music

Antonio Buenaventura

National Artist for Music

Gerardo de Leon

National Artist for Film

Daisy Avellana

National Artist for Theater

Rolando Tinio

National Artist for Theater and Literature

Continuing the Legacy

The University offers academic programs that promote culture and the arts, at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In 2016, with the national rollout of the K-12 curriculum and the establishment of the Senior High School, the University pioneered the Music, Arts, and Design strand.

College of Architecture

College of Fine Arts and Design

Faculty of Arts and Letters

Conservatory of Music

Graduate School

Senior High School

Opportunities to Discover

Among the University’s efforts for arts, culture, and heritage are research undertakings funded either by UST or external partners. Two units within the University, namely the Research Center for Culture, Arts, and the Humanities and the Center for the Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics, are lead agencies in these efforts.

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