TL;DR: BS Electronics Engineering is governed by CHED Memorandum Order No. 101, series of 2017, with a grand total of 171 units — 121 technical and 50 non-technical — over a four-year sample programme. Every student must complete at least one specialised field from a list of nine, plus a 240-hour immersion and a capstone design project. Yes, there is a board exam, under Republic Act No. 9292, the Electronics Engineering Law of 2004, and its passing rule is unusual: you need 70 percent in each subject, not a weighted average. There are two entry examinations, Electronics Engineer and Electronics Technician, and a senior Professional Electronics Engineer tier granted on experience rather than a written test.
Electronics engineering is one of the few Philippine engineering degrees where the CHED curriculum was written to line up directly with the professional law. CMO 101 says so explicitly: the degree name and its specialised electives are set "in consonance with the field of specializations of the Electronics Engineering Profession stipulated in Section 5, Article 1 of the Republic Act 9292." That alignment shapes the whole programme.
The CHED Order Behind BSECE
CHED Memorandum Order No. 101, series of 2017, "Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering (BSECE) Program Effective Academic Year (AY) 2018-2019," was adopted by virtue of Commission en banc Resolution No. 788-2017 dated 24 October 2017, and issued alongside CMO 37, s. 2012 and CMO 46, s. 2012 on outcomes-based education.
The order carries RA 9292's own definition of the field: electronics is "the science dealing with the development and application of devices and systems involving the flow of electrons or other carriers of electric charge, in a vacuum, in gaseous media, in plasma, in semiconductors, in solid-state and/or in similar devices, including, but not limited to, applications involving optical, electromagnetic and other energy forms when transduced or converted into electronic signals."
CMO 101 also notes that the PSG "is aligned with the new K-12 basic education system and the new General Education requirements."
171 Units, Broken Down
The curriculum summary in CMO 101 gives the following totals:
Technical courses — 121 units
| Block | Units |
|---|---|
| Mathematics | 12 |
| Natural and physical sciences | 8 |
| Basic engineering sciences | 9 |
| Allied courses | 20 |
| Professional core courses | 61 |
| Technical electives | 8 |
| On-the-Job Training (240 hours) | 3 |
Non-technical courses — 50 units
| Block | Units |
|---|---|
| General education core courses | 24 |
| GE electives and mandated courses (including Life and Works of Rizal) | 12 |
| Physical Education | 8 |
| NSTP | 6 |
Grand total: 171 units.
The 61-unit professional core is the largest single block in any of the CHED engineering orders relative to programme size, which tells you how much of BSECE is specific to the discipline rather than shared engineering groundwork. The sample programme of study runs four years across eight semesters.
The Specialised Field Requirement
This is what distinguishes BSECE from most engineering programmes. CMO 101 states that "a completion of at least one specialized field is a requirement for the BSECE Program," and it prescribes the fields together with the minimum elective courses in each. Every field carries two elective courses at 4 units each.
| Specialised field | Prescribed elective courses |
|---|---|
| Telecommunications | Advanced Communication System and Design (wireless); Advanced Networking |
| Microelectronics | Analog IC Design; Digital IC Design |
| Power Electronics | Advanced Power Supply Systems; Renewable Energy Systems |
| Biotech / Biomedical Electronics | Fundamentals of Biomedical Engineering; Medical Imaging |
| Instrumentation and Control | Advanced Instrumentation and Control Systems; Robotics Technology |
| Building ICT Infrastructure | ICT Infrastructure; Electronics Ancillary System |
| Computer | Computer Systems Architecture; Operating Systems and Advanced Programming Languages |
| Broadcasting | Broadcast Production; Broadcast Transmission and Distribution Engineering |
| Emerging Technologies | Course specifications developed by the school and submitted to CHED |
Schools may select one or more of these based on their capability and available resources, and may add technical courses beyond the prescribed minimum. That makes it a live question when choosing a university: a programme that only runs the telecommunications track cannot give you microelectronics or biomedical electronics coursework. Ask which specialised fields a department actually offers each year, not which it lists in a brochure.
The "Emerging Technologies" slot is deliberately open-ended — schools develop their own course specifications and submit them to CHED, which is how newer areas find their way into the curriculum between memorandum orders.
Immersion and Capstone
CMO 101 sets the final requirements of the curriculum as "a minimum of 240 hours of immersion in electronics engineering activities outside the institution; design and a capstone project in electronics engineering design." The order adds that the curriculum "shall have major learning experiences like OJT or local/international immersion experience, research, conferences, leadership seminars."
On-the-job training appears as a 3-unit technical course in the curriculum summary, with schools required to establish their own OJT guidelines complying with the competency requirements of the programme.
The Board Exam: Two Entry Routes and an Unusual Passing Rule
Republic Act No. 9292, the Electronics Engineering Law of 2004, regulates the profession. It creates three registration levels: Electronics Technician (ECT), Electronics Engineer (ECE), and Professional Electronics Engineer (PECE).
Who may take which examination
Section 14 sets the qualifications.
For the Electronics Engineer examination, an applicant must hold a degree of Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communications Engineering or Electronics Engineering — or, subject to compliance with minimum requirements prescribed by the Board, "such equivalent and/or related engineering course or program" from a recognised institution, after completing a resident collegiate course equivalent to a full baccalaureate degree.
That "equivalent and/or related" clause is narrower than it sounds. It gives the Board discretion; it is not an automatic entitlement. A computer engineering graduate cannot assume eligibility — the Board evaluates against its own prescribed minimum requirements, and the safe route is to confirm with the Board before planning around it.
For the Electronics Technician examination, an applicant must either be a graduate of an associate, technician, trade or vocational course in electronics of not less than two years, or have completed at least the minimum third-year equivalent of a BS ECE or Electronics Engineering programme according to CHED guidelines. That second route is why some BSECE students sit the ECT exam before finishing the degree.
The scope of the ECE examination
Section 15 states the examination "shall consist of written tests which shall cover subjects prescribed by the Board but including at least the following: Mathematics, Applied Sciences, Engineering Economics, Laws and Ethics, Electronics, Communications, Computers, and Information and Communications Technology."
The Board may re-cluster, rearrange, modify, add to or exclude any subject, and prescribe the number of examinations per year, subject to PRC approval and official publication. Check the Board's current issuances rather than relying on the statutory list alone.
The Electronics Technician examination consists of written and/or practical tests on subjects specific to the practice of electronics technicians.
The passing rule that trips people up
Section 16 does not set a weighted general average. It requires a candidate to obtain "a passing rating of seventy percent (70%) in each subject given during the examination."
There is one relief. A candidate who obtains a passing rating in the majority of subjects but falls below 70 percent — while staying at or above 60 percent — in the others may take one removal examination on the deficient subjects. Fail that removal examination and the entire licensure examination is treated as failed.
This is a materially different exam-strategy problem from a weighted-average board exam. There is no averaging up: a strong performance in electronics does not rescue a weak one in engineering economics. Our ECE board exam guide covers the current cycle, requirements, and review approach in detail. PRC publishes the ECE and ECT dates and filing deadlines in its annual Schedule of Licensure Examinations — treat that resolution as the only reliable calendar, since schedules and the number of offerings change.
Professional Electronics Engineer
Section 18 sets the requirements for PECE registration: a valid certificate of registration and professional identification card as an Electronics Engineer, a valid or current membership identification card from the accredited professional organisation, and a certified experience record of active self-practice or employment in government service or the private sector, in the format prescribed by the Board.
What ECEs Are Licensed To Do
RA 9292 defines the scope of practice broadly. It embraces work relating to the investigation, analysis, synthesis, planning, design, specification, research and development, procurement, marketing and sales, manufacture and production, construction and installation, testing, measurement and control, operation, repair, servicing, technical support and maintenance of electronic components, devices, products, apparatus, instruments, equipment, systems, networks, operations and processes — across electronics, communications and telecommunications, information and communications technology, computers and their networking and hardware, firmware and software development, broadcast and broadcasting, cable and wireless television, consumer and industrial electronics, electro-optics, photonics and opto-electronics, electromagnetics, avionics, aerospace, navigational and military applications, medical electronics, robotics, cybernetics, biometrics, and related convergent fields. It also covers administration, management, supervision and regulatory aspects of that work, and the teaching of technical and professional electronics engineering subjects.
That is one of the widest statutory scopes among Philippine engineering professions, and it explains why ECE graduates end up across telecoms, semiconductors, broadcast, medical devices, industrial automation, and ICT infrastructure rather than in a single industry.
ECE, EE, or Computer Engineering?
The three get conflated constantly. The clean distinctions:
ECE vs electrical engineering. Electrical engineering is about generating, transmitting, distributing, and using electrical energy — power systems, machines, plants. Electronics engineering is about devices, signals, and information. Both are licensed, under separate laws and separate PRC boards. Both start with circuits, which is why first-year students find them hard to tell apart.
ECE vs computer engineering. Computer engineering is not a board profession in the Philippines. That is the single biggest practical difference. If having a protected professional title matters to you — and in telecoms, broadcast, and regulated infrastructure work it often does — ECE is the licensed route.
If you are still choosing a senior high school track, our guide to the right strand for engineering covers the preparation, and our roundup of the best engineering schools in the Philippines helps with shortlisting programmes — with the added question, for ECE specifically, of which specialised fields the department actually runs.
Sources
- Commission on Higher Education — CHED Memorandum Order No. 101, s. 2017, Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering Program (PDF)
- LawPhil / Republic Act No. 9292 — Electronics Engineering Law of 2004
- Professional Regulation Commission — Schedule of Licensure Examinations for the Year 2026 (Resolution No. 2113, s. 2025, PDF)
