The University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery (simply "UST-Medicine" or "UST-Med") is the medical school of the University of Santo Tomas, the oldest and largest Catholic university in Manila, Philippines. Established in 1871, the faculty is the first medical school in the Philippines. It is proclaimed to be a Center of Excellence by the Commission on Higher Education and a consistent Top Performing Medical School in the Philippine Physician Licensure Examination. The Faculty of Medicine and Surgery was founded in 1871. Jose Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines, enrolled in the Faculty to pursue foundational courses in medicine. He pursued further studies in Ophthalmology at Madrid Central University (now Complutense University of Madrid), the University of Paris, and the University of Heidelberg in Germany. The Faculty has consistently ranked among the top performing medical schools in the country. Widely considered as the preeminent medical school in the country, the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery has also produced the largest number of medical doctors in Philippine history. The Faculty offers the four-year Doctor of Medicine (M.D.