The University of the Philippines School of Economics is a degree-granting unit of the University of the Philippines Diliman (U.P.), where it occupies the buildings of the Philippine Center for Economic Development (PCED). The school offers two Bachelor of Science degrees (B.S. Economics and B.S. Business Economics), two master's degrees (Master in Development Economics and M.A. in Economics) and the Ph.D. in economics.
Established in 1965, the School of Economics was chosen as the first and only CHED Center for Excellence in Economics in the Philippines in 1999. Its academic programs enjoy a high national and international reputation, with a regular faculty consisting entirely of Ph.D.-holders. In April 2017, the School was among the top 5% (rank 175 among 7,408) of economics departments in the world based on the strength of its graduate students, as ranked by RePEc.The faculty has included three National Scientists, one Academician, and several Outstanding Young Scientists, all as recognized by the National Academy of Science and Technology of the Philippines.
Faculty research is particularly strong in the areas of health economics, public economics, and development economics. In collaboration with the Philippine Economic Society, the school publishes the Philippine Review of Economics, the journal of the economics profession in the country.
Graduates of the School of Economics have distinguished themselves in the fields of economics, business, law, education, and politics. Among notable alumni of the School, or the economics department preceding it, are deans of the School and officers of the university, leaders of the Philippines' largest companies, entrepreneurs, economics faculty in various Philippine universities, past and present government Secretaries and Undersecretaries, including officials of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), a member of the Commission on Elections, two governors of the Philippine central bank, members of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives, two Justices of the Supreme Court, a Vice-President of the Philippines, and a President of the Philippines.
The current dean of the School of Economics is Prof. Ma. Joy V. Abrenica, Ph.D.