Psychology in the Philippines: History and Current Trends

Psychology was probably taught in the Philippines as early as the seventeenth century at the University of San Carlos in Cebu and at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila. Philosophical psychology which was part of the European academic tradition was brought to the Philippines by the Spanish priests. Even when the University of the Philippines was established by the Americans in the early 1 900s psychology was part of the Philosophy Department. In 1926, Psychology was taught as a subject separate from Philosophy and a Department of Psychology was established at the UP attached to the School of Education. UST, however, has the distinction of being the first institution to offer a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and master's and doctorate degrees in the field.1 The Psychology Department of UST was established in the early 1930s. The B.S. Psychology degree was offered in 1948. 2 After psychology broke away from philosophy, it became closely identified with education until about the 1960s. Departments of psychology relied heavily on education courses particularly those in guidance and counseling to serve as supporting courses in the psychology curriculum. In schools without psychology departments, psychology courses were organized and