Environmental and Occupational Health. Admissions Admission to the university is very selective. Prospective undergraduate students must pass the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT), which is part of the admission requirements for all the component units of the University of the Philippines System. An applicant for the Doctor of Medicine program can enter through direct entry at Learning Unit 1, where only high school graduates from the top male and female UPCAT scorers are accepted, or lateral entry at Learning Unit 3, where college graduates who passed the National Medical Admission Test (NMAT) are accepted. On the other hand, the School of Health Sciences directly admits scholars nominated by the far-flung communities served by its campuses. Financial aid The university spends most of its budget to the students. For the school year of 2017 to 2018, UP Manila offers tuition-free education to its medical students through a cash grants program. It was funded through the ₱317.1 million allocation for eight selected state universities and colleges nationwide which offers medical programs, with each institution receiving an allotment of ₱39 million. Students who will benefit from this program are expected to render a one-year "return service" to the Philippines for every cash grants he or she receives. The program, although separate in nature, is still a part of the ₱8.3 billion free tuition program for undergraduate students in all state universities and colleges nationwide, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which prompted the university to stop collecting tuition fees to all undergraduate students indefinitely. Research In research, UP Manila has been pursuing its mandate by generating and disseminating knowledge and technologies that can effectively contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of Filipinos. Its research outputs have greatly influenced the thrusts and directions of national health care programs and have been used as basis for policy formulation and implementation. The research units of UP Manila are housed in the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which also serves as the national health research center of the Philippines. As governed by the Health Research and Development Act of 1998, NIH conducts biomedical and public health research intended improve Philippine health services, promotion, and systems. The Manila Studies Program, a regional studies research center based in the College of Arts and Sciences, also conducts research and projects on heritage, urban development, and policy-related issues. As the national university,