Collective Mentorship Program
The UP Collective Mentorship Program (CMP) serves as a strategic platform for advancing graduate education, research, creative work, innovation, and public service in fulfillment of the University’s mandate under Republic Act No. 9500. Shaped by comprehensive consultations across CUs, academic clusters, and graduate units, the CMP complements the proposed enhanced Faculty Merit Promotion (FMP) system. Together, they establish the enabling, supportive environment recommended by the UP Task Force to increase PhD graduation rates. This unified approach reinforces UP’s mandate as the country’s premier institution for advanced instruction, applied and transdisciplinary research, creative production, technology innovation, and transformative public service.
The Restoration Systems Science Program (RSSP) advances evidence-based restoration of degraded Cordillera ecosystems through microbial and molecular research, integrating stress genomics, functional trait characterization, and computational approaches. Anchored on the expertise of the mentors, RSSG will assist MS Conservation and Restoration Ecology students through hands-on research spanning laboratory assays and genomic studies, building a graduate research pipeline that translates microbial science into practical, policy-relevant restoration strategies for degraded and industry-affected sites.
Rapid urbanization is transforming landscapes at unprecedented rates, making the Metro BLISTT (Baguio, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay) increasingly vulnerable to environmental decay and other climate-related risks. The Integrated Urban Landscape Resilience Program (IULRP) envisions a platform that will link research, education, extension, and policy engagement. Through active participation of graduate students and diverse stakeholders, the program will generate innovative solutions that will promote resilient, sustainable, and livable urban landscapes.
The program is anchored in the rich biological diversity and high endemism of the Philippine archipelago, which is maintained by a variety of terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems. A long history of deforestation has put Philippine biodiversity in the spotlight as one of the planet’s top biodiversity hotspots. Several other forms of disturbance, both natural (e.g., typhoons, earthquakes, and fires) and human-made, continue to threaten remaining healthy ecosystems and adversely affect the recovery of degraded ones. At present, the anthropogenically enhanced change in climate is predicted to alter ecosystem functions and ultimately the component organisms. Thus, it is critical to maintain a healthy avenue for research on all types of organisms, known and unknown, and their behavior and habitats, and to provide relevant data to develop appropriate, science-informed conservation actions.
The College of Science at the University of the Philippines Baguio takes the lead in advancing research in northern Luzon through its undergraduate and graduate programs. The Department of Biology has long responded to this call by conducting regular reviews and updates of its undergraduate program, now has an Ecology and Systematics track, and has developed the Master of Science in Conservation and Restoration Ecology (MS CaRE) to further its commitment to producing students with a strong foundation in ecology and the science of conservation and restoration. While we continue to take the lead in Northern Luzon, the online mode of learning in our MS CaRE has expanded our reach to include several other areas in Luzon, such as Sierra Madre and Zambales, and the Philippines, such as the Visayas and Mindanao, operationally covering the entire archipelago.
Through this Research and Mentoring Program, faculty in the Department of Biology and its students are expected to maintain a dedicated research focus that promotes the scientific study and conservation of biodiversity in island systems..