Rizal As Student
Rizal As Student
Rizal As Student
On March 23, 1877, the 16-year old Rizal received his Bachelor of
Arts diploma (equivalent to present-day high school diploma), and
was among the nine sobresaliente or outstanding students of their
class.
COLLEGE
Medical Studies in University of Sto. Tomas 1877 - 1882
Pre-Med Course
Out of the 28 young men taking Ampliacion only four including Rizal
were granted the privilege of taking simultaneously the preparatory
course and the first year of medicine.
Rizal also received his four-year practical training in medicine at the
Hospital de San Juan de Dios in Intramuros
During his last year at the University, Rizal had obtained the global
grade of Notable (Very Good) in all his subjects, and he was the
second-best student in a decimated class of seven who passed the
medicine course. After which, Rizal decided to study in Spain.
1882 - 1885
-His departure for Spain was kept secret from Spanish Authorities,
friars and even his parents especially his mother because she would
not allow him to go. To avoid detection, he used the name Jose
Mercado.
Rizal’s interest in law was in line with the desire for political
autonomy in the Philippines. But his interest in the humanities
overtook all other interests He was awarded the Degree of
Licentiate in Philosophy and Letters by the Universidad Central de
Madrid June 19, 1885, with the rating of excellent.
But as time went on, Rizal’s heart was not in medicine as shown by his
enrollment in other courses. His medical interest was animated more by a
desire to remove cataracts on his mother’s eyes; she was then close to
being blind. Already losing her eyesight, Rizal’s mother could write to him
only with the assistance of one of her daughters. Rizal would have to go
to Paris and Germany to specialize in ophthalmology.
REFERENCES
Jose Rizal Online.
(n.d.). https://rizal.raphaelmarco.com/biography/education