TL;DR: The February 2026 CLE passed 30,320 of 45,936 examinees — 66 per cent, reported as the highest national rate recorded for this exam, released 13 March 2026 across 31 testing centres. The topnotcher was Khim Erole L. Batersal of Lanao School of Science and Technology Inc. in Lanao del Norte at 93.05 per cent — a small regional college, not a big-name university, and the rest of the top ten looks similar. PRC names a school top-performing only at 50+ examinees and 80 per cent overall passing, and its Performance of Schools table is the only place per-school rates can be verified. State universities charge ₱0 in tuition under RA 10931; most private criminology schools publish nothing.
Introduction
Criminology is one of the largest undergraduate programmes in the country by enrolment. Tens of thousands sit the Criminologists Licensure Examination every cycle, and a school's board performance is the most useful single signal about its programme — if you read it correctly.
The exam is currently easier than its reputation. The February 2026 CLE passed 30,320 of 45,936 examinees, 66 per cent, which coverage reported as the highest ever recorded for the CLE. Results were released on 13 March 2026, twenty-six working days after the exam. Sixteen results were withheld pending documents and fifty-four pending determination of liabilities under the rules governing licensure examinations.
And the top of the list is not where people expect. The February 2026 topnotchers:
| Place | Examinee | School | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khim Erole L. Batersal | Lanao School of Science and Technology Inc., Lanao del Norte | 93.05% |
| 2 | Tonny Ong B. Dinamling | Ifugao State University – Lamut Campus | 92.70% |
| 3 (tie) | Ronemel L. Castolo | Saint Theresa College – Tandag, Surigao del Sur | 92.45% |
| 3 (tie) | Shiela Rose A. Nedera | Samar College, Catbalogan | 92.45% |
| 4 (tie) | Mark Christian I. Balangue | Davao Oriental State University | 92.35% |
| 4 (tie) | Katrina Jean G. Jimenez | PHINMA-Upang College Urdaneta, Pangasinan | 92.35% |
| 5 (tie) | John Fred G. Parreño | North Eastern Mindanao State University | 92.20% |
| 5 (tie) | Tristian Earl I. Yarte | University of Northern Philippines – Vigan | 92.20% |
Not one of them came from a Metro Manila university. Regional state universities and small provincial colleges take every place. That is the single most useful thing on this page, and it should change how you shortlist.
A Correction, and a Warning About Ranked Lists
An earlier version of this page ranked fifteen schools by CLE passing rate. Several of those rankings could not be traced to PRC's Performance of Schools tables, and one claim in it was demonstrably wrong — it attributed the February 2026 topnotcher to a university that did not produce them, at a rating that does not appear in PRC's top ten at all.
Those rankings have been removed rather than reworded, and the lesson generalises. Criminology school rankings circulate widely and are mostly unverifiable. They mix cycles, quote percentages without examinee counts, and pad the bottom of the list with "above national average" entries that mean nothing — a school passing 67 per cent is above the 66 per cent national average and is not thereby a good school.
Here is what to do instead.
PRC publishes a Performance of Schools table with every CLE release, and separately names top-performing schools under a specific rule: at least 50 examinees and an overall passing percentage of at least 80 per cent. That threshold is doing important work. A school passing 6 of 6 shows 100 per cent and tells you nothing; a school passing 170 of 200 tells you a great deal. Any list that ranks those two together is not measuring school quality.
Go to PRC's exam results page, open the release for the cycle you care about, and read the school table for the schools on your shortlist. Check two or three cycles, not one, because a single strong year is noise. That takes fifteen minutes and beats every ranked listicle including this one.
When the CLE Is Held
PRC's 2026 schedule set the Criminologists Licensure Examination for two three-day offerings:
| Offering | Dates |
|---|---|
| First | February 4, 5 and 6, 2026 |
| Second | August 1, 2 and 3, 2026 |
PRC publishes each year's schedule separately, so confirm the next cycle on prc.gov.ph rather than assuming the pattern repeats. See our criminology board exam guide for coverage and application steps, and the full 2026 board exam schedule.
What Criminology Actually Costs
At a state university, ₱0 in tuition. Under RA 10931, tuition and other school fees are free for eligible Filipino undergraduates at state universities and colleges and at CHED-recognised local universities and colleges. That covers Tarlac State University, Cavite State University, Davao Oriental State University, North Eastern Mindanao State University and Ifugao State University — several of which appear in the topnotcher table above.
At a private school, ask. Private criminology programmes very rarely publish fee schedules. Request a written assessment for your year level, itemising tuition, miscellaneous and laboratory fees, rather than working from any range you find online.
Given that free-tuition state universities produced most of the February 2026 topnotchers, the assumption that a more expensive criminology programme is a better one deserves more scepticism than it usually gets.
How to Choose a Criminology School
Read PRC's Performance of Schools table, for more than one cycle
Open the PRC release for the cycles you care about and look up your shortlist by name. Look at passers over examinees, not the percentage alone. Look for schools that appear repeatedly rather than once. A school that clears PRC's 50-examinee, 80-per-cent bar in three consecutive cycles is telling you something a one-off cannot.
Do not assume the big name is the strong programme
The entire February 2026 top ten came from regional state universities and provincial colleges. Whatever else that shows, it rules out the assumption that a large or well-known university necessarily produces better criminology graduates. Check the data for the specific schools you are choosing between.
Compare on cost honestly — free is genuinely on the table
State universities charge no tuition under RA 10931, and several of them are demonstrably producing top performers in this exam. If your shortlist is a free SUC against a private school, the private school needs a specific reason to justify the difference, not a general impression of quality.
Evaluate facilities you will actually use
Look for mock crime scene laboratories, forensic science equipment, range access (own or by partnership), and a mock courtroom. Ask how many hours a student actually spends in each per term. A facility that exists for the campus tour is not training.
Check the curriculum against the six CLE subjects
Criminal Jurisprudence and Procedure; Law Enforcement Administration; Crime Detection and Investigation; Criminalistics; Correctional Administration; and Criminal Sociology, Ethics and Human Relations. Ask which of those the school treats as its weakest area — a programme that can answer that question honestly is worth more than one that claims equal strength across all six.
Ask about practicum placements
Criminology programmes place students with police offices, jails and other agencies. The quality and reliability of those partnerships varies enormously and is not visible from outside. Ask where last year's cohort was placed.
Consider location and cost of living
Choose a school you can attend consistently. For most students the commute and the cost of living near campus will matter more over four years than any difference in reputation between comparable programmes.
Sources
- PRC — February 2026 Licensure Examination for Criminologists results — 30,320 of 45,936, 31 testing centres, withheld results
- Daily Tribune — PRC announces February 2026 criminology exam results — the full topnotcher table and the 66 per cent record
- Rappler — Results: February 2026 Criminologists Licensure Examination — corroborating release detail
- PRC — Schedule of Licensure Examinations for the Year 2026 — CLE on 4-6 February and 1-3 August 2026
- PRC — Exam Results index — where the Performance of Schools tables live
- PRC Commission Resolution No. 2017-1058 (C), s. 2017 — the top-performing-school criterion of 50+ examinees and 80 per cent overall passing
- Republic Act No. 10931, Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (Official Gazette) — why state universities charge no tuition
On the rankings removed from this page. An earlier version ranked fifteen schools by CLE passing rate and attributed the February 2026 topnotcher to a school that did not produce them. That claim was wrong against PRC's own release, and the surrounding per-school percentages could not be traced to PRC's Performance of Schools tables, so the ranking was removed rather than corrected piecemeal. Use PRC's tables directly.
Start your search. Browse schools on SchoolFinderPH, and read our BS Criminology programme guide for what the degree covers before you compare campuses.
