The records show that the Graduate School of the Manila Central University started with authority to confer the degree of Graduate Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy by the government standardization committee for technical colleges 89 years ago in 1917. Thus the building where the graduate school is housed is called Graduate Pharmacy (GP) Building. The institution continued to grant these degrees up to 1974.

With the advent of the Second World War the institution had to stop operation but after the war, it became known as the Manila College of Pharmacy and Liberal Arts. In 1947 two graduate courses were offered – Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Public Administration (MPA). In 1948, the institution became Manila Central University and beginning 1966 the graduate level was referred to as “Graduate School Division”. The unit then started offering Master of Arts in Education with concentration in Administration and Supervision, Elementary Education, High School Teaching and College Teaching. In 1978 because of lack of students enrolling in the other major fields of MA Education these concentrations were phased out and what remained was the Administration and Supervision major. Then the major in Curriculum and Supervision was added and soon, major in Health Professions Education.

To upgrade the qualifications of the Medical and Paramedical members of the MCU faculty, as well as faculty in other colleges and universities not only in Metro Manila but in the provinces as well, the Graduate School offered the Master of Arts in College Teaching (MACT) program with Business Education, Dental Education, Optometry Education, Pharmacy Education and Medical Technology Education as its fields of specialization. The M.A. College Teaching program is not only fully recognized, it has been given formal accreditation status.

The Master of Arts in Nursing (MAN) program offers nursing administration, clinical teaching and clinical nursing services as specializations. At present, the MAN has the highest number of enrollees in the Graduate School. The MAN program, like the other masters’ programs have been given accreditation status by the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA).

At the doctoral level two programs are offered leading to the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD) and Doctor of Education (EdD). These programs are undergoing evaluation to make them more relevant and responsive to current and future needs of educational leaders.