TL;DR: The Academic Track is the senior high school pathway DepEd Order No. 017, s. 2026 describes as "designed primarily for learners to pursue higher education." It no longer has strands. Instead it has five clusters of electives: Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities; Business and Entrepreneurship; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; Sports, Health and Wellness; and Field Experience. A purely Academic Track learner takes 17 to 20 subjects totalling 2,000 hours — five core subjects and three electives in Grade 11, then nine to twelve electives in Grade 12. Work immersion is optional on this track. A cross-track option lets an Academic learner take one Tech-Pro elective in Grade 12.
People search for "academic track strand," and the phrase is worth unpicking before anything else. Academic was always a track. STEM, ABM, HUMSS and GAS were the strands inside it. Under the current curriculum the strand layer is gone and the correct term is simply the Academic Track. If someone tells you their child is "in the academic strand," they mean the track.
What the Track Is For
DO 017, s. 2026 defines the Academic Track as "an education pathway in SHS designed primarily for learners to pursue higher education," and adds that "learners can select Academic Electives from five distinct clusters, ensuring they acquire the necessary foundational knowledge and 21st-century skills."
The word primarily is doing some work there. Track choice is aligned to a curriculum exit, not welded to one. The order names four exits — higher education, employment, entrepreneurship and middle-level skills development — and the Academic Track is built around the first. It does not close the others.
The Five Clusters
| Cluster | What sits inside it |
|---|---|
| Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities | Creative Industries electives across visual, literary, media, applied, music, dance and theatre arts; Contemporary Literature 1 and 2; Creative Composition 1 and 2; Filipino 1 and the Filipino 2 variants; Malikhaing Pagsulat; Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person; Citizenship and Civic Engagement; Philippine Governance; Social Sciences (Theory and Practice); the two criticism-and-markets electives; Creative Production and Presentation |
| Business and Entrepreneurship | Business 1 (Basic Accounting); Business 2 (Business Finance and Income Taxation); Business 3 (Business Economics); Contemporary Marketing; Entrepreneurship; Introduction to Organization and Management |
| Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics | Biology 1 to 4; Chemistry 1 to 4; Physics 1 to 4; Earth and Space Science 1 to 4; Pre-Calculus; Basic Calculus; Advanced Mathematics; Finite Mathematics 1 and 2; Empowerment Technologies; Database Management; Fundamentals of Data Analytics; two conceptual science electives |
| Sports, Health, and Wellness | Human Movement 1 and 2; Physical Education 1 and 2; Sports Coaching; Sports Officiating; Sports Activity Management; Exercise and Sports Programming; First Aid; Fundamentals of Basic Life Support |
| Field Experience | Arts Apprenticeship in seven art forms; Design and Innovation; Research 1 and 2; In-Campus Field Exposure for Sports; Field Exposure (Off Campus); Work Immersion for Academic Track |
Most Academic electives are 80 hours. The Arts Apprenticeship subjects, Creative Production and Presentation, and In-Campus Field Exposure for Sports are 160 hours. Work Immersion for the Academic Track is 320 hours and sits in Grade 12.
A cluster is not a strand. DO 017 states that clusters "are distinct from strands, as schools are not required to offer all Electives within a cluster, and learners may select Electives across multiple clusters." A learner can mix STEM electives with a Business elective and a research subject if the school offers them. Our track versus strand guide covers that distinction in detail, and the structure this replaced is documented in the tracks and strands explainer.
What It Takes to Graduate
The order sets the requirement out as a table, and it is worth reading precisely because schools will build a programme of study from it.
Purely Academic Track
| Grade | Requirement | Subjects | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | Core Subjects | 5 | 800 |
| Grade 11 | Academic Electives | 3 | 240 |
| Grade 12 | Academic Electives | 9 to 12 | 960 |
| Total | 17 to 20 | 2,000 |
Academic Track with cross-track
| Grade | Requirement | Subjects | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | Core Subjects | 5 | 800 |
| Grade 11 | Academic Electives | 3 | 240 |
| Grade 12 | Academic Electives | 8 | 640 |
| Grade 12 | Tech-Pro Elective (cross-track) | 1 | 320 |
| Total | 17 | 2,000 |
Overall, an Academic Track learner completes 800 hours of core subjects and at least 1,200 hours of electives. The subject count varies because electives come in 80, 160 and 320-hour sizes. Total weekly load is capped at 40 hours.
One rule catches people out. DO 017 states that learners who enrol in more than the required minimum number of electives "must pass all subjects taken to graduate," and that failing any extra elective disqualifies them from graduation even if the minimum has already been passed. Taking an additional subject is not a free option.
The five core subjects, all in Grade 11, are covered in our SHS core subjects guide.
Prerequisites Are Real Now
The Academic elective lists in Annex A of DO 017 carry a prerequisite column, and it is not decorative. Biology 4 requires Biology 1, 2 and 3. Basic Calculus and Advanced Mathematics both require Pre-Calculus. Contemporary Literature 2 requires Contemporary Literature 1. Sports Coaching and Sports Officiating each require both Human Movement subjects. The Arts Apprenticeship subjects each require a named set of arts electives taken first.
The practical consequence is that Grade 11 elective choices constrain Grade 12 options. A learner who wants the four-subject Physics sequence needs to start it in Grade 11. A learner who wants Work Immersion for the Academic Track needs to have completed the prerequisite set under one of the other clusters, which the order specifies cluster by cluster.
Field Experience and Work Immersion
Field Experience is the fifth cluster and the one most likely to be misunderstood. DO 017 describes it as providing "opportunities to engage in experiential learning in professional or industry contexts," and states plainly that Field Experience electives are optional for Academic Track learners.
Work immersion follows the same logic: mandatory for Tech-Pro learners, optional for Academic. When an Academic learner does take it, it is a 320-hour Grade 12 elective. The order also flags that "a separate policy providing comprehensive guidelines on Work Immersion, Field Exposure, and Arts Apprenticeship shall be issued," so implementation detail below the level of the order may still change. Our work immersion and research guide covers what these placements look like in practice.
Who Teaches It, and How Big the Classes Are
DO 017 gives staffing criteria per cluster rather than fixed assignments. Arts electives go to MAPEH teachers or those who specialised in the Arts and Design track; social sciences and humanities electives to HUMSS, Philosophy, English and Filipino teachers; STEM electives to teachers who handled STEM specialisations; Sports electives to Sports track and Physical Education teachers; and Field Experience to Arts and Design or MAPEH teachers for apprenticeship, and to Practical Research, Inquiries and Capstone teachers for the research subjects.
Class size for an Academic Elective is capped at 30 learners, against 40 for a core subject and 25 for a Tech-Pro elective, with an explicit allowance for schools that cannot comply because of population or facilities.
What to Ask a School
Because cluster availability follows school permits rather than a national menu, the useful questions are specific:
- Which clusters does the school actually offer, and which electives inside each?
- Which Grade 11 electives are needed to keep a target Grade 12 sequence open?
- Does the school run the Field Experience cluster at all, and does it place learners off campus?
- Does it support the cross-track option, and with which Tech-Pro elective?
Schools expanding into a new cluster need regional office approval; adding an elective inside an already-approved cluster does not. That is why two schools with the same declared track can offer very different lists. Background on the transition itself is in our Strengthened SHS curriculum guide.
Disclaimer: elective offerings, prerequisites and immersion requirements are set by DepEd issuances and vary by school permit, and a separate work immersion policy was still pending at the time of writing. Confirm with the school before deciding.
Comparing Academic Track offerings? Browse schools and check clusters, tuition and reviews across the Philippines on SchoolFinderPH.
Sources
- DepEd — DO 017, s. 2026, Strengthened Senior High School Curriculum (official)
- DepEd — Strengthened SHS Program (official hub)
- DepEd — DM 012, s. 2026, Full Implementation of the Strengthened Senior High School Curriculum in School Year 2026-2027 (official)
- LawPhil — Republic Act No. 10533, Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013
