Rizal received his early education from his mother and furthered his studies in Calamba, Binan, and Manila. He demonstrated talent in art, poetry, and academics from a young age. He excelled in his studies in Manila and obtained degrees from the University of Santo Tomas and the University of Madrid. Seeking to escape discrimination, he secretly traveled to Europe in 1882 to study medicine in Spain and earned additional doctorates from the University of Paris and University of Heidelberg. Throughout his studies abroad, Rizal further developed his skills and vision while being inspired to advocate for reforms in the Philippines.

1. RIZAL’S EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Rizal’s mother, Dona Teodora was his first
teacher. She also discovered that Rizal had a
talent for poetry, and encouraged him to
write poems.

2. EARLY EDUCATION IN CALAMBA
AND BIÑAN
• At the age of 3, Rizal learned the alphabet from his mother.
• At the age of 5, while learning to read and write, Rizal already
showed inclinations to be an artist. He astounded his family and
relatives by his pencil drawings and sketches and by his moldings
of clay.
• At the age of 8, Rizal wrote a Tagalog poem “Sa Aking Mga
Kabata” the theme of which revolves on the love of one’s
language.

3. • Rizal went to Binan on June 1869. he was accompany by
his older brother Paciano, and taught by Maestro
Justiniano.
• In academic studies, Rizal beat all Binan boys. He
surpassed them in Spanish, Latin, and other subjects

4. PRIVATE TUTORS
• Maestro Celestino
• Maestro Lucas
• Leon Monroy

5. EDUCATION IN MANILA
• Rizal entered Ateneo in 1872. he belonged to the class of Spaniards,
mestizos, and Filipinos. However, he was paced at the bottom of the class. By
the end of the month, he became the emperor and received a prize: a
religious picture.
• Rizal graduated on March 23, 1877, attaining sobresaliente or excellen with 5
medals. He received the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

6. • Wrote his first poem Mi Primera Inspiracion (My First Inspiration) which was
dedicated o his mother on her birthday.
• He also wrote Through Education Our Motherland Receives Light and The
Intimate Alliance Between Religion and Good Education which showed the
importance of religion in education.

7. EXTRA CURRICULAR
• Classroom Emperor
• Campus Leader
• Secretary of Marian Congregation Religious Society
• Member of Academy of Spanish Literature and the Academy
of Natural Sciences
• Studied painting under the famous Spanish Painer, Agustin
Saez
• Improved his sculpture talents under the supervision of
Romualdo de Jesus
• Engaged in gymnastics and fencing and continued the
physical training under his sports-minded Tio Manuel

8. NOLI ME TANGERE
The idea of writing a novel grew on him, and later he
decided to write and worked hard for Noli Me Tangere
He never told anyone about it until it was finished, though
some of his companions knew what he was doing
He wrote half of the novel in Madrid, a quarter of it in Paris
and the rest in Germany

9. MEDICAL STUDIES IN UNIVERSITY OF
SANTO TOMAS
• He continued his education at UST and finished a year in Philosophy and
Letters after deciding to shift to a medical course.
• Rizal was unhappy at this Dominican Institution of higher learning because;
- the Dominican professors were hostile to him
- the Filipino students were racially discriminated against by the Spaniards
-the method of instruction was obsolete and repressive
After finishing the fourth year of his medical course, Rizal decided to study in
Spain. He could no longer endure he rampan bigotry, discrimination, and the
hostility in the University of Santo Tomas.

10. ACADEMIC JOURNEY TO SPAIN
• His departure for Spain was kept secret from Spanish Authorities, friars and
even his parents especially his mother because she would not allow him to
go but he was secretly supported by his brother, Paciano.
• In order to avoid detection, he used the name Jose Mercado, name of his
cousin in Calamba. Before his departure, he scribed farewell letters to his
parents and his sweetheart Leonor Rivera.
• On May 3, 1882 he boarded on Salvador bound for Singapore. He was the
only Filipino passenger. The captain of the ship, Donato Lecha from Asturias
Spain, befriended him
• They landed on Singapore on May 9 and registered to Hotel de la Paz spent
a couple of days sightseeing.

11. STUDIES COMPLETED IN SPAIN
• On November 3, 1882, he enrolled in Universal Central de Madrid taking up two
courses: Medicine and Philosophy and Letters
• Aside from those courses, he also studied painting and sculpture in the Academy
of Fine Arts of San Fernando; he took lessons in French, German, and English
under private instructors and practiced fencing and shooting in the Hall of Arms
Sanz y Carbonell
• He was conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine by the Universidad
Central de Madrid on June 11, 1884
• The next academic year, he studied and passed all subjects leading to the degree
of Doctor of Medicine. However, he did not submit the thesis required for
graduation nor paid the corresponding fees. He was not awarded his Doctor’s
Diploma

12. • Inducted as a member of he Berlin Ethnological Society and the Berlin
Anthropological Society under the pathologist Rudolf Virchow
• Jose Rizal also finished his studies in Philosophy and Letters with high
grades. He was awarded the Degree of Licentiate in Philosophy and Letters
by the Universidad Central de Madrid on June 19, 1885 with the rating of
excellent
• Attacks of homesickness inspired him to wrote “You ask me for Verses”

13. • During his stay in Madrid his vision broadened to the
point of awakening in him and understanding of human
nature, sparking in him the realization that his people
needed him. He joined the CirculaHispamo-Filipino
whose members were Filipino residents in Madrid and
some Spanish-born students. He wrote El Amor Patrio
wherein he expressed his love for his country. In La
Solidaridad, he published the Indolence of the Filipinos to
refute the Spanish critism that the Filipinos were indolent
and lazy. He said the colonial policy of divesting the
Filipinos of the fruits of their toil, the climate that was
conductive to the slow tempo of progress, the lack of
incentives to work harder, some cause why the Filipinos
were seemingly indolent

15. • The proposal for the book was unanimously approved.
• But afterwards, difficulties and objections were raised, and a
number of gentlemen stood up and refused to discuss the
matter any further in 1884.
• Rizal decided not to press the issue any longer.
• Although the book was never written, the next year, Pedro
Paterno published his Ninay, a novel sub-titled Costumbres
filipinas (Philippines Customs), thus partly fulfilling the original
purpose of Rizal’s plan.

16. UNIVERSITY OF
PARIS(FRANCE)
Earned a second doctorate
Inducted as a member of the Berlin Ethnological Society
and the Berlin Anthropological Society under the
patronage of the famous pathologist Rudolf Virchow

17. UNIVERSITY OF
HEIDELBERG
25-year-old Rizal completed in 1887 his eye specialization under
the renowned Prof. Otto Becker in Heidelberg
Left Heidelberg a poem, “A las flores del Heidelberg”; both an
evocation and a prayer for the welfare of his native land and the
unification of common values between East and West

18. RIZAL LIFE IN EUROPE

19. • Ateneo de Manila University
• University of Santo Tomas
• University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine
• Complutense University of Madrid
• University of Paris
• University of Heidelberg