Saint Mary's University

What Saint Mary's University does

Saint Mary's University (SMU) is a private, non-stock, non-profit higher education institution founded in 1947 in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines, by the CICM (Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary) religious order and granted university status by CHED in 1994. The institution delivers comprehensive education from Grade School through Senior High School, Undergraduate Programs, Graduate Studies, and a College of Law across schools of Accountancy and Business; Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology; Health and Natural Sciences; and Teacher Education and Humanities, plus a Hospitality and Tourism offering. SMU supports instruction with a Learning Management System at lms.smu.edu.ph, a Student Portal with Google OAuth authentication built on Laravel/Bootstrap/jQuery, a College Entrance Test Portal for admissions, Koha and Destiny library systems, licensed SPSS statistical software, and a plagiarism detection system with calibrated similarity thresholds.

Revenue is generated primarily through tuition and academic fees charged per semester across all program levels, supplemented by laboratory, library, and academic service charges; exact rates are not publicly disclosed. The university holds CHED Autonomous Status, PAASCU accreditation, AUN-QA certification, ISO 9001:2015 certification, and designation as a Center of Excellence in Teacher Education, and claims Top 1 Nursing school ranking in the Philippines. Student recruitment is conducted direct-to-consumer through the SMU website, the College Entrance Test Portal, social media channels, the AFS international exchange partnership (since 2018), and a network of 35+ international and 20+ national institutional partnerships spanning Asia, Europe, and Africa. Strategic research and applied initiatives include the DOST-PCIEERD-funded Project ARTIC (collaborative robotics and AI for the food industry, Php 6M allocation), the University Research Center, the University Research Ethics Board (SMUREB) reporting directly to the President, and the University Research Ethics Office (UREO) established in August 2022.

Name

Saint Mary's University

Legal name

Saint Mary's University

Website

https://smu.edu.ph

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Saint Mary's University is a private non-profit Philippine higher education institution in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, offering programs from Grade School to Graduate Studies and Law, serving primarily domestic students in Northern Luzon alongside a small cohort of international exchange students via 35+ global partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Comprehensive Doctoral Research Universities (Multi-Disciplinary) (EDAHABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts, Humanities & Creative Research Universities (EDAHABAG), Private/Independent Community & Junior Colleges (EDAHADAB)

Keywords

• Higher education services
• University academic programs
• Professional licensure training
• Graduate education
• Research education

Headquarters

HQ city

Bayombong

HQ country

Philippines

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Academic Fees: Revenue from tuition fees across all academic programs including Grade School, Junior High School, Senior High School, Undergraduate Programs, Graduate Programs, and College of Law. Additional fees include laboratory fees, library fees, and other academic service charges.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Saint Mary's University is a private higher education institution that delivers academic programs from Grade School through Senior High School, undergraduate degrees, graduate studies, and a College of Law. It offers professional degree programs in Nursing, Engineering, Architecture, Accountancy, Teacher Education, Information Technology, Hospitality Management, Psychology, and Social Work, supported by online learning infrastructure, research centers, and licensure exam preparation.

Product overview

Saint Mary's University operates a multi-platform digital infrastructure comprising the SMU Learning Management System (LMS) for online course delivery and academic content management, the Student Portal for student authentication and online services, the College Entrance Test Portal for admissions testing, and Docuhub for document management. These platforms are supported by various academic schools including the School of Accountancy and Business, School of Engineering Architecture and Information Technology, School of Health and Natural Sciences, School of Teacher Education and Humanities, School of Graduate Studies, College of Law, and ETVAO, along with support services including the University Learning Resource Center, University Research Center, and University Research Ethics Office.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grade School Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 85.71% passing rate in Psychometrician Licensure Exam (vs 73.27% national average)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• TESDA-NV (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Nueva Vizcaya)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 November 2024Historic memorandum of understanding signed on November 27, 2024 for collaboration in hospitality and tourism education, skills development, and industry standards elevation.
• AFS Intercultural ProgramscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Partnership established in 2018 for facilitating international student exchange programs. AFS sends foreign exchange students to SMU for cultural immersion experiences, contributing to SMU's internationalization goals.
• SEAMEO (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSMU is a member of SEAMEO Schools Network International, participating in regional educational initiatives and SEA-Teacher Project for faculty and student exchanges among Southeast Asian institutions.
• Howest University of Applied Sciences, BelgiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership includes student exchange programs, collaborative innovation projects, and the Synergy Project with West Flanders. Joint participation in North Intensive Program (NIP) for sustainable development challenges.
• VIVES University of Applied Sciences, BelgiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through Synergy Project with West Flanders. Hosted delegations for benchmarking and research collaboration meetings. Joint North Intensive Program hosting.
• Kanchanaburi Rajabhat University, ThailandmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership including faculty exchange programs and collaborative academic initiatives. Formalized through memorandum of understanding for educational cooperation.
• DOST (Department of Science and Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDOST allocated Php 6 million for SMU's Robotics and AI initiatives. Partnership includes Project ARTIC for collaborative robotics and AI in food industry innovation, and DOST-PCIEERD collaboration.
• DTI (Department of Trade and Industry)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partnership for technology transfer, Shared Services Facilities program funding (Php 2 million grant for TTBDO), and industry-academe collaboration.
• CHED (Commission on Higher Education)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCHED granted Autonomous Status to SMU. Partnership includes CHED-NHERA research framework, Grants in Aid Project, and participation in CHED quality assurance initiatives.
• Fu Jen Catholic University, TaiwanmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership for academic collaboration and potential student/faculty exchanges with Catholic educational institution.
• Coventry University, United KingdommajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational linkage for academic partnership and potential collaborative programs in higher education.
• ASIA e University, MalaysiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partnership for potential academic collaboration and credit transfer arrangements.
• West Flanders, Belgium (Synergy Project)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTripartite agreement among SMU, Howest University, and LGU Solano for collaborative community innovation projects focused on sustainable agriculture and climate change.
• Kalahan Educational Foundation Inc.majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partnership for indigenous peoples education initiatives and community development programs in Nueva Vizcaya.
• DOST - Philippine Health Research Ethics Board (PHREB)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for research ethics training including Basic Research Ethics Training (BRET) for UREB members and institutional capacity building.
• Catholic University of KoreaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership with Catholic educational institution for potential academic exchanges.
• National Indigenous Peoples Coalition in Higher Education (NiCHE)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for indigenous peoples higher education advocacy and IKSP (Indigenous Knowledge, Systems, and Practices) documentation and protection.
• NAKEM InternationalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research conference partnership. SMU hosted the 3rd Nakem International Conference. Founding member of Nakem Conferences International-Philippines Chapter.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• University of San Carlos (Cebu): A private Catholic Vincentian university in the Visayas with comparable program breadth, PAASCU accreditation, and a similar regional-nonprofit structure, though serving a different Philippine geography.
• University of Baguio: A private, non-stock university based in Baguio City, Northern Luzon, with comparable program breadth (Nursing, Engineering, Law, Graduate Studies) and a similar regional-recruitment model, making it a close geographic competitor.

Broad incumbents

• De La Salle University: A top-tier private Catholic university with strong research output, CHED autonomy, and Center of Excellence designations across multiple programs. Comparable on the Catholic, autonomous, research-active private university axis.
• Ateneo de Manila University: A leading private Catholic Jesuit university with a national brand, strong licensure performance, and a broad program portfolio. Comparable on the faith-affiliated private university dimension, though far larger and Metro-Manila based.

Direct peers

• Centro Escolar University: A private, non-stock, non-profit Philippine university offering comparable programs (Nursing, Pharmacy, Optometry, Education, Law, Graduate Studies) and similar faith-inspired mission — a closer structural analog than Manila giants.
• Saint Mary's College (various Philippines): Other CICM-affiliated Saint Mary's institutions in the Philippines share both the religious order governance and the Catholic comprehensive-university model, making them natural name-affinity and structural peers for SMU Bayombong.
• Saint Louis University (Baguio): Another CICM-founded private university in the Cordillera/Northern Luzon region, directly competing with SMU for the same regional student pool across comparable programs including Nursing, Engineering, and Teacher Education.
• Lyceum of the Philippines University: A private, non-stock Philippine university with comparable program mix including Nursing, Engineering, Architecture, Law, and Graduate Studies — a useful size-and-business-model analog in the Philippine private higher education market.
• University of Santo Tomas (UST): The Philippines' oldest private Catholic university, founded in 1611. Directly comparable as a private, faith-affiliated, CICM-equivalent institution offering a similarly broad spectrum of programs (Nursing, Engineering, Architecture, Accountancy, Law) at scale, though UST is Manila-based and far larger.
• Philippine Women's University: A private, non-profit Philippine university with comparable multi-disciplinary program offerings (Nursing, Engineering, Education, Arts & Sciences) and a similar tuition-driven revenue model, providing a useful size-and-structure benchmark.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SaintMarysPH
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@SaintMarysPH
• Facebookfacebook.com/SMUPHILIPPINES
• Instagraminstagram.com/saintmarysph
• TikToktiktok.com/@saintmarysph

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Saint Mary's University