De La Salle University (Filipino: Pamantasang De La Salle, Unibersidad ng De La Salle), also

known simply as La Salle and abbreviated as DLSU, is a private, Catholic research university run
by De La Salle Brothers located in Taft Avenue, Malate, Manila, Philippines. It was established in
1911 as the De La Salle College in Nozaleda Street, Paco, Manila with Br. Blimond
Pierre FSC serving as first director.[2] The educational institution moved to its present location on
September 1921 to facilitate the increase in enrollment. The college was granted university status in
February 1975 and is the oldest constituent of De La Salle Philippines (DLSP), a network of 16
Lasallian institutions established in 2006 to replace the De La Salle University System.[1][14][15]
The university started as a boys' elementary and high school. In 1920 it began offering a two-
year Associate in Arts Commerce program, which was later discontinued in 1931 in favour of a
Bachelor of Science in Commerce programme.[16][17] DLSU currently
offers coeducational undergraduate and graduate degree programmes through its seven colleges
and one school specializing in various disciplines, including business, engineering and liberal arts.[12]
DLSU is identified by the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as a "Center of
Excellence" in six of its programmes, and a "Center of Development" in 3 of its programmes.[18] The
university is also among the 40 institutions granted autonomous status by CHED as of
2010.[19] Likewise, it is the first of the only two institutions granted the highest-level accreditation
(Level IV) by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and
Universities (PAASCU).[1][20] The university is a member of several international university
associations, including the ASEAN University Network (AUN) and International Association of
Universities (IAU) as well as local organizations such as the South Manila Inter-Institutional
Consortium.[3]
De La Salle University ranks at 156[21] and 801-1000[22] in the 2020 Asian University Rankings and
2020 World University Rankings, respectively, published by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). Times
Higher Education (THE) included De La Salle University in the 2019 edition of the Times Higher
Education World University Rankings where it was placed in the 801-1000 bracket, which also
marked the university's first appearance on the THE World University Rankings. It joined
the University of the Philippines as the only two universities in the Philippines to enter the list, and is
the only private university from the Philippines to be included.[23][24] It was also placed in the 251-300
bracket of the THE Asia University Rankings in 2019.[25] Presently, De La Salle University holds the
distinction as the lone Philippine private university to appear in both the QS World University
Rankings and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.