The Ateneo de Davao University is a premiere Filipino, Catholic and Jesuit University founded by the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus in 1948. It aims to establish a standard of excellence in academic and spiritual formation in various fields.

The University single-mindedly aspires to champion a strong tradition of academic excellence and of greater service. It offers a comprehensive formation underscoring the holistic development of the person as an individual (mind and heart), and as a member of the human community. It labors to realize its mission of being “stronger in faith” (fortes-in-fide) in pursuit of God’s ultimate plan. In the spirit of service, various schools, colleges, divisions and departments of the Ateneo community reach out to local communities and other institutions, living out its mission ad majorem Dei gloriam. Through its diverse formation activities and student-centered programs, the Ateneo helps form young men and women into “persons-for-others” (maging-tao-para-sa-kapwa).

One significant initiative, which has been institutionalized in the core courses at the tertiary levels, is the Curriculum Integration dubbed as “Arrupe Program” under the Arrupe Office for Social Formation (formerly SICO). In this program, students live with marginalized communities, such as indigenous peoples, farmers and fisherfolks, street children and the urban poor. Some students and faculty volunteer to build houses and homes for the internally displaced people (IDPs) in coordination with Gawad Kalinga. Thus, to enable the students to become persons-for-others, the Jesuit education insists on critical thinking, academic excellence, creativity, scholarly research, and personality development that includes integrity, and commitment to the poor and marginalized.

These sectoral exposures and immersions help both Ateneo students and faculty come up with a critical insight of the particular concerns and needs of various sectors in the Philippine society, a deeper understanding of the social problems of poverty and development, and finally, a discernment directed at choosing various preferences for personal action and social involvment.

At Ateneo de Davao University, you will witness the same “way of proceeding” to education that is lived and practiced by Jesuit universities and institutions around world for more than 400 years. Jesuit educated thinkers include Teilhard de Chardin, Mateo Ricci, Alfred Hitchcock, Horacio de la Costa, Rene Descartes, Dee Dee Myers, and Dr. Jose Rizal (The Philippine National Hero).

The “way of proceeding” begins with a respect for the student as an individual human person, and his possibilities, a principle the Jesuits call cura personalis. Because they respect you, our teachers will challenge you to strive for greater personal achievements in your life as a person. That second principle, called magis, accounts for the tradition of intellectual discourse and the demands that Ateneo education will ask of you.

Each member of the Ateneo community strives to harness the maximum potential of the intellect, the hand and the heart while living a life in the service of others. Each school year more than 1000 Ateneo students from grade school, through high school and college follow the Jesuit philosophy of persons for others, by sharing their time and energy in serving marginalized communities.

On both the undergraduate and the graduate level, an Ateneo formation adopts rigorous scholarship and ethical standards. The College of Law, known for emphasizing Christian ethics, also has several active pro bono programs under the Ateneo Legal Aid Services. Students in the Graduate Programs of the School of Business and Governance assist non-profit organizations with business plan and entrepreneurial opportunities. The Social Work and the Psychology programs incorporate research and fieldwork on peace and development within the Davao regional area into their curriculum. The Graduate Programs of School of Arts and Sciences emphasizes environment, education and peace in its various academic course programs. The mandatory theology and philosophy courses are engaged to forming students of all varied cultures and faiths to encounter post-modern problems on morality and cultures.

The University is accredited by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) and the Federation of Accrediting Agencies in the Philippines (FAAP) – (a) Institutional Accreditation, (b) Level III for Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Commerce and Accounting, Social Work, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Mechanical Engineering; – Level III for Computer Science, Level I for Information Technology and Information Systems; – Level II for Secondary and Primary Education. It enjoys an autonomous status (2000-2015) and Center of Development for Information Technology Education and Teacher Education granted by theCommission on Higher Education of the Republic of the Philippines. It is also a charter member of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities in East Asia and Oceania, and Davao Association of Colleges and Schools (DACS). It is also an active member of Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific (UMAP)-CHED and Association of Southeast and East Asian Catholic Colleges and Universities (ASEACCU).