TL;DR: BS Geodetic Engineering is governed by CHED Memorandum Order No. 89, series of 2017, which sets a minimum of 175 credit units (125 technical, 50 non-technical) and a ceiling of 190. The professional block runs 79 units and includes a 1-unit Survey Camp and a 240-hour Geodetic Engineering Immersion/OJT worth 2 units. Yes, there is a PRC board exam - Geodetic Engineering is one of the Professional Regulation Commission's 46 Professional Regulatory Boards, and practice is regulated under Republic Act No. 8560, the Philippine Geodetic Engineering Act of 1998, as amended by RA 9200 in 2003. The degree is unusual among engineering programmes for carrying about 10 units of land law inside the professional courses.
Geodetic engineering is the profession that decides where property boundaries actually are. That makes it one of the more legally consequential engineering degrees in the country, and it explains why the CHED-prescribed curriculum sits closer to land registration law than most engineering programmes ever get. This guide works from the memorandum that prescribes the programme, so you can see the required content before individual schools layer their own courses on top.
Which CHED order prescribes BS Geodetic Engineering?
CHED Memorandum Order No. 89, series of 2017 - "Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the Bachelor of Science in Geodetic Engineering (BSGE) Program Effective Academic Year (AY) 2018-2019." Like the other 2017 engineering PSGs, it is an addendum to CMO 37, s. 2012 and implements the outcomes-based shift set out in CMO 46, s. 2012.
The practical consequence: CHED fixes the outcomes and a minimum curriculum, and schools may design their own route to those outcomes provided they can show the outcomes are met. The figures below are national minimums, not a fixed timetable.
What geodetic engineering is, per the memorandum
CMO 89 defines it as the branch of engineering dealing with "the collection and measurement of spatial data above, on, or below the surface of the earth using appropriate technologies and the scientific and methodological processing and management of these data for the production of spatial information systems, maps, plans, charts, and other documents."
The memorandum then spells out what that includes: establishing geodetic control networks; collecting ground data with various methodologies, platforms and sensors; processing, evaluating and analysing that data; quality assurance against accepted standards and specifications; developing survey and mapping standards and protocols; research and development; developing spatial information systems; and developing business and entrepreneurial skills.
That last item is not padding. Much of geodetic practice in the Philippines runs through small private survey firms, so the degree is expected to produce people who can run one.
Is there a PRC board exam for geodetic engineering?
Yes. Geodetic Engineering is one of the 46 Professional Regulatory Boards listed by the Professional Regulation Commission. The governing statute is Republic Act No. 8560, the Philippine Geodetic Engineering Act of 1998, amended by Republic Act No. 9200 in 2003. CMO 89 refers to RA 8560 "as amended" when it defines the scope of practice, and it treats teaching or reviewing a subject that appears in the geodetic engineering licensure examination as itself constituting practice of the profession.
Unlike some engineering fields where the licence is a career preference, here it is closer to a gate. The scope of practice in RA 8560 covers conducting land, control, subdivision, engineering and photogrammetric surveys, mapping activities, developing and managing spatial information systems, and preparing maps and charts. Work of that kind, submitted for official purposes, needs a licensed geodetic engineer behind it.
For the exam mechanics - subjects, eligibility, filing requirements and recent passing rates - see our geodetic engineering board exam guide. We do not publish next-cycle exam dates here; PRC sets and announces those each year on prc.gov.ph.
How the 175 units break down
From CMO 89's own curriculum components table:
| Classification | Minimum units |
|---|---|
| Mathematics and physical sciences | 16 |
| Basic engineering sciences | 18 |
| Allied courses | 12 |
| Professional courses | 79 |
| Total technical courses | 125 |
| Required 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 | 175 |
Two things worth noting. First, CMO 89 sets a ceiling as well as a floor: enrichment is allowed "as long as the total units for the whole program shall not exceed 190 units, including P.E., and N.S.T.P. courses." Second, the summary table printed at the end of the memorandum's curriculum section contains an obvious transcription slip in the non-technical rows - it prints the mandated course at 0 units and swaps the PE and NSTP figures - while the components table earlier in the same section gives 3, 8 and 6. Both tables agree on the 50-unit non-technical sub-total and the 175-unit grand total, which is what schools build against.
The professional courses CMO 89 names
Seventy-nine units, with the exact credit values from the memorandum:
| Professional course | Units |
|---|---|
| General Surveying 1 | 3 |
| General Surveying 2 | 4 |
| Property Surveys | 5 |
| Engineering Surveys | 4 |
| Cartography | 3 |
| Introduction to the Laws on Private and Public Lands | 2 |
| Geodetic Engineering Laws, Obligations and Contracts, Ethics | 2 |
| Public Land Laws and Laws on Natural Resources | 3 |
| Land Registration Laws | 3 |
| Photogrammetry | 4 |
| Remote Sensing | 4 |
| Geometric Geodesy | 3 |
| Physical Geodesy | 3 |
| Satellite Geodesy | 3 |
| Geodetic Surveying | 4 |
| Hydrographic Surveying | 3 |
| Theory of Errors and Adjustments | 3 |
| Geodetic Computations and Adjustments | 4 |
| Land Use Planning and Development | 3 |
| Land Administration and Management | 3 |
| Geographic Information Systems | 3 |
| Geodetic Engineering Elective | 3 |
| Survey Camp | 1 |
| Geodetic Engineering Immersion/OJT (240 hours) | 2 |
| Methods of Research | 1 |
| Special Studies in Geodetic Engineering | 3 |
The allied block is small but pointed: Principles of Geology, Electrical and Electronics Engineering for Geodetic Engineers, Advanced Information and Communications Technology, and Environmental Science and Engineering, 3 units each.
Look at the shape of it. Roughly a quarter of the professional units are field-measurement courses with heavy laboratory hours - Property Surveys alone carries 6 laboratory hours a week. About 10 units are law. Another 12 or so are geodesy proper, which is the mathematical and physical theory of the earth's shape and gravity field. A student who likes fieldwork but hates statutes, or the reverse, will find part of this degree a grind.
Survey camp and the 240-hour immersion
CMO 89 states that "a minimum of 240 hours of immersion in Geodetic Engineering activities outside the institution and a capstone project in Geodetic Engineering design, research and development are the final requirements of the curriculum." In the course table those appear as Geodetic Engineering Immersion/OJT (240 laboratory hours, 2 units) and Special Studies in Geodetic Engineering (3 units), with a separate 1-unit Survey Camp.
Survey camp is worth asking about specifically. It is normally a residential block of field survey work, and the cost, location and duration are set by the school, not by CHED. So is the immersion arrangement - whether the department places you with a survey firm or a government agency, or expects you to arrange your own host.
What geodetic engineers actually do
CMO 89 lists the careers directly: land surveyor; educator; photogrammetrist or photogrammetric engineer; GIS specialist; hydrographic surveyor; remote sensing specialist; information systems engineer or consultant; land development engineer or manager; land administration specialist; land valuation specialist; project engineer or manager; planning engineer; research engineer; systems analyst, engineer or designer; technopreneur; risk analyst or engineer; construction and industrial surveyor; mine surveyor; and mapping specialist.
In practice the employers are private survey and land development firms, construction and infrastructure contractors, real estate developers, mining companies, and government - the Land Management Bureau, the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Public Works and Highways, local government assessor and engineering offices, and the courts, which rely on geodetic engineers as expert witnesses in boundary disputes.
Two of those career lines have grown noticeably as technology has changed the work: GIS and remote sensing, where the skill overlaps with data and software roles, and drone-based photogrammetry, which has pulled aerial survey work down to project scale.
What BS Geodetic Engineering costs
We are not going to invent a figure. There is no national tuition rate. State universities and colleges charge no tuition for qualified students under the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, and private schools publish their own schedules each academic year.
What is specific to this programme is the equipment side. CMO 89 sets physical resource requirements because the curriculum needs total stations, levels, GNSS receivers and photogrammetric and GIS software. Ask what instrument and field-work fees are charged, whether survey camp is billed separately, and what the department actually owns rather than borrows.
Questions worth asking before you enrol
- What is the school's actual unit total? CMO 89's band is 175 to 190 units.
- What survey instruments does the department own, and how many students share each set? Field courses are useless without kit.
- How is survey camp run, and what does it cost? This is the single most programme-specific expense.
- Who arranges the 240-hour immersion? School-placed and self-sourced are very different experiences.
- What are the recent licensure exam results for this school? In a gated profession, the school's pass record is a fair proxy for teaching quality.
If you are still at senior high stage, see our note on the right strand for engineering. If the licence itself is what you are optimising for, our list of courses with board exams shows which fields are gated and which are not, and our overview of PRC board exam requirements covers what PRC asks of first-time examinees. 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. 89, s. 2017 - Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the BS Geodetic Engineering Program (CHED, PDF)
- CHED - 2017 CHED Memorandum Orders index
- Professional Regulation Commission - List of Professional Regulatory Boards
- Republic Act No. 8560, Philippine Geodetic Engineering Act of 1998 - full text (LawPhil)
- Republic Act No. 9200, amending RA 8560 - full text (LawPhil)
- Professional Regulation Commission - Board of Geodetic Engineering, IRR of RA 8560 (PDF)
