TL;DR: BEEd is a four-year, 152-unit degree under CHED CMO No. 74, series of 2017: 36 units General Education, 42 units Professional Education (including a 12-unit practice-teaching block), 57 units of major/specialization courses covering every elementary content area, 3 units electives, and 14 units PE/NSTP. Unlike BSEd, which requires choosing one secondary-teaching subject major, BEEd is a generalist degree that prepares graduates to teach a full elementary classroom. The March 2026 LET Elementary level posted a 56.03% passing rate. Tuition is free at state universities under RA 10931 or roughly ₱40,000-₱80,000 per semester at private schools, per third-party aggregator estimates. This guide covers the degree program itself; for the exam and hiring path after graduation, see how to become a teacher in the Philippines.
BEEd shows up in searches from students and parents trying to understand exactly what "Bachelor of Elementary Education" covers, how it differs from BSEd, and what the practice-teaching requirement actually looks like. This guide is about the degree itself, not the licensure exam or hiring process that follows it, our separate guide on how to become a teacher in the Philippines already covers the LET, PRC registration, and DepEd versus private hiring in full. Here, we work directly from CHED CMO No. 74, series of 2017, the memorandum that prescribes the BEEd curriculum, to lay out the subjects by year, the specialization structure, the practice-teaching hours, and what it costs.
What Is BEEd?
BEEd (Bachelor of Elementary Education) is a four-year undergraduate program governed by CHED CMO No. 74, series of 2017, "Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEEd) Program." It prepares generalist teachers for kindergarten through grade 6, a different scope from BSEd (Bachelor of Secondary Education), which trains subject-major specialists for junior and senior high school under a separate memorandum, CMO No. 75, series of 2017.
The curriculum is composed of General Education courses, Professional Education courses, Major/Specialization courses, Elective/Cognate courses, and mandated PE and NSTP courses, totaling a CHED-set minimum. Schools historically focused on teacher training, such as Philippine Normal University, the country's designated National Center for Teacher Education, build their programs around this framework.
CMO 74 states which instruments it is anchored on, and they explain why the course list looks the way it does: the salient features of the K to 12 Enhanced Basic Education Act (RA 10533), which is the curriculum BEEd graduates actually teach into; the Philippine Qualifications Framework (EO 83, s. 2012); and the National Competency-Based Teacher Standards, now the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (DepEd Order No. 42, s. 2017). The same memorandum also says HEIs are given room to innovate within the framework, which is why two schools can deliver the same CHED-prescribed subjects in a noticeably different order.
Disclaimer: curriculum sequencing can vary slightly by school within CHED's framework. Confirm the current year-by-year course list with your target school's education department.
What Subjects Will You Take, Year by Year?
CHED's CMO 74 provides a sample program of study. The table below summarizes the professional education and major/specialization subjects by year; General Education, PE, and NSTP courses run alongside these each semester but are omitted here for readability.
| Year | Professional Education & Major Courses |
|---|---|
| First Year | The Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principles, Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum |
| Second Year | Technology for Teaching and Learning 1, Facilitating Learner-Centered Teaching, The Teaching Profession, Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education, Teaching Science in the Elementary Grades (Biology & Chemistry; Physics/Earth/Space Science), Teaching Math in the Primary and Intermediate Grades, Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary Grades (Culture and Geography; Philippine History and Government), Pagtuturo ng Filipino sa Elementarya (I), Content and Pedagogy for the Mother Tongue, Good Manners and Right Conduct (Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao), Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan |
| Third Year | Teaching English in the Elementary Grades (Language Arts; Through Literature), The Teacher and the School Curriculum, The Teacher and the Community/School Culture/Organizational Leadership, Technology for Teaching and Learning 2, Assessment in Learning 1 & 2, Teaching Music, Arts, and PE and Health in the Elementary Grades, Pagtuturo ng Filipino sa Elementarya (II) — Panitikan ng Pilipinas, Research in Education, Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan with Entrepreneurship, Elective: Teaching Multi-Grade Classes |
| Fourth Year | Field Study 1, Field Study 2, Teaching Internship (Practice Teaching) |
This is CHED's sample sequence; a school may adjust term placement as long as prerequisites are respected and the full course list is delivered.
Does BEEd Have Specialization Tracks?
Not in the way BSEd does. BSEd requires choosing one secondary-teaching subject major, such as English, Math, Science, or Filipino, before graduation. BEEd's 57 units of Major/Specialization courses instead cover teaching methods across every elementary content area: Science, Social Studies, Filipino, Mathematics, Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE), Music, Arts, Physical Education and Health, English, and Mother Tongue-Based instruction, plus Good Manners and Right Conduct and Research in Education. The degree is built to produce a generalist who can teach a full elementary classroom across subjects, not a single-subject specialist.
| BEEd Major/Specialization Courses (Selected) | Units |
|---|---|
| Teaching Science in the Elementary Grades (2 courses) | 6 |
| Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary Grades (2 courses) | 6 |
| Pagtuturo ng Filipino sa Elementarya (2 courses) | 6 |
| Teaching Math in the Primary and Intermediate Grades | 6 |
| Teaching English in the Elementary Grades (2 courses) | 6 |
| Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan (2 courses) | 6 |
| Teaching Music, Arts, and PE and Health (3 courses) | 9 |
| Content and Pedagogy for the Mother Tongue | 3 |
| Good Manners and Right Conduct; Research in Education; Technology for Teaching and Learning in the Elementary Grades | 9 |
| Total (Major/Specialization Courses) | 57 |
One note on the Mother Tongue course, because the classroom it prepares you for has changed since CMO 74 was written. Content and Pedagogy for the Mother-Tongue is still on CHED's list of BEEd major courses, but the mother tongue is no longer the medium of instruction in Kindergarten to Grade 3. Republic Act No. 12027, which lapsed into law on 10 October 2024, discontinued it, and DepEd Order No. 020, s. 2025 made Filipino and English the primary media of instruction for Kindergarten to Grade 3 from School Year 2025-2026, with Filipino Sign Language for deaf and hard-of-hearing learners under RA 11106. The course content still applies, in a narrower role: regional and local languages serve as auxiliary media, DO 020 requires translanguaging from the learner's first language with greater emphasis on it in Kindergarten and Grade 1, and a monolingual class may still use its mother tongue as the medium where the readiness criteria are met, including an orthography and vocabulary approved and published by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino. So it is coursework you will still take, not a description of what the school you are posted to will be doing.
The one elective slot (3 units) commonly goes to Teaching Multi-Grade Classes, relevant for graduates who expect to work in smaller rural schools where one teacher handles multiple grade levels in a single room. CMO 74 also allows that slot to be filled by any subject drawn from another major's courses, so ask your target school which option it actually runs.
What About the Other Teacher Education Degrees?
If BEEd's generalist design does not fit what you want to teach, the alternative is a different degree rather than a track inside BEEd. CHED issued the teacher education policies as one batch in 2017, each programme with its own memorandum order:
| Degree | CHED order | Prepares you to teach |
|---|---|---|
| BEEd | CMO 74, s. 2017 | All learning areas, elementary level |
| BSEd | CMO 75, s. 2017 | One subject major, secondary level |
| Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (BECEd) | CMO 76, s. 2017 | Early childhood |
| Bachelor of Special Needs Education (BSNEd) | CMO 77, s. 2017 | Learners with special needs |
| Bachelor of Technology and Livelihood Education (BTLEd) | CMO 78, s. 2017 | Technology and livelihood education |
| Bachelor of Physical Education (BPEd) | CMO 80, s. 2017 | Physical education |
These are separate four-year degrees with separate curricula, so the choice is made at admission, not in third year. If the special-needs route interests you, special education in the Philippines covers it in more detail; for the secondary-teaching path, see the BSEd guide. For the specialised programmes, confirm the current licensure category directly with the PRC and the school before enrolling, because the exam you eventually sit is not always obvious from the degree title.
Worth noting inside BEEd's own core: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education is a required professional education course, not an elective. Every BEEd graduate is expected to have grounding in inclusive practice, which is a real change from older teacher education curricula.
What Is the Practice Teaching Requirement?
BEEd's Professional Education component (42 units) includes a 12-unit field experience and practice-teaching block that CMO 74 treats as a single year-long engagement: Field Study 1 (3 units), Field Study 2 (3 units), and Teaching Internship (6 units).
| Course | Units | Contact hours | What CMO 74 requires |
|---|---|---|---|
| Field Study 1 | 3 | 3 hours a week | School-based observation of teaching and learning; portfolio required |
| Field Study 2 | 3 | 3 hours a week | Participation and teaching assistantship: assessment of learning, instructional materials, classroom routines. Portfolio plus demonstration teaching in at least one content area; action research is encouraged to begin here |
| Teaching Internship | 6 | 40 hours a week, full time | One semester of full-time teaching in a basic education school under a cooperating teacher, using a clinical approach; teaching portfolio and completion of the action research |
Three details students consistently underestimate. First, the internship contact hours are 40 hours per week, full time, with no academic units allowed alongside it, so it is effectively a working semester with no capacity for a part-time job. Second, the prerequisites bite: the Field Studies require all professional and major/specialization subjects, and Teaching Internship requires both Field Studies, so carrying a backlog of subjects into fourth year can push your graduation by a whole semester. Third, the action research you start in Field Study 2 has to be concluded during the internship, on top of the teaching load.
CMO 74 also allows the internship to be done in-campus or off-campus, so where you are placed depends on the school's laboratory school and its network of cooperating schools.
Disclaimer: practice-teaching placement schools and timing within the fourth year vary by institution. Confirm the current requirement with your target school's education department.
What Is the Full Unit Breakdown?
BEEd totals 152 units under CMO 74.
| Curriculum Component | Units |
|---|---|
| General Education | 36 |
| Professional Education (incl. 12-unit practice teaching) | 42 |
| Major/Specialization Courses | 57 |
| Electives | 3 |
| Mandated Courses (PE and NSTP) | 14 |
| Total | 152 |
Does BEEd Lead to a Board Exam?
Yes, and it is a legal gate rather than a formality. Republic Act No. 7836, the Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act of 1994, requires a valid certificate of registration and a valid professional licence from the Commission before any person is allowed to practise as a professional teacher in the Philippines, and that means passing a written examination given by the Board for Professional Teachers through the PRC. The law also sets the entry qualification for elementary teaching as a bachelor's degree in elementary education, which is the degree this guide covers.
On scope, RA 7836 is specific: the examinations for elementary and secondary school teachers are separate, and the elementary level examination consists of two parts, general education and professional education. The secondary level adds a third part on the field of specialization. A BEEd graduate therefore sits a two-part exam, while a BSEd graduate sits a three-part one.
The March 2026 LET Elementary level recorded 18,376 passers out of 32,796 examinees, a 56.03% passing rate, an improvement from the 45.51% recorded in September 2024, per the PRC's official results releases. Application windows and examination dates move every cycle and PRC publishes them in its own master schedule, so plan against the PRC announcement rather than any date you read on a blog, this one included. Because this guide focuses on the degree itself, see our full LET guide for exam coverage and application steps, how to pass the LET first try for preparation, and how to become a teacher in the Philippines for the complete path from degree to DepEd or private-school hiring.
Disclaimer: passing rates vary between exam sittings depending on the mix of first-time takers and repeaters. Treat any single sitting's rate as a snapshot, not a permanent baseline.
How Much Does BEEd Tuition Cost?
BEEd is free at state universities and colleges, including Philippine Normal University and Polytechnic University of the Philippines, under RA 10931, with miscellaneous fees commonly running ₱2,000-₱5,000 per semester at SUCs generally. At private schools, education-program tuition isn't always broken out separately from other liberal-arts programs; a third-party tuition aggregator (3D Academy) estimates general Education-program tuition at roughly ₱40,000-₱80,000 per semester at private universities, though this is a broad third-party estimate rather than a BEEd-specific figure.
Disclaimer: tuition and fee figures change by school year and aren't always published separately by program. Always verify the current rate directly with your target school's admissions office.
What Schools Offer BEEd, and Which Have Strong LET Pass Rates?
BEEd is widely offered, with Philippine Normal University recognized by law as the country's National Center for Teacher Education. For a ranked list of schools by actual LET Elementary passing rate, see best education schools by LET passing rate, which covers specific programs' recent results rather than relying on institutional reputation alone.
What Careers Does a BEEd Graduate Have Besides DepEd Teaching?
Beyond public elementary teaching, licensed BEEd graduates commonly work in private elementary schools, preschool and early-childhood education, tutoring and learning-center instruction, and increasingly in curriculum or instructional-design roles at ed-tech and educational-publishing companies. Licensure (passing the LET) is generally required for regular teaching posts at both public and private schools under RA 7836, as amended by RA 9293. For what these roles pay, including the current DepEd salary schedule, see teacher salary in the Philippines.
Choosing BEEd: Practical Tips
- Understand you're training as a generalist, not a subject specialist. If you already know you want to teach one subject at the high school level, BSEd with that subject major is the better fit than BEEd.
- Ask about practice-teaching placement schools early. The 40-hour weekly Teaching Internship is demanding, typically unpaid, and CMO 74 bars you from carrying academic units alongside it, so plan your fourth-year schedule and finances around a semester with no room for part-time work.
- Confirm which elective your target school offers. Teaching Multi-Grade Classes matters most if you expect to work in a small or rural school; ask if alternatives exist if that's not your plan.
- Check the school's actual LET Elementary passing rate, not just its general reputation, since program quality varies meaningfully by institution. See best education schools by LET passing rate.
- Budget for licensure costs beyond tuition: the LET application fee, review materials, and PRC registration all come after your last tuition payment.
Ready to find the right school? Browse schools or compare BEEd programs and tuition across hundreds of Philippine schools on SchoolFinderPH.
Sources
- CHED CMO No. 74, s. 2017 — Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the BEEd Program (official PDF)
- CHED — 2017 CHED Memorandum Orders (index of the teacher education PSGs, CMO 74-82)
- Republic Act No. 7836 — Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act of 1994 (LawPhil)
- Republic Act No. 12027 — discontinuing the use of the mother tongue as medium of instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 3 (LawPhil)
- DepEd Order No. 020, s. 2025 — Policy on the Medium of Instruction for Kindergarten to Grade 3 Effective School Year 2025-2026 (official PDF)
- PRC — March 2026 Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers Results
- Professional Regulation Commission — Professional Regulatory Boards
- 3D Academy — Average Tuition Fees by Program and University Type in the Philippines
- SchoolFinderPH — How to Become a Teacher in the Philippines
- SchoolFinderPH — LET Guide 2026
- SchoolFinderPH — Best Education Schools by LET Passing Rate
- SchoolFinderPH — Teacher Salary in the Philippines
