The Graduate School of the University of the East first started with the organization of the Graduate School of Business.

The Graduate School of Business was organized in 1948 in response to the clamor of accounting graduates of UE for a graduate degree. The first program offered was a one-year Master’s degree course in accounting which was later superseded by two-year programs in Master in Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Arts in Economics (MA Economics). This curricular change aimed to meet the increasing demand for highly educated professional in business and industry. Later the degree programs in MBA for executives and MBA for practitioners were instituted.

On the other hand, the Graduate School of Education was established in 1963, primarily aimed to develop competent leaders and scholars in the field of teacher education. It is noteworthy that the two graduate schools prevailed remarkably when the University reached its topmost fame in the 1970s in terms of student population, both local and international.

In 1982, the two graduate schools were merged, with Dr. Milda Ang as its first Dean, consequently leading to the creation of a lone Graduate School unit in the University, under the leadership of succeeding Deans, namely, Dr. Isidro Cariño, Dr. Arturo Trinidad, Dr. Rosario Lamug, Dr. Teresita Pascual, Dr. Josefina R. Cortes, Dr. Rosario E. Maminta, Dr. Danilo M. Yanga, Dr. John S. Bala, Dr. Evelina M. Vicencio, Dr. Avelina A. de la Rea and Dr. Julian E. Abuso.

Dr. Josefina R. Cortes was an expert in development education with a Ph.D. from Stanford University who later became University President. Dr. Rosario E. Maminta, a specialist in Applied Linguistics trained at UCLA, USA and University of British Columbia in Canada took over the deanship from Dr. Cortes upon the latter’s promotion. Dr, Maminta was a former Commissioner of the National Language Commission and an Outstanding UP alumna in 1986.

A respected physicist and holder of a Ph.D. in Physics, Dr. Danilo M. Yanga is a former Dean of the College of Science at the University of the Philippines-Diliman and President of the National Research Council of the Philippines. He was followed by Dr. John S. Bala, a respected figure in the accountancy profession and industry; a former Consulting and Financial Advisory Partner of a Big 4 accounting firm, he was also Vice Chairman of the Philippine Board of Accountancy and a holder of a Ph.D. in Commerce. He was awarded Outstanding CPA in Education by the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) in 1992.

Dr. Evelina M. Vicencio is a Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Teacher of the Philippines in 1988 and finished her Ph.D. at the University of the Philippines with the Most Outstanding Dissertation award. At present, she is the President and Member of the Board of Advisers of Metrobank Foundation, Inc. and a Member of the Network of Outstanding Teachers and Educators, Inc. (NOTED) Honor Society. She was recently chosen as the first female recipient of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines’ Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dr. Avelina A. De la Rea, a UE alumna and a former Commissioner of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), became the Dean of the Graduate School in 2010. She was granted the Special Recognition Award by the UE Alumni Association in 2005, the Alumni Achiever Award by the University of the East in 2006 and Distinguished Service Award by the PRC upon her retirement in 2007. She received an award for Outstanding CPA in Government Service in 2000 from the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) and Most Outstanding GACPA Officer from the Government Association of CPA’s (GACPA) in 1998. She finished her Ph.D. in Public Administration in 1989 at the University of Southern California.

Dr. Julian E. Abuso, former Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences of UE-Caloocan, subsequently served as Dean of the Graduate School until May 2021. He finished his Ph.D. in International and Development Education, major in Anthropology of Education from the University of Pittsburgh where he was a Fulbright grantee. He also has a Master of Arts in International Development Education degree from Leland Stanford Junior University and a Master of Arts Education degree from the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Prior to his appointment as UE Dean, he was a graduate professor in Anthropology of Education, College of Education, and University of the Philippines-Diliman, where he also served as three-term Chairperson of the Division of Curriculum and Instruction, and Principal, UP College of Education Integrated School.