Brief History

The Central Luzon State University (CLSU) is one of the renowned and prestigious institutions of higher learning in the country. It has persistently produced well-trained people and provided services with marked excellence. In April 2007, CLSU celebrated its centenary.

It started as a farm school, the Central Luzon Agricultural School (CLAS), through Executive Order No. 10 issued by then governor of Nueva Ecija, James F. Smith, on April 12, 1907. Its initial emphasis was on the development of skilled and technician-type graduates to meet the human resource requirements in the opening and cultivation of rich farmlands.

As a school, CLAS then stamped a class of its own. With its unique curriculum, it promoted agriculture and mechanic arts which combined practicum and academic work. In time, CLAS became known as the “mother of vocational agriculture schools” in the country.

The school was converted into Central Luzon Agricultural College (CLAC) on December 31, 1950 by virtue of Executive Order No. 393 issued by then President Elpidio Quirino to promote agricultural education. As a higher learning institution, CLAC distinguished itself as the first state college established by the Philippine government to promote agricultural education, agricultural engineering and home economics, among others.
On June 18, 1964, CLAC was elevated into Central Luzon State University (CLSU) by virtue of Republic Act No. 4067 “to give professional and technical training in agriculture and mechanic arts; provide advance instruction; promote research, literature, philosophy, the sciences, technology and arts.”

From its basically agricultural orientation, CLSU turned into a comprehensive higher education institution offering various undergraduate and graduate courses.

The CLSU campus is a sprawling 658-hectare area in the Science City of Muñoz, 150 km north of Manila. On October 19, 2001, CLSU was launched as the Model Agri-Tourism Site for Luzon under the Philippine Agri-Tourism Program, a joint project of the Department of Agriculture and Department of Tourism.