About Us
DMMMSU In Brief
Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University’s journey started its humble beginnings towards becoming a strong university that it is now – a university embracing world class standards.
Created by virtue of Presidential Decree 1778 on January 15, 1981, Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) was created to cater to the aspirations of the people merging five (5) former schools of La Union as follows: Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State College (formerly known as Don Mariano Marcos Memorial College of Agriculture and La Union Agricultural School) founded on June 18, 1960, located in Barangay Sapilang, Bacnotan, La Union; La Union School of Arts and Trades (located in San Fernando, La Union, founded in 1907); Southern Ilocos Polytechnic State College (composed of Southern La Union National High School in Agoo, Sto. Tomas College of Fisheries, and Rosario National Agricultural School established on July 28, 1977); Community College of La Union (located in San Fernando founded in 1968); and Sapilang Elementary School (located in Barangay Sapilang, Bacnotan, La Union founded in June 1969).
Embodied in its charter, the University has a mandate to provide advanced instruction in the arts, agriculture, forestry, fishery, engineering, and natural sciences as well as in the technological and professional fields; and to promote research and engage in extension.
The late Dr. Bienvenido P. Agpaoa became the first President of the University until October 1988. DMMMSU started with seven (7) colleges namely College of Agriculture (Bacnotan), College of Fisheries (Paraoir), College of Liberal Arts (San Fernando), College of Engineering (San Fernando), College of Arts and Sciences (Agoo), College of Fisheries (Sto. Tomas), and College of Agriculture (Rosario). In February 1989, Dr. Manuel T. Corpus, former President of Cagayan State University, succeeded the leadership. Under his administration, the University had a massive reorganization in 1994 creating autonomous units – the South La Union Campus (SLUC), the Mid La Union Campus (MLUC), the North La Union Campus (NLUC), and the Open University System (OUS). In 1999, Dr. Dionisio Gat Ducusin succeeded and was followed by Dr. Ernesto R. Gapasin in 2001. In 2011, Atty. Benjamin P. Sapitula took over the presidency and modernized the university in terms of infrastructure. The current President is Dr. Jaime I. Manuel, Jr., former Chancellor of the North La Union Campus, assumed office in February 2019.
Evolving through the years, the University has three (3) major campuses located in different towns of the province of La Union namely: the North La Union Campus in Bacnotan as the Main Campus and the seat of the Central Administration; the Mid La Union Campus and the Open University System in San Fernando City, and the South La Union Campus in Agoo including the College of Agriculture in Rosario and the College of Fisheries in Sto. Tomas. DMMMSU also has two (2) national centers – the National Apiculture Research, Training, and Development Institute (NARTDI) and the Sericulture Research and Development Institute (SRDI).
Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University has 96 academic programs offered in the different operating units/campuses broken down into ten (10) postgraduate degrees in Philosophy; 28 Master’s Degrees; 34 undergraduate degrees, seven (7) post-secondary non-degree programs, and (two) 2 basic education laboratory school programs while the Open University System offers one (1) Doctor of Philosophy degree, two (2) Master’s degrees, four (4) baccalaureate programs, and four (4) diploma/certificate programs.
Of the current 92 accreditable programs, the University has ten (10) academic programs that have been reaccredited to Level IV status by the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities of the Philippines (AACCUP). These are Bachelor of Science in Agroforestry, Bachelor of Elementary Education, and Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management programs of the North La Union Campus; Doctor of Philosophy in Technological Education Management, Master of Arts in Technology Education, and Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology of the Mid-La Union Campus; and Doctor of Philosophy in Science Education, Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, Bachelor of Science in Biology, and Bachelor of Science in Computer Science of the South La Union Campus. Likewise, 27 programs are Level III Reaccredited, 16 are Level II Reaccredited, and 14 are Level I Accredited.
The University ranked among the top ten higher education institutions in the Philippines, as surveyed by the Commission on Higher Education in 2001. It ranked number seven among the more than a thousand private and public colleges and universities in the Philippines. Areas evaluated were faculty, student admission, library, academic offerings, research and extension.
DMMMSU was also listed in the CHED 2011-2016 Roadmap (Public Higher Education Reform) as one of the 19 Leading State Universities and Colleges in the Philippines.
The Colleges of Education were awarded Centers of Excellence/Development since 2010 while the College of Information Technology and College of Computer Science were re-accredited by the Commission on Higher Education as Centers of Development.
For the past several years, DMMMSU has produced topnotchers in national board examinations in the fields of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Agriculture, Fisheries, Agricultural Engineering, Veterinary Medicine, Forestry, Teacher Education, Psychology, Guidance and Counseling, Midwifery, and Master Electrician.
The research program of the University is one of the biggest programs in Northern Luzon in terms of the number of ongoing researches undertaken and budget allocation. Its research commodities include fiber crops, fruit crops, beef and chevon, pork, orchids, bamboo, agroforestry, poultry, agricultural engineering, farming system, applied rural sociology, macroeconomics, purple yam, bananas, sericulture, and apiculture.
Extension programs of the University are anchored in commodity-based services that create an impact on the life of the clientele in terms of productivity, profitability, and services for the enhancement of local governments and non-government organizations. DMMMSU Techno Pinoy, also known as Farmers’ Information and Technology Services (FITS), has been evaluated by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) to be one of the country’s more active and functional centers.
Acknowledged for its distinct competence, expertise and resources, DMMMSU is home to a number of special projects. These include the Sericulture Research and Development Institute (SRDI), National Apiculture Research, Training and Development Institute (NARTDI), Fisheries Research and Training Institute, DMMMSU Pig Extension and Research Farm, Philippine Carabao Center, Affiliated Non-Conventional Energy Center, and Metal Crafts and Innovation Center.
At present, the University is sprawled on a 1,120 hectares, cozily splintered in its three major campuses: North La Union Campus (Bacnotan and Balaoan towns), Mid La Union Campus (San Fernando City), and the South La Union Campus (Agoo, Sto. Tomas, and Rosario towns).