Western Philippines University achieved university status in 2004. It can trace its roots back to Aborlan Farm Settler School in 1910.
It is located in Palawan, an archipelago separated from most of the rest of the Philippines by the Sulu Sea.
The main campus remains at Aborlan, accommodating the colleges of engineering and technology, public administration and management, agriculture, forestry and environmental science, arts and science and criminal justice education.
The other significant campus is located in the state capital Puerta Princesa, hosting the school of fisheries and aquatic sciences as well as 13 different degree courses.
The other campuses at Quezon, El Nido, Canique, Busugu and Rio Tuba mostly offer the first two years of degree programmes, requiring students who wish to progress to the full qualification to complete their studies at either Aborlan and Puerta Princesa. Graduate work is also concentrated on the two main campuses.
Agreement was reached with Palawan State University in 2024 to collaborate in a Centre for Human Rights.
