The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) is a public research university and is the fifth constituent university of the University of the Philippines System. The majority of UPOU students are based in the Philippines but all of its programs can be taken anywhere in the world. While primarily a virtual university, it has a physical campus that houses admin and faculty offices in Los Baños, Laguna, with Mega Learning Hubs (MLH) in Manila and Cebu.

The University of the Philippines is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500, giving it institutional autonomy.