A leading Christian institution committed to total human development for the well-being of society and the environment.
Silliman selects higher education institutions in the country granted autonomous status by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). The same government agency has also designated Silliman as a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education and Teacher Education and a Center of Development in Accountancy, Anthropology, Biology, and Information Technology Education. It is also one of the select universities granted membership with CHED's Philippine Higher Education Research Network. The higher cluster of universities is carefully selected based on strength in research and publications.
The University has been granted Institutional Accreditation (the highest) by the Federation of Accrediting Agencies in the Philippines, the umbrella organization of accrediting agencies. Like other top universities, Silliman's academic programs undergo regular evaluation by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities, the Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities-Accrediting Agency, Inc., or the Association of Theological Education in Southeast Asia. It is one of the Philippine universities with the most number of accredited programs. With support from the United Evangelical Mission, it is a Center for Mission Studies in Asia.
All of the country's top universities would boast of offering quality education. Silliman is no different. But while it joins the ranks of prestigious Philippine universities, it is humbled by a gift of a location that bespeaks of the natural environment's complement to academic learning — one feature that sets Silliman apart from the rest.
Dotted with over 300 acacia trees, the Silliman campus is uniquely embraced between the Cuernos de Negros mountains' views in its background and the Visayan Sea at its frontage. The 62-hectare campus offers patches of greens where personal relationships are nurtured, spiritual nourishment facilitated, and the concept of quality student life redefined. Silliman University is a melting pot of cultures and religions. Of its overall population of more than 9,000, over 400 are international students from 44 countries. Its affiliation with the United Church of Christ in the Philippines as a Protestant university has never hindered the exercise of religious freedom. The majority of Silliman students are Roman Catholics, and a good number are Muslims.
The University is located in Dumaguete's charming city, dubbed the 'City of Gentle People,' an hour away by plane from Manila and four hours away by boat from Cebu. Silliman thrives in a city where the strip of restaurants offering good food along the boulevard and where everything a student needs is just a stone's throw away. While offering the coveted 'retirement getaway' environment, the city is not left behind by progress. You can find infrastructure developments and businesses sprouting in support of the city's "University Town" concept.
Campus life revolves around the motto Via, Veritas, Vita (of Christ being the Way, the Truth, the Life). Silliman's mission is to develop the whole person within the Christian context and in a sound environment. Students are expected to put their education to work in service to others — another mark that distinguishes Silliman from other institutions of higher learning.
It is also the conducive residential campus life that sets Silliman University apart from the Philippines' other leading universities. The 12 regular and cooperative dormitories provide a "home away from home" for Silliman students outside Dumaguete. In the dormitories, students belong to a family, a part of the more significant Silliman community. Corollary to this sense of community is the "Silliman Spirit" – an atmosphere of personal closeness, warmth, friendship, and concern.
To most Americans in late 1800, Dumaguete was a name their tongue was still to master. It was unfamiliar to them. Even the Philippines, which was still recovering from the onslaught of the Spanish-American War, was not on the immediate list for a Presbyterian mission. But it took the vision and commitment of a man to turn this around. The late Dr. Arthur Carson, third Silliman president, wrote in his book how a man's firm resolve to help shape Philippine education paved the Way for the establishment of Silliman University. This man was Dr. Horace B. Silliman, a retired businessman of Cohoes' town in New York State.
In 1899, Dr. Silliman appeared at the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions' office with the conviction that the Filipino people would need a new kind of education. To support this, he contributed the initial sum of $10,000 toward an industrial school's founding. Legend has it that the Board Secretary was surprised and explained that the Board had only begun to consider a mission in the Philippine islands. At that time, the news was fresh on the naval victory of Admiral Dewey over the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay. The Board Secretary thought it would be too early for a school. But the visitor persisted. Something had caught his imagination about these islands, and the people whom he had never seen and whom he would never meet.Dr. Silliman had long been an active supporter of schools and colleges. Among such institutions was Hampton Institute of Virginia, and his proposal to the Presbyterian Board was for an industrial school in the Philippines on the Hampton model.
The Philippines' mission started with Dr. David Sutherland Hibbard and wife, Laura, who were commissioned to head it. Three areas were considered: Cebu, Zamboanga, and Iloilo. While in Cebu, someone suggested for him to make a side trip to Dumaguete. Sailing from Cebu on a Saturday night, he came out early on deck the next morning and saw 'the unsurpassed drama of a Dumaguete morning from the sea.' It was told that the people's friendly attitude and the caliber of the local officials attracted him to Dumaguete, a 'place of health and beauty.'
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