RIZAL’S HIGHER EDUCATION AND LIFE IN ABROAD

Rizal’s Education in Abroad

 His studies continue in UST until he was unhappy at the Dominican Institution.
 He was disgusted of its primitive method of instruction and the racial prejudice of
Dominican Professors against Filipino students and he was brought to realization
that pursuing further studies abroad will be much better.
 Aside from studying in Spain, he was on a Secret Mission.
Secret Mission: to observe keenly the life and culture, languages and customs,
industries and commerce, and governments and laws of the European nations in
order to prepare himself in the mighty task of liberating his oppressed people
from Spanish tyranny.

Studies Completed in Spain

 On November 3, 1882, he enrolled in Universidad 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 in 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 21, 1884.
 he 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.
 Jose Rizal also finished his studies in Philosophy and Letters with higher 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 write “You ask me for Verses”
 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 Circulo Hispano 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 criticism that the Filipinos were indolent and lazy. He said that the
colonial policy of divesting the Filipinos of the fruits of their toil, the climate that
was conducive to the slow tempo of progress, the lack of incentives to work
harder, some causes why the Filipinos were seemingly indolent.
