[3] In 1919 during the American colonial era, the Philippine Women's University was established as the Philippine Women's College (PWC) by a group of Filipino women consisting of Clara Aragon, Concepcion Aragon, Francisca Tirona Benitez, Paz Marquez Benitez, Carolina Ocampo Palma, Mercedes Rivera and Socorro Marquez Zaballero with the assistance of Filipino lawyer José Abad Santos, who drafted the university's constitution and by-laws.

From 1928 up to the outbreak of the World War II, Philippine Women's University introduced the following programs: Home Economics, Music and Fine Arts, Social Work, Nutrition, Pharmacy and Business.

Most institutions offering higher education at that time were exclusively for young men, like PWU's neighbor, De La Salle College.

The PWU campus, a building occupying an entire city block, was converted to a hospital, known as the 'Pagamutan ng Maynila (lit.

In 2011, PWU was involved in a joint venture plan to infuse much-needed capital from STI, an educational institution owned by Eusebio Tanco.

[6] The deal went sour in 2014 and a legal battle ensued when the Benitez family refused to accede to STI's plan to develop a mini-mall and residential condominiums with Ayala Land on the property associated with the PWU JASMS Quezon City campus.

Fifteen years later, in 1987, Don Benito Lopez Memorial Hospital was acquired by the West Visayas State University.

They also had a satellite campus in Cagayan de Oro, along Antonio Luna Extension, but was later closed and soon renamed "Professional World Academy".