The University of Manila, is a private, non-sectarian coeducational basic and higher education institution in the heart of Sampaloc District in Manila, Philippines. It was founded on October 5, 1913 as the Instituto de Manila, by Apolinario G. de los Santos, Mariano V. de los Santos, Maria de los Santos, Buenaventura J. Bello and Antonio Rivero. The first three were siblings. They named their school Instituto de Manila, after the city of Manila and Apolinario G. de los Santos was elected as the first director of the school.

Sampaloc is a district of Manila, Philippines. It is referred to as the University Belt or simply called "U-Belt" for numerous colleges and universities are found within the district such as the University of Santo Tomas, the oldest extant university in Asia; the National University, the first private nonsectarian and coeducational institution in the Philippines; the Far Eastern University, known for its Art Deco campus and cultural heritage site of the Philippines; and the University of the East, once dubbed as the largest university in Asia in terms of enrollment. The district is bordered by the districts of Quiapo and San Miguel in the south, Santa Mesa district in the south and east, Santa Cruz district in the west and north, and Quezon City in the northeast.