Divine Word College of Laoag

      The Divine Word College of Laoag, earlier known as Saint William's College, is a Catholic institution of higher learning run by the Society of the Divine Word or SVD in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. It was founded by Rev. Fr. Alphonse Mildner, SVD in 1946.

      In February 1945, Rev. Fr. Alphonse M. Mildner, SVD upon the advice of the Father Provincial, Rev. Fr. Kondring, SVD, proceeded to Laoag, Ilocos Norte to see the possibility of establishing a Catholic school. This was the response to the persistent invitation of Rev. Msgr. Ignacio Cordero, the parish priest at that time.

      From the time the school formally opened in July 1946, the administration composed of Fr. Alphonse Mildner, SVD Director, Fr. John D. Vogelgesang, SVD, Procurator and Mr. Federico D. Sales, Registrar, was beset with seemingly insurmountable problems such as the need of teachers, books, supplies and equipment. Dr. Felino Palafox is noted to have been the first teacher to sign up and then later became the first physician. To meet the problems of classrooms and offices, the administration requested to owners of buildings near the parish for this temporary purpose.

      Three months after the formal opening of classes, the first issue of the school’s official organ, the Guide was published with Leandro Batara as the First editor-in-chief. Today, it is calledWilliamite. One year later, the maiden issue of the school’s annual Logos came off the press. Both publications spoke loudly and still do of the lofty ideals fostered by the institution.

Northern Christian College

Northern Christian College is a post-secondary educational institution. Baccalaureate programs are offered in the fields of Liberal Arts, Ministry,Nursing, Teacher Education, Accountancy, and Commerce-Secretarial. The school also offers a Master's degree program in Education. There are 80 members on the faculty, and student enrollment is approximately 2000.

Northern Christian College was first established as Northern Luzon Christian College in Vigan, Ilocos Sur in 1933. The college moved to Laoag City in 1943, but was closed the next year due to World War II. The school was reopened as Northern Christian College in 1946.

In 2007, NCC registered approximately 2000 undergraduate and graduate students. The college focuses in delivering quality education to the community with an emphasis in training its students to uphold Christian moral values in their respective field. All programs in offered by NCC are recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and range from degrees (A.B., B.S., M.S., M.A., and Ph.D.) in several disciplines including:

• Accountancy
• Commerce
• Education
• Business Management
• Nursing
• Political Science
• Public Administration
• Social Welfare
• Theology
• Hotel and Restaurant Management

Ilocos Norte College of Arts and Trades

        The Ilocos Norte College of Arts and Trades was founded in 1908 as Laoag Provincial Trade School, in line with the government policy of establishing trade schools in various parts of our country. Said policy was geared towards providing vocational training for the young people so they could make our country economically self-sufficient.

        The first Principal of the school was Mr. C. Knopp, an American. The course offerings then were predominantly concerned with the development of skills for the woodworking occupations.

Mr. Summers and Mr., Andrews succeeded Mr. Kurts, respectively. During their incumbency, the course offerings consisted of manual training for boys for the fifth grade to the seventh grade. There was one concrete building used which has been converted into a two-storey building, an imposing edifice housing the library, the post secondary classes and the medical-dental clinic.

        The first Filipino principal of the school was Mr. Miguel Guerrero. It was during his administration that the curricular offerings were expanded to include home economics for girls and the first year for the secondary level.

Mr. Leslie Klejunger, Mr. Leoncio Agacaoili, and Mr. Petronilo Madamba, next held the reins of the school in respective succession.

Ilocos Norte National Highschool

     Ilocos Norte National High School is situated in the northwestern side, or so called “university belt,” of the Laoag City Proper. Every school year, it has an average enrolment of 3,000 students coming from all over the Province of Ilocos Norte and the surrounding provinces of Ilocos Sur, Cagayan, and Kalinga-Apayao. The school maintains total personnel of 170 serving in its four adjacent campuses.

       For more than a century now the Ilocos Norte National High school has made a name for herself as the premiere school of the north. The steady rise to become the progressive secondary school as it is now dates back to march 1917 when the school then named Ilocos Norte High School graduated twenty-three young men and a lady. Since then it has given the country alumni who have become luminaries not only locally but also in the national and international level. Thus it earned its present distinction as a great citadel of secondary education in Northern Philippines.

     The school is located at the western part of Laoag City. It caters to the residents of Barangay 2 Sta. Joaquina, Barangay 3 Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Barangay 4 San Guillermo, Barangay 5 San Pedro and other nearby barangays within the city and nearby towns of the Province of Ilocos Norte. Each barangay was named after their Patron Saint by the municipal government for purposes of identification. Barangay 2 has 10.34 hectares and Barangay 5 has 32.78 hectares. Most of these lands consist of residential and agricultural lots while the remaining lots are government owned.

Mariano Marcos State University of Laoag

     Established on January 6, 1978 by virtue of PD 1279 otherwise known as its Charter, Mariano Marcos State University was a merger of two growing state colleges in the province of Ilocos Norte: the Mariano Marcos Memorial College of Science and Technology (MMMCST) in Batac and the Northern Luzon State College (NLSC) in Laoag City. Also integrated were the tertiary level courses of the Ilocos Norte Agricultural College in Pasuquin and the Ilocos Norte College of Arts and Trades in Laoag. Even then, MMSU’s roots were anchored deep, its foundations strong and its beginnings proven historical turning points, as the predecessor institutions have existed as far back as the early 1900s.