Mindanao State University

History

Mindanao State University (MSU) was established on September 1, 1961 through RA 1387, as amended, was the brain child of the late Senator Domocao A. Alonto, as one of the government’s responses to the so-called “Mindanao Problem”.

The original mission of the university was anchored on instruction, research, and extension. The 1954 Congressional Committee conceptualized it as a social laboratory for national integration.

For the main campus in Marawi City starting with 282 students and 12 faculty members in its pioneering classes in 1962, it has grown to a multi-campus supra-regional university system, serving over 69,000 students in all levels with nearly 3,100 faculty members.

It is the only university directly charged by the government to advance the cause of national unity and actively pursue integration through education.

Today, MSU has units in areas which cut across the Mindanao regions. From a one campus university in Marawi City, MSU has grown to a multi-campus university of eight autonomous campuses: MSU-Main in Marawi City, MSU-IIT in Iligan City, MSU-TCTO in Tawi-Tawi, MSU-Naawan in Misamis Oriental, MSU-Maguindanao, MSU-General Santos, MSU-Sulu in Jolo, and MSU Buug in Zamboanga Sibugay.

The mandates of the university are

To perform the traditional functions of a university namely: instruction, research and extension service;

To help accelerate the program of the integration among the peoples of Southern Philippines, particularly the Muslims and other cultural minorities;

To provide trained manpower skills and technical know-how for the economic development of the Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan (MINSUPALA) region in Bangsamoro.

The initial batch of students to enroll in the University on June 13, 1962 passed the scholarship examination administered by the National Science Development Board. The 282 freshmen students were in the top 5% of their high schools in the MINSUPALA region in Bangsamoro. Their teachers were 12 regular Filipino faculty members and a number of volunteers from the British Voluntary Service Overseas, Volunteers in Asia, Ford Foundation, Fulbright Foundation and others. Baccalaureate courses were offered by the pioneering colleges: Liberal Arts, Education and Community Development to which four more were added in the subsequent school year 1964-65 – Agriculture, Fisheries, Business Administration and Engineering. In July 1969, the College of Forestry was added.

To meet the growing demands of the region, 12 major colleges/units were created/restructured.

On January 10, 2001, three CHED supervised institutions — Lanao Norte Agricultural College (LNAC), Lanao National College of Arts & Trade (LNCAT), and Maigo School of Arts and Trade (MSAT) — were integrated into the MSU System by virtue of CHED Order No. 27 S. 2000, per Republic Act No. 8760.

Colleges and schools

College of Agriculture (COA)

College of Business Administration and Accountancy (CBAA)

College of Education (CED)

College of Engineering (COE)

College of Fisheries (COF)

College of Forestry and Environmental Science (CFES)

College of Health Sciences (CHS)

College of Hotel and Restaurant Management (CHARM)

Collge of Information Technology (CIT)

College of Law (COL): It has two extensions in Iligan City and General Santos City.

College of Medicine (COM) — in Iligan City

College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (CNSM)

College of Public Affairs (CPA)

College of Social Sciences and Humanities (CSSH)

College of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (CSPEAR)

King Faisal Center for Islamic, Arabic and Asian Studies (KFCIAAS)

Graduate Studies (GS)

Autonomous Campuses

1. Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology
2. Mindanao State University - General Santos
3. Mindanao State University - Naawan
4. Mindanao State University - Maguindanao
5. Mindanao State University - Sulu
6. Mindanao State University - Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography
   (formerly Sulu College of Technology and Oceanography in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi which was created by RA no. 6060
7. Mindanao State University-Buug Campus

The MSU-WINT (MSU-Wisdom International), which was created on February 24, 2003 through BOR Resolution No. 10 Series of 2003 and BOR Resolution No. 14 Series of 2003 and BOR Resolution No. 14 Series of 2004, offers on-line courses beginning year 2004. The Board of Regents on February 18, 2005 upgraded the former School of Information Technology into a collegiate unit through BOR Resolution No. 19, S. 2005.