The UP Balik PhD Recruitment Program, under the UP Expanded Modernization Program, was instituted in 2012 to invite foreign-trained PhDs/postdoctoral fellows, who will pursue research and mentor the most creative and innovative undergraduate and graduate students, to come home to UP and serve the country. UP is in need of the best and the brightest expert PhD faculty who are committed to teaching and mentoring the best and the brightest young minds in the country in the years to come.

The program entitles the qualified faculty to a one-time relocation package to assist the Balik-PhD grantee in settling in the Philippines. In addition, Balik-PhDs are also entitled to receive a start-up research grant worth for a two-year project implementation upon submission of a full research proposal.

To date, there are a total of 67 Balik PhD grantees – of which 36 grantees have been supported through this program from 2017 to 2023 (present). Balik PhD grantees have produced more than 100 research articles or papers published in Web of Science-indexed and/or Scopus-listed journals as outputs of the startup research grant. Some grantees have also successfully established their laboratories and research groups in their respective units as part of the Balik PhD grant.

Read more about the projects under the Balik PhD Startup Grant in this catalog.