University of the Philippines Los Baños College of Human Ecology

The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB; Filipino: Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Los Baños), also referred to as UP Los Baños or colloquially as Elbi (pronounced ['ɛlbi]), is a public research university primarily located in the towns of Los Baños and Bay in the province of Laguna, some 65 kilometers southeast of Manila. It traces its roots to the UP College of Agriculture (UPCA), which was founded in 1909 by the American colonial government to promote agricultural education and research in the Philippines. American botanist Edwin Copeland served as its first dean. UPLB was formally established in 1972 following the union of UPCA with four other Los Baños and Diliman-based University of the Philippines (UP) units. The university has played an influential role in Asian agriculture and biotechnology due to its pioneering efforts in plant breeding and bioengineering, particularly in the development of high-yielding and pest-resistant crops. In recognition of its work, it was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding in 1977. Six of its research units are classified as Centers of Excellence in Research via presidential decree, and it hosts a number of local and international research centers, including the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), ASEAN Center for Biodiversity, World Agroforestry Centre, and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). UPLB offers more than 100 degree programs in various disciplines through its nine colleges and two schools, 29 of which are undergraduate degree programs. As of 2021, nine academic programs were recognized by the Commission on Higher Education as Centers of Excellence while one program was recognized as Center of Development.UPLB alumni have been recognized in a wide range of fields. They include 16 scientists awarded the title National Scientist of the Philippines, members of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Palanca Award winners, as well as political and business leaders.

The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) is one of the eleven degree-granting units of the University of the Philippines Los Baños. It is the largest college in University of the Philippines System which offers most of the general education subjects required of UPLB students, as well as the highest number of degree programs in the University. The Philippines' Commission on Higher Education has recognized CAS as a Center of Excellence in Biology, Chemistry, Information Technology and Mathematics, as well as a Center of Development in Physics and Statistics.

The School of Environmental Science and Management (SESAM) is one of the eleven degree-granting units of the University of the Philippines at Los Baños (UPLB). It was created in 1977 in response to calls for a multidisciplinary effort to address environmental degradation amid economic development. Then known as the Program on Environmental Science and Management, it was lodged under the Office of the Chancellor with initial funding support from the Ford Foundation. It began offering the Master of Environmental Studies program in 1984 and pioneered development and testing methodologies and approaches for sustainable management of upland resources, which include the following: Agroecosystem Analysis, Rapid Rural Systems Appraisal (RRSA), Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR), Strategic Environmental Planning and Modelling and Environmental Impact Assessment.

The University of the Philippines Los Baños College of Agriculture and Food Science (also referred to as UPLB CAFS), formerly named University of the Philippines College of Agriculture or UPLB CA, is one of the 11 degree-granting units of the University of the Philippines Los Baños. Founded in 1909 as the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture, it is the oldest constituent of UPLB, and is one of the four founding units of the university upon its establishment in 1972.The college offers 4 undergraduate degree programs while its graduate programs are offered through the Graduate School. It is involved in active research in agriculture and biotechnology focusing on the development of high-yielding and pest-resistant crops. In recognition of its work, it received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding in 1977. Moreover, it is identified by the Commission on Higher Education as a "Center of Excellence" in agriculture.CAFS alumni have played key roles in agriculture and allied fields. Alumni include National Scientists and ranking government officials in the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations. Despite this, enrollment in the BS Agriculture program has been in decline, with 51% of UPLB students enrolled in the program in 1980 down to 43% in 1995. CAFS programs also have a substantially low no-show rate, with only 56% and 38% of qualifiers opting to enroll in the BS Agriculture and BS Agricultural Chemistry programs, respectively. The trend is similar nationwide with BS Agriculture programs offered by higher education institutes in the country having the least enrollment.

SEARCA or the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture is one of the oldest among 26 specialist institutions of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO). Founded on 27 November 1966, SEARCA is mandated to strengthen institutional capacities in agricultural and rural development in Southeast Asia. For its 11th Five-Year Plan (FY 2020/2021- FY 2024/2025), SEARCA commits to accelerate transformation that elevates the quality of life of agricultural families through sustainable livelihoods and access to modern networks and innovative markets. Transformation efforts will focus on policy, institutional, social and technological innovations. Specifically, the Center’s priority areas will be: (1) Agri-Business Models for Increased Productivity and Income; (2) Sustainable Farming Systems and Natural Resource Management; (3) Food and Nutrition Security; (4) Transformational Leadership for ARD; (5) Gender and Youth Engagement in ARD; (6) Enhanced ARD towards Climate Resilience; and (7) EcoHealh/One Health Applications to ARD. SEARCA serves the 11 SEAMEO member countries, namely: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste. The Center is hosted by the Government of the Philippines on the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) in Laguna, Philippines.

The College of Development Communication (CDC) is the ninth college established under the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). It is recognized worldwide as a pioneer of development communication as an academic field. It offered the Philippines' first communication course in 1960, as a major under the Bachelor of Science in Agriculture curriculum. In 1974, it became the first to offer academic degree programs in development communication. To date, it is the only academic institution in the world offering degree programs in development communication at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree levels. In 1999, the College was named as one of two national centers of excellence in communication by the Philippines' Commission on Higher Education CHED. The College (through DZLB) was awarded a KBP Golden Dove Award for best AM station in 1994 and a Catholic Mass Media Award for Best Educational Radio Program in 2010. In December 2012, the College of Development Communication once again became a Center of Excellence for Development Communication.

The College of Economics and Management (CEM) is one of the eleven degree-granting units of the University of the Philippines Los Baños. It is the first in Asia to offer degree programs in Agricultural Economics and has trained agricultural, resource and environmental economists from all over the continent. CEM is composed of four departments - the Department of Agricultural Economics, Department of Economics, Department of Agribusiness Management and Entrepreneurship, and the Institute of Cooperatives and Bio-Enterprise Development (ICOPED). Also affiliated with the college is the Agribusiness Center for Entrepreneurs and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Center for Technology Exchange and Training for Small and Medium Enterprises (ACTETSME).

The Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus Parish, is located along Victoria M. Ela St. (formerly Silangan Road, a quick jeepney route via "UP College – Kaliwa") inside the University of the Philippines Los Baños campus and is often referred to as the unofficial UPLB Chapel. It is the first church in the Philippines dedicated to Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus as its first titular patroness (since 1927) and one of the three Roman catholic churches in the municipality of Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. The church is designated as the Diocesan Shrine of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pablo on October 1, 2016.

The Charles Fuller Baker Memorial Hall, also known as Baker Memorial Hall or simply Baker Hall, is one of the oldest buildings on the campus of University of the Philippines Los Baños and the oldest building of the College of Arts and Sciences. Built from 1927 to 1938, it is named after Charles Fuller Baker, the second and longest-serving dean, University of the Philippines Los Baños College of Agriculture. It was part of the Los Baños Internment Camp for American and allied POWs and civilians during the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines during World War II. It formerly served as the university gymnasium and home of the Department of Human Kinetics before the department was transferred to the Edwin Bingham Copeland Gymnasium.

The Raid on Los Baños (Filipino: Pagsalakay sa Los Baños) in the Philippines, early Friday morning on 23 February 1945, was executed by a combined United States Army Airborne and Filipino guerrilla task force, resulting in the liberation of 2,147 Allied civilian and military internees from an agricultural school campus turned Japanese internment camp. The 250 Japanese in the garrison were killed. It has been celebrated as one of the most successful rescue operations in modern military history. It was the second precisely-executed raid by combined U.S.-Filipino forces within a month, following on the heels of the Raid at Cabanatuan at Luzon on 30 January, in which 522 Allied military POWs had been rescued.: 4  The air/sea/land raid was the subject of a 2015 nonfiction book, Rescue at Los Baños: The Most Daring Prison Camp Raid of World War II, by New York Times bestselling author Bruce Henderson.

The Molawin River, also referred to as the Molawin Creek, is one of the many low volume flowing rocky streams crisscrossing the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños and some areas of the town of Los Baños. Molawin Creek crosses the whole of the UPLB campus and essentially cuts it in half making it necessary to construct several bridges throughout the university's history to improve the campus' integrity and general accessibility. Volume of flow depends on the average rainfall of the season and develops into a raging river during typhoons or heavy rainfall. It is a minor tributary of Laguna Lake, one among many small creeks that empty into Laguna de Bay. The origins of Molawin Creek and the other creeks in Los Baños have not been pinpointed but are generally accepted to have their origins high up in Mount Makiling. The name Molawin is a local variation of the name of the Molave tree (Vitex parviflora).

The College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology (also known as CEAT) is one of the eleven degree-granting units of the University of the Philippines Los Baños. It began as the Department of Agricultural Engineering under the College of Agriculture in 1912. It was then elevated into the Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Technology in 1976 and eventually became a full-fledged college in 1983.