TL;DR: BS Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering is governed by CHED Memorandum Order No. 94, series of 2017, which prescribes 172 credit units (122 technical, 50 non-technical) and treats 172 as a floor rather than a ceiling. The technical load includes a 240-hour Industry Immersion Program (3 units) and a 6-unit thesis. Yes, there is a PRC board exam - Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering is one of the Professional Regulation Commission's 46 Professional Regulatory Boards, regulated under Republic Act No. 10915, the Philippine Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Act of 2016, which repealed the older RA 8559. The exam has three subjects weighted 36 / 32 / 32, and they map almost exactly onto the four professional-course pillars in the curriculum.
If you have been searching for "agricultural engineering course" and finding half your results under a different name, this is why: the profession was formally renamed in 2016, CHED reissued the programme policy in 2017, and the degree is now BS Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering. The licence question has a clean answer - yes, there is a board exam - and the curriculum is built around it more tightly than in most engineering programmes.
The name change, and why it matters
Republic Act No. 10915 was enacted in 2016 as "An Act Strengthening, Modernizing and Aligning the Practice of Agricultural Engineering in the Country into the Internationally Recognized Practice of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, and for Other Purposes." It repealed Republic Act No. 8559, the earlier Agricultural Engineering Act.
The widening is real, not cosmetic. CMO 94 defines agricultural and biosystems as covering "crops, poultry, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture resources, forestry and other plants, new and renewable energy, wastes, natural resources, and climate." A programme that used to be read as farm machinery now formally includes aquaculture engineering, renewable energy, waste management and climate change mitigation.
Practical consequence for applicants: if a school still lists "BS Agricultural Engineering," ask which CHED policy its curriculum follows and whether graduates are eligible for the current licensure examination. RA 10915's qualification provision recognises holders of a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering or in Agricultural Engineering from a CHED-recognised institution, but you should confirm your specific case with PRC rather than assume.
Which CHED order prescribes BSABE?
CHED Memorandum Order No. 94, series of 2017 - "Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (BSABE) Program Effective Academic Year (AY) 2018-2019." Like the other 2017 engineering PSGs it implements outcomes-based education under CMO 46, s. 2012 and CMO 37, s. 2012.
CMO 94 describes the programme as producing graduates who can apply engineering science and design to "the sustainable production, post production, and processing of safe food, feed, fiber, timber, and other agricultural and biological materials; the efficient utilization, conservation, and management of natural and renewable resources; and development of climate change mitigation measures."
Is there a PRC board exam?
Yes. Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering is one of the 46 Professional Regulatory Boards listed by the Professional Regulation Commission. The Board administers the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering licensure examination under RA 10915.
RA 10915's scope of practice is worth reading in full before you commit to the degree, because it defines the work: preparation of engineering designs, plans, specifications, project studies, feasibility studies and estimates, and supervision of the construction, operation and maintenance of irrigation and drainage; soil and water conservation and management systems; agrometeorological systems; AB machinery and power; AB buildings and structures; farm electrification; renewable energy systems; AB processing and postharvest facilities and systems; AB waste utilisation and management; AB resource conservation and management; climate change mitigation measures; AB information systems; and AB automation and instrumentation systems.
A common mix-up worth clearing: PRC lists Agriculture and Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering as two separate boards. An agriculturist and an AB engineer are different professions with different degrees and different exams. If you want the crop, soil and animal science side, our agriculturist board exam guide covers that path instead.
What the licensure exam covers
The Board of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering's published examination programme runs three subjects over two days:
| Exam subject | Weight |
|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biosystems Structures, Environment Engineering, Bioprocess Engineering and Allied Subjects | 36% |
| Land and Water Resources Engineering and Allied Subjects | 32% |
| Agricultural and Biosystems Power, Energy and Machinery Engineering and Allied Subjects | 32% |
RA 10915 itself lists a longer set of subject areas the Board may examine, including project management, feasibility study preparation and evaluation, research, development and extension; fundamentals of agricultural, fishery, ecological and environmental sciences; mathematics and basic engineering principles; and laws, professional standards and ethics. The Board groups those into the three papers above. Check the programme PRC publishes for the specific administration you are sitting, since subject groupings are set by Board resolution and can be revised.
We do not publish next-cycle exam dates. PRC issues the year's schedule of licensure examinations by resolution and that is the only reliable source. Our overview of PRC board exam requirements covers the documentary side of a first-time application.
How the 172 units break down
CMO 94's summary of the BSABE curriculum:
| Classification | Units |
|---|---|
| Mathematics | 12 |
| Natural and physical sciences | 8 |
| Basic engineering sciences | 13 |
| Basic engineering for ABE | 22 |
| Allied courses | 9 |
| Professional courses | 48 |
| Seminar, industry immersion and thesis | 10 |
| Total technical courses | 122 |
| General education courses | 24 |
| General education electives | 9 |
| Mandated course (Rizal) | 3 |
| Physical education | 8 |
| National Service Training Program | 6 |
| Total non-technical | 50 |
| Grand total | 172 |
Note the direction of the rule. CMO 94 tells schools they may enrich the programme "as long as the total units for the whole program shall not be less than 172 units, including P.E., and NSTP." That is a floor. Several sibling PSGs from the same 2017 batch instead cap the total. Expect real programmes to sit at or above 172.
One internal inconsistency to be aware of: CMO 94's detailed components table gives Basic Engineering Sciences 10 units and Basic Engineering for ABE 25 units, while its summary table gives 13 and 22. Both versions total 35 units for the two blocks combined, and both produce the same 122-unit technical total, so the grand total is unaffected. Use your school's approved curriculum for the block-level split.
The four professional pillars
The 48 units of professional courses come as sixteen 3-unit courses in four named groups. This is the part of the curriculum that maps onto the licensure exam.
AB Machinery and Power Engineering
- AB Power Engineering
- Renewable Energy for AB Applications
- AB Machinery and Mechanization
- Machine Design for AB Production
AB Structures and Environment Engineering
- AB Structures Engineering
- Plant and Livestock Systems and Environmental Control Engineering
- AB Electrification and Control Systems
- AB Waste Management Engineering
AB Land and Water Resources Engineering
- Hydrometeorology
- Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
- Land and Water Conservation Engineering
- Aquaculture Engineering
AB Process Engineering
- Properties of AB Materials
- AB Products Processing and Storage
- Food Process Engineering
- Design and Management of AB Processing Systems
Line those four groups up against the three exam papers and the alignment is obvious: machinery and power is one paper, land and water is another, and structures, environment and process engineering are combined into the heaviest paper at 36 per cent. Every one of the sixteen courses carries laboratory hours as well as lecture hours.
The engineering foundation
Before the professional block, CMO 94 requires a substantial engineering base. Twelve units of mathematics (Calculus I and II, Differential Equations, Engineering Data Analysis) and 8 units of calculus-based chemistry and physics, then:
| Basic engineering for ABE | Units |
|---|---|
| Introduction to AB Engineering | 1 |
| Strength of Materials | 3 |
| Fluid Mechanics | 3 |
| Surveying | 3 |
| Materials and Processes for ABE | 3 |
| Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer | 5 |
| Computer Applications in AB Engineering | 3 |
| ABE and Related Laws, Specifications, Contracts, and Ethics | 1 |
| Technopreneurship 101 | 3 |
Alongside those, Computer Aided Drafting, Engineering Mechanics I and II and Engineering Economy. The allied block is small and specific: Principles of Animal Science, Principles of Crop Science and Principles of Soil Science, 3 units each. Those three courses are what stop the degree from being a general mechanical programme applied to farms - you are expected to understand the biological system you are engineering for.
Seminar, immersion and thesis
CMO 94 groups these as one 10-unit block:
| Course | Units |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate Seminar | 1 |
| Industry Immersion Program (240 hours) | 3 |
| Thesis | 6 |
The 6-unit thesis is heavier than the capstone requirement in most of the 2017 engineering PSGs, where the equivalent typically runs 2 to 3 units. That is worth planning for: it is a real research project with 15 laboratory hours attached, and the topic you choose is often what gets you your first job or a graduate-school slot.
The 240-hour immersion is the national minimum. Ask how the school arranges it, since ABE placements often mean irrigation districts, processing plants or agricultural machinery firms outside the city.
What BSABE costs
There is no national tuition figure and we are not going to guess one. State universities and colleges - which offer a large share of BSABE programmes, given the field's agricultural base - charge no tuition to qualified students under the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. Private schools publish their own rates each academic year.
Ask specifically about laboratory, field and thesis costs. Sixteen professional courses with laboratory hours, plus a 6-unit thesis and a 240-hour immersion, generate expenses that ordinary tuition figures do not capture.
Questions worth asking before you enrol
- Is the programme's curriculum aligned to CMO 94, and what is its actual unit total? 172 is the floor.
- What laboratory and field facilities does the department have? Irrigation, machinery, structures and food processing each need their own.
- How is the 240-hour immersion arranged? Placements are often rural and residential.
- What is the school's recent licensure exam performance? This is a gated profession.
- What thesis topics have recent cohorts done? The 6-unit thesis is the biggest single course in the degree.
If you are still choosing a senior high school track, our guide to the right strand for engineering covers the preparation, and our list of courses with board exams shows which fields lead to a licence. For school shortlisting, start with the best engineering schools in the Philippines.
Ready to find the right school? Browse schools or compare programmes across hundreds of Philippine schools on SchoolFinderPH.
Sources
- CHED Memorandum Order No. 94, s. 2017 - Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the BS Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Program (CHED, PDF)
- CHED - 2017 CHED Memorandum Orders index
- Republic Act No. 10915, Philippine Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Act of 2016 - full text (LawPhil)
- Professional Regulation Commission - List of Professional Regulatory Boards
- Professional Regulation Commission - Program of the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Licensure Examination, December 2024 (PDF)
