UST Department of Political Science

26/08/2026

“Learning is not a destination; it is a continuous process.”
-Kevin Horsley

The UST Department of Political Science proudly congratulates faculty member Mr. Brian U. Doce for successfully defending his doctoral dissertation titled “The Political Economy of Halal Certification Regulation in the Philippines.”

He is slated to receive his PhD in Politics and Global Studies from Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia.

Congratulations on this incredible milestone and your continuous pursuit of academic excellence, soon-to-be Dr. Brian U. Doce!

Your UST Political Science family is incredibly proud of you.

Cheers to your well-deserved success!

10/08/2026

Amid the heavy downpour, the UST Department of Political Science successfully held its online department meeting today.

The faculty gathered virtually to finalize strategies and preparations for the upcoming Academic Year 2026-2027.

We are ready to welcome our students to another year of academic excellence and passionate engagement!

18/07/2026

The UST Political Science program celebrates the growing number of its graduates appointed as law school deans.

Atty. Edwin Carillo, a former government counsel and three-time bar examiner, has been named the new Dean of the College of Law at San Sebastian College-Recoletos (SSC-R) Manila.

Joining him in this milestone is fellow alumnus Atty. Reynaldo “Bong” Lopez, who was recently appointed as the Dean of the College of Law at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM).

A GRADUATE of the UST Political Science program and former government counsel has been tapped to lead the College of Law of San Sebastian College-Recoletos (SSC-R) Manila.

The appointment of lawyer Edwin Carillo, a three-time bar examiner, as law dean was announced by SSC-R in a Facebook post on June 26.

Link to the article in the comments section.

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18/07/2026

Prepping for a New Academic Year! 🐯

On July 14 and 15, 2026, the UST Department of Political Science successfully held its Annual Department Planning Activity at the St. Raymund de Peñafort Building.

The two-day intensive planning sessions focused on strategic preparations and review of the thesis writing courses for the upcoming academic year.

The department was also honored by the presence of our Dean, Prof. Melanie Turingan-Marcos, PhD, who briefly joined the political science faculty on the first day to deliver an inspiring message and support the department's initiatives.

With renewed vision and strategic goals, the faculty is ready to welcome our students back!

22/06/2026

"Leadership is not about privilege; it is a profound responsibility and an opportunity to serve others."

The UST Department of Political Science extends its warmest congratulations to Asst. Prof. Louie Benedict R. Ignacio, PhD, on his election as the Section Chair of Political Science and Public Administration of the Department of Science and Technology – National Research Council of the Philippines (DOST-NRCP).

Dr. Ignacio currently serves as the Faculty Secretary of the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters and is a former chairperson of the Department of Political Science.

The department takes immense pride in this milestone. May your leadership continue to inspire the Thomasian community.

We wish you continued success in your new role, Dr. Louie!

20/06/2026

The pursuit of excellence is an unending process.

The UST Department of Political Science congratulates the faculty members who were recently conferred their respective doctorate degrees.

Asst. Prof. Ma. Zenia M. Rodriguez, PhD earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Graduate School. She successfully defended her dissertation entitled “Bidang Babae, Bida ang Babae: A Critical Race Intersectional Theory and Dramaturgical Analysis of Filipino Women’s Representation in Selected Films.”

Mr. Marlon M. Villarin, PhD attained his Doctorate degree in Public Administration from Centro Escolar University (CEU) Graduate School, Manila. He successfully defended his dissertation entitled “W.O.N. As One: A Whole of Nation Approach to Philippine Maritime Defense Strategy.”

Congratulations to both Dr. Ma Zenia Rodriguez and Dr. Marlon Villarin for their success in their continuous pursuit of academic excellence!

We are very proud of you! Cheers to your success.

09/06/2026

𝙄𝙏'𝙎 𝘼 𝙒𝙍𝘼𝙋 𝙁𝙊𝙍 𝘽𝘼𝙏𝘾𝙃 2026! 📑✒️

ICYMI: The 4POL BATCH 2026 wrapped up their podcast series titled: “𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙨" an an outcomes-based education activity for the course, POL32121 - International Conflict Resolution, Political Violence and Peace Studies.

The podcast series aims to make the analysis of these international conflicts, accessible to the people and easily digestible to the general Filipinos.

Listen to the full podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033gqWO0ROcmaPdATOrNNf?si=00851c9b39ca4d31

03/06/2026

To uphold excellence in research, the Faculty of Arts and Letters recognizes the best student researchers of every program. The Best Thesis award is bestowed to students whose written theses reflect the mission and vision of the Faculty of Arts and Letters and their respective Program.

Since 2022, eight student-researchers from the Political Science Program together with their research advisers received the award. Who will it be for this academic year?

Take a look at the Candidates for Best Thesis for this year! The winner of the Best Thesis Award for the BA Political Science shall be announced during the Solemn Investitures of the Faculty of Arts and Letters.

01/06/2026

FINAL EPISODE IS OUT!!!

The International Conflict Resolutions, Political Violence, and Peace Studies class of 2026 presents their Outcomes-Based Education Activity on UN Peacekeeping Missions. 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟏𝟕 examines the dark history of the 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐬 (1989-2003) and the international community's response. We break down the geopolitical landscape that sparked the violence, the transition of power, and the legacy of 𝐔𝐍𝐌𝐈𝐋 (2003-2018) in peacekeeping history.

Through the efforts of the team:

Podcast Hosts:
𝐑𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐫𝐚 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐳

Researchers:
𝐑𝐚𝐥𝐩𝐡 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐳𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐧

Scriptwriter:
𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐲

Creatives and Editor:
𝐊𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐳

"𝐒𝐨 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐈𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 (𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐞)" was made to educate and entertain.

With special thanks to The Political Science Forum (UST-TPSF) for sharing this wonderful project!

𝘕𝘢𝘨𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘬𝘢𝘺𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘨 𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘢𝘯, 𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘸𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘺𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘢 𝘯𝘨 𝘓𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘯𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘴 𝘯𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘥𝘰? 𝘗𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘬𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘶𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘰 𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘰, 𝘱𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮, 𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘨 𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘮.

Now streaming on Spotify!
Link in the comment section.

31/05/2026

EPISODE 16 IS OUT!!!

The International Conflict Resolutions, Political Violence, and Peace Studies Class of 2026 presents... 𝙒𝙚𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙨 𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣

Conflict is more than warfare. It lives in the struggles, pressures, and divisions we face every day. But instead of fueling destruction, we choose discussion.

Tune in as we revisit the Sierra Leone War, a story that reminds us that peace is not won through violence, but built through dialogue. From structural inequality and corruption to humanitarian crises, peacekeeping, and post-war recovery, this episode unpacks the deeper realities behind conflicts and the lasting impact it leaves on societies and ordinary people alike.

After all, understanding conflict is the first step toward building lasting peace.

Now streaming on Spotify!
Link in the comment section.