TL;DR: CHED runs its scholarships and subsidies through UniFAST under several separate programs: the merit-based CHED Merit Scholarship Program (CMSP), the needs-based Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES, ₱27,000/year at private HEIs and ₱20,000 at SUCs and LUCs under UniFAST MC 01 s. 2026), the needs-based Tulong Dunong Program (TDP, ₱7,500/semester under MC 02 s. 2026), and the UniFAST Student Loan Program (a loan, not a grant — the older Study Now, Pay Later Plan has been suspended since September 2022). Free tuition at SUCs under RA 10931 is a separate automatic policy, not an application-based scholarship. As of this writing, the CMSP intake for AY 2026-2027 freshmen closed June 30, 2026 — check ched.gov.ph or your CHED Regional Office for the next cycle's opening date before assuming any window below is still open.
Filipino students searching "CHED scholarship 2026" or "CHED scholarship 2027" are usually trying to answer one question: which government program actually applies to me, and how much does it pay? The honest answer is that "CHED scholarship" is not one program — it is an umbrella for several distinct Student Financial Assistance Programs (StuFAPs) that CHED administers or co-administers with UniFAST, each with its own eligibility rules, benefit amounts, and application channel. This guide puts every current program in one place: what each pays, who qualifies, and where applications are filed, sourced from CHED's own program pages and dated news reporting on the current application cycle. For the merit scholarship specifically, see our CHED Merit Scholarship guide; for full document checklists, see our CHED scholarship requirements guide.
What Scholarships Does CHED Administer?
CHED does not run one unified "CHED scholarship." It sits under UniFAST (the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education, created by Republic Act 10687) alongside several distinct StuFAPs. The table below lists the programs a Filipino undergraduate is most likely to encounter.
| Program | Type | Basis | Typical Benefit | Administered Through |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHED Merit Scholarship Program (CMSP) | Scholarship | Academic merit (GWA/class rank) | Free tuition at SUCs or up to ₱45,000/year tuition support at private HEIs, plus a stipend | Online national portal (bpms.ched.gov.ph) |
| Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) | Subsidy | Financial need, ranked by household per capita income | ₱27,000/year (private HEI) or ₱20,000/year (SUC/LUC) | Applied through your school |
| Tulong Dunong Program (TDP) | Grant-in-aid | Financial need, evidenced by Certificate of Indigency | ₱7,500/semester, ₱15,000/year | Applied through your school |
| Free tuition (RA 10931) | Automatic policy | Enrollment at a covered SUC/LUC | Full tuition waived | No application — automatic |
| UniFAST Student Loan Program (SLPTE-ST) | Loan | Need for tuition financing | Loan, not a grant | Applied through your school's UniFAST coordinator |
Because these programs have different application channels and different funding cycles, a student can be eligible for more than one type in principle, but several are explicitly mutually exclusive (see below). Treat each program as its own application, not a single "CHED scholarship" form.
Disclaimer: the TES and TDP figures come from UniFAST Memorandum Circulars No. 01 and No. 02, series of 2026, both effective from the first semester of AY 2026-2027. CMSP terms and deadlines reflect the most recent cycle information available at the time of research. UniFAST reviews benefit amounts against each year's appropriation, so verify the current cycle's rules with your CHED Regional Office before applying.
How Much Does the CHED Merit Scholarship Pay?
The CHED Merit Scholarship Program (CMSP) is CHED's flagship academic-merit award under StuFAPs, historically structured as Full Merit and Half Merit tracks. CHED's own program page describes Full Merit awards worth up to ₱60,000 per semester at private HEIs (tuition, stipend, and book/connectivity allowance combined) and free tuition plus a stipend at SUCs, tied to a 93% GWA threshold and a ₱500,000 household income ceiling.
Reporting on the AY 2026-2027 application cycle described a different, updated structure: free tuition at SUCs/LUCs under RA 10931 plus a ₱45,000 annual stipend for scholars, up to ₱45,000 a year in tuition support for private HEI scholars, a ₱18,000-per-term excellence bonus for the top 15 regional scholars, a new TVET track (up to ₱70,000/year in fees plus stipend and allowances for TESDA priority programs), a GWA requirement of at least 95% (or top 5 of your graduating class), and an income ceiling of ₱2,000,000 combined annual family income. The gap between the numbers on CHED's general program page and the specific cycle reporting is a reminder that CMSP's exact terms are reset by CHED for each intake — read the full breakdown in our CHED Merit Scholarship guide and confirm the live figures with CHED before applying.
How Much Does the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) Pay?
Section 4 of UniFAST Memorandum Circular No. 01, series of 2026, sets TES at ₱13,500 a semester, or ₱27,000 an academic year, for qualified students at private Higher Education Institutions, and ₱10,000 a semester, or ₱20,000 an academic year, for students at SUCs and CHED-recognised LUCs (where tuition is already free under RA 10931, so TES covers other school costs instead). Grantees in the second priority tier — dependents of solo parents, and members of Indigenous Peoples communities — receive ₱5,000 a semester, or ₱10,000 a year. A grantee with a disability gets an extra ₱10,000 a year under TES-3A, and a grantee in a licensure course can claim a one-time reimbursement of up to ₱8,000 under TES-3B.
TES is a needs-based subsidy administered by UniFAST, not a competitive academic scholarship — there is no GWA cutoff, and no peso income cap either. Priority runs first to students from households listed in DSWD's Listahanan (or the 4Ps list if Listahanan is discontinued), ranked by household per capita income, then to solo-parent dependents and ICC/IP members on the same ranking.
Unlike CMSP, TES applications are filed through your school, not a national portal you access directly. For the full eligibility breakdown, the tiered prioritization system, and the step-by-step school-based application process, see our complete CHED TES guide.
How Much Does the Tulong Dunong Program (TDP) Pay?
TDP pays ₱7,500 per regular semester, or ₱15,000 per academic year, under Section 3 of UniFAST Memorandum Circular No. 02, series of 2026, which applies the same amount to continuing and new grantees. It is a grant-in-aid, not a loan, and like TES it does not require a specific GWA. The ₱400,000 household income ceiling widely quoted for TDP does not appear in the 2026 revised guidelines: Section 2 requires only Filipino citizenship and enrolment in a first undergraduate degree at a covered HEI, with financial need evidenced by a Certificate of Indigency.
TDP and TES cannot be received simultaneously — they are designed as separate, non-stackable tracks, and a student already receiving TES, CMSP, or another national government aid program is disqualified from TDP. For the complete eligibility checklist, required documents, and application steps, see our CHED Tulong Dunong Program guide.
What About Free Tuition at State Universities?
Free tuition under Republic Act 10931 is not a scholarship you apply for — it is an automatic policy covering tuition (not necessarily miscellaneous fees) for Filipino undergraduates enrolled in eligible programs at State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs), regardless of household income. Students at these schools who also want help with non-tuition costs (dorms, books, transportation) should look at TES 2 or TDP, both of which fill that specific gap. See our CHED free tuition guide for the full mechanics, and our TES vs Tulong Dunong vs Free Tuition comparison if you are trying to decide which combination applies to your situation.
When Can You Apply? Understanding CHED's Application Cycles
This is where most confusion happens, because each program runs on its own calendar:
- CMSP opens once a year for incoming first-year students, generally in the months before the new school year starts. For AY 2026-2027, the application window ran through June 30, 2026 and has since closed, according to reporting on the cycle at the time. CHED has not published the AY 2027-2028 opening date as of this writing.
- TES and TDP intake windows are typically set by each participating school within a broader UniFAST calendar, and can vary between institutions and semesters. Ask your school's scholarship office directly for your campus's current intake schedule.
- Free tuition (RA 10931) has no application window — it applies automatically at enrollment for eligible students at covered SUCs/LUCs.
Because CMSP in particular runs a hard national deadline with a fixed number of slots, missing the window means waiting for the next cycle. Bookmark ched.gov.ph and your CHED Regional Office's Facebook page and check status before assuming any given intake period is open.
"CHED never charges an application fee." — a standard advisory line CHED and its regional offices repeat across scholarship announcements, aimed at the scam sites that charge students to "process" applications.
CMSP vs. TES vs. TDP vs. the student loan: Quick Comparison
| Program | Merit or Need-based | Repayment | Typical Amount | Can Combine With Others? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMSP (Merit Scholarship) | Merit | None | Free tuition (SUC) or up to ~₱45,000/year (private) + stipend | Case-by-case; check with CHED |
| TES | Need | None | ₱27,000/year (private) or ₱20,000/year (SUC/LUC) | Not with TDP |
| TDP | Need | None | ₱7,500/semester, ₱15,000/year | Not with TES, CMSP, or other national aid |
| UniFAST Student Loan Program | Need | Yes, low interest | Loan amount varies | Generally not with TES |
| Free tuition (RA 10931) | Automatic | None | Full tuition at covered SUC/LUC | Yes, works alongside TES/TDP |
If you are unsure which track fits your situation, our general how to get a scholarship in the Philippines guide and the government student aid Philippines overview both walk through the decision process in more depth.
How to Decide Which CHED Program to Apply For
- Strong grades, any income level? Start with CMSP — it is the only merit-based track and pays the most per year for qualifying students, but it runs a strict once-a-year deadline.
- Low household income, listed in Listahanan or 4Ps? TES is your priority track and pays more than TDP.
- Low-to-moderate income but not Listahanan/4Ps-listed? File for TES anyway, since there is no income wall to fail, but treat TDP as the more realistic fallback even though the amount is smaller.
- Already at a free-tuition SUC and just need help with fees and transportation? TES or TDP fill that gap; RA 10931 already handles tuition.
- Missed every deadline this cycle? Compare study now, pay later options — the government route is now the UniFAST Student Loan Program, since the CHED Study Now, Pay Later Plan has been suspended since September 2022 — and calendar the next CMSP window for next year.
Disclaimer: CMSP eligibility rules, income ceilings, and deadlines are set and revised by CHED each cycle, and UniFAST reviews TES and TDP amounts against each year's appropriation. Verify against the current circular before relying on a figure.
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Sources
- CHED-UniFAST — Memorandum Circular No. 01, s. 2026, 2026 Revised TES Guidelines (official PDF) — Sec. 3 prioritisation, Sec. 4 amounts
- CHED-UniFAST — Memorandum Circular No. 02, s. 2026, 2026 Revised TDP Guidelines (official PDF) — Sec. 2 qualification requirements, Sec. 3 grant amount
- CHED Merit Scholarship Program (official)
- CHED Regional Office XI — Assistance and Incentives on Scholarship Grants (official)
- CHED Regional Office 8 — StuFAPs status page (official)
- CHED/UniFAST — Republic Act 10687 overview (official)
- PhilSTAR Life — CHED Merit Scholarship applications now open for incoming college, Tech-Voc students
- Cebu Daily News/Inquirer — CHED merit scholarship: how to apply before June 30 deadline
- SchoolFinderPH — CHED TES Guide
- SchoolFinderPH — CHED Tulong Dunong Program Guide
