TL;DR: HUMSS feeds a wide spread of college courses: AB Political Science (pre-law) and BS Legal Management, AB or BS Psychology, Education degrees (BEEd/BSEd), AB Communication and Journalism, BS Social Work, BS Criminology, and AB Sociology, History, or Philosophy. No course is legally closed to HUMSS graduates, but pivoting into Accountancy, Engineering, IT, or Architecture means catching up on Pre-Calculus and Basic Calculus, subjects HUMSS's specialized curriculum does not include. Tuition ranges widely by course and school, from free at state universities under RA 10931 to over ₱150,000 per semester for law school at Ateneo. Pay outcomes vary just as widely: a government Teacher I starts at ₱31,705/month (SG-11) in 2026, while fresh law-firm associates start anywhere from about ₱25,000 to ₱45,000/month depending on firm tier.
Choosing HUMSS in Senior High School answers one question and opens a dozen more: which specific college course should you actually take? This guide lists every course HUMSS graduates commonly pursue, grouped by field, flags which ones assume math preparation HUMSS doesn't cover, and gives real tuition and pay figures pulled from official salary schedules, school fee pages, and licensing bodies. For the strand itself, subjects, and general career framing, start with our HUMSS strand guide; for how HUMSS compares to other strands before you commit, see STEM vs ABM vs HUMSS.
Every College Course HUMSS Graduates Commonly Take
| Field | Courses | Typical Licensure/Board Exam |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-law | AB Political Science, BS Legal Management | Bar Exam (after JD) |
| Psychology | AB Psychology, BS Psychology | Psychometrician Licensure Exam (RA 10029) |
| Education | BEEd (Elementary), BSEd (Secondary) | Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) |
| Communication | AB Communication, AB Journalism, AB Broadcasting | None required to practice |
| Social sciences | BS Social Work, AB Sociology, AB International Studies, BPA (Public Administration) | Social Worker Licensure Exam (for Social Work only) |
| Humanities | AB History, AB Philosophy, AB Literature | None required to practice |
| Criminal justice | BS Criminology | Criminologist Licensure Exam |
None of these courses legally require a HUMSS background. STEM, ABM, and GAS graduates enroll in all of them every year. What HUMSS provides is two years of reading-volume and argumentative-writing practice that these degrees lean on from the first semester.
Pre-Law: AB Political Science vs. BS Legal Management
AB Political Science is the traditional pre-law route, covering political theory, governance, and international relations, subjects that overlap directly with HUMSS's Philippine Politics and Governance and Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences. BS Legal Management is a narrower, more structured pre-law degree built specifically around what law school expects: statutory construction, legal research methods, and business law fundamentals, often with a business or management minor layered in.
Both qualify graduates to apply to a four-year Juris Doctor (JD) program after finishing the bachelor's degree. Neither course itself leads to practicing law, you still need the JD and a passing Bar Exam score for that.
Disclaimer: law school tuition, entrance requirements, and Bar Exam passing rates change by year and by school. Verify current figures directly with your target law school before budgeting.
Law school tuition itself ranges from free at UP College of Law under the free tuition law (RA 10931) to ₱150,000-₱200,000+ per semester at Ateneo Law School, with total four-year Juris Doctor cost running from roughly ₱300,000 to over ₱1,600,000, excluding bar review courses (₱30,000-₱80,000) and law books (₱50,000-₱100,000+). Our law school tuition guide breaks this down school by school.
Psychology: AB vs. BS, and What It Actually Leads To
Psychology sits at the intersection of HUMSS and STEM. AB Psychology leans into liberal-arts electives (philosophy, literature, sociology) alongside the required Psychology core; BS Psychology adds roughly 20 additional units of natural science electives, aimed at students eyeing clinical work, graduate research, or a later pivot to Medicine. Both degrees share the same required Psychology courses under CHED's program standards, so both qualify graduates equally for the Psychometrician Licensure Examination under Republic Act No. 10029.
A Psychometrician license lets you administer and score psychological tests under supervision; becoming a fully independent Psychologist requires a master's or doctoral degree plus supervised practicum hours. See our strand for psychology guide for the full licensure pathway, and our psychometrician board exam guide for exam specifics.
Psychology and Communication career pay is not centrally published the way government salary grades are; entry-level pay depends heavily on whether a graduate lands in HR, market research, clinical support, or a corporate role, so treat any specific figure you find online as one data point rather than a national standard.
Education: BEEd and BSEd
Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEEd) and Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd) are HUMSS's most direct, licensure-gated destination. Graduates must pass the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET), administered by the Professional Regulation Commission, before they can teach in either public or private schools.
Tuition varies sharply by school type. Philippine Normal University (PNU), the country's National Center for Teacher Education, is a public State University, meaning qualified students pay no tuition at all under the free tuition law (RA 10931). Private education programs elsewhere in the country generally fall within the broader private-university tuition range of roughly ₱20,000-₱60,000 per semester covered in our college tuition fee per semester guide, though a handful of premium schools charge more.
On pay: a DepEd Teacher I (Salary Grade 11) starts at ₱31,705/month at Step 1 under the Third Tranche Monthly Salary Schedule effective January 1, 2026 (DBM National Budget Circular No. 601). Teacher II (SG-12) starts at ₱33,947 and Teacher III (SG-13) at ₱36,125. Our teacher salary guide covers the full Salary Grade table through Master Teacher IV, plus allowances and private-school pay comparisons.
Communication, Journalism, and Broadcasting
AB Communication, AB Journalism, and AB Broadcasting extend HUMSS's Creative Writing, Creative Nonfiction, and Trends, Networks, and Critical Thinking subjects into media production, corporate communications, public relations, and journalism careers. None of these require a board exam to practice, unlike Education or Psychology.
Tuition generally falls within the standard private-university range (₱20,000-₱60,000 per semester), though schools with dedicated broadcast or media production facilities may charge more for lab and equipment fees. Career pay is not centrally tracked the way licensed professions are; outcomes range from entry-level content and social media roles to senior corporate communications and broadcast journalism positions, with income depending heavily on the specific employer, medium (broadcast vs. digital vs. corporate), and whether the graduate freelances or holds a salaried post.
Social Work, Sociology, and Public Administration
BS Social Work is the licensure-gated option in this group: graduates sit for the Social Worker Licensure Examination and, once licensed, qualify for posts like government Social Welfare Officer I, which starts at ₱31,705/month (Salary Grade 11) at Step 1 under the same 2026 DBM salary schedule as a Teacher I, since both positions share that grade.
AB Sociology, AB International Studies, and Bachelor of Public Administration (BPA) do not require a board exam and instead feed government service (through Civil Service eligibility), NGO and development work, foreign service exams for International Studies graduates, and further graduate study. Pay for these roles depends heavily on sector, entry-level government posts generally start at Salary Grade 6-11 depending on the specific plantilla position, while NGO and private-sector pay varies by organization.
Criminology
BS Criminology leads toward the Criminologist Licensure Examination and, for those who want to join law enforcement, the separate Philippine National Police recruitment and qualifying process. A criminology degree alone does not make someone a police officer; candidates must still pass PNP's own qualifying exams, physical and medical tests, and neuro-psychiatric screening. Entry-level PNP pay follows a separate uniformed-personnel salary schedule under Republic Act No. 11200 rather than the civilian Salary Standardization Law tranche used for teachers and social workers, so it is not directly comparable to the SG-11 figures above; check current uniformed-personnel pay directly with the PNP or DBM rather than assuming parity with civilian salary grades. See our strand for criminology guide for the full PNP path.
History, Philosophy, and Other Liberal Arts Courses
AB History, AB Philosophy, and AB Literature are the most direct academic extensions of HUMSS's humanities subjects and do not require a board exam. Graduates commonly move into teaching (after completing an education unit requirement or a separate education degree), graduate school, publishing, research, or civil service, or use the degree as a pre-law foundation similar to Political Science. Career pay is the least centrally tracked of any course on this list, since outcomes span academia, government, publishing, and entirely unrelated fields graduates pivot into.
Which of These Courses Need Extra Math Preparation?
HUMSS's specialized subjects, per DepEd's curriculum guide, are Creative Writing, Creative Nonfiction, Introduction to World Religions and Belief Systems, Community Engagement, Solidarity and Citizenship, Philippine Politics and Governance, Trends, Networks, and Critical Thinking in the 21st Century, and Disciplines and Ideas in the Social and Applied Social Sciences. Unlike STEM, this list does not include Pre-Calculus or Basic Calculus.
Every major Philippine college entrance exam (UPCAT, ACET, DLSUCET) tests general math aptitude for all applicants regardless of intended course, so a HUMSS graduate cannot skip the math section. Where this matters most is for HUMSS graduates who pivot toward:
- BS Accountancy or Business Administration (finance track) — expect calculus-adjacent quantitative coursework you did not get in HUMSS.
- BS Economics — increasingly math-heavy at the upper-division level.
- Any Engineering, Architecture, or Computer Science program — these assume STEM-level Pre-Calculus and Basic Calculus from day one; a HUMSS graduate attempting one of these should self-study calculus fundamentals well before their entrance exam and first semester.
Most of the courses listed earlier in this guide (Political Science, Psychology, Education, Communication, Social Work, Sociology, Criminology) do not carry this same math gap, since they build directly on the reading- and writing-based skills HUMSS already covers.
How to Choose Among These Courses
- Separate the degree from the licensure requirement. Education, Psychology, Social Work, and Criminology all require passing a board exam after graduation; Communication, Sociology, History, and Philosophy do not. Factor the extra exam year into your planning if you choose a licensure-gated course.
- Check whether you want Political Science or Legal Management for pre-law, based on whether you want a broader social-science foundation or a narrower, law-school-specific curriculum.
- If you're eyeing a math-heavy pivot (Accountancy, Economics, IT), start bridging your calculus gap in Grade 12 rather than after enrolling.
- Weigh state university options seriously. PNU's free tuition for Education, and UP's free tuition for Law and other CHED-recognized programs, materially changes the total cost calculation against a private-school equivalent.
- For courses without a licensure exam (Communication, Sociology, History), research actual entry-level job postings in your target field before committing, since pay and demand vary more by employer and specialization than any of the licensed professions above.
Ready to find the right school? Browse schools or compare tuition and reviews across hundreds of Philippine schools on SchoolFinderPH.
Sources
- TeacherPH — List of Specialized Subjects in HUMSS Strand
- DBM — National Budget Circular No. 601, Third Tranche Monthly Salary Schedule effective January 1, 2026
- PhilippineGo — DSWD Salary Grade and Amount 2026
- LisensyaPrep — Lawyer Salary Philippines 2026: Associate to Partner
- CHED — CMO No. 34, s. 2017: Policies and Standards for Undergraduate Programs in Psychology
- SchoolFinderPH — HUMSS Strand Guide
- SchoolFinderPH — Law School Tuition Fee Philippines
- SchoolFinderPH — Teacher Salary in the Philippines
- SchoolFinderPH — Lawyer Salary in the Philippines
- SchoolFinderPH — Philippine Normal University Tuition Guide
- SchoolFinderPH — College Tuition Fee Per Semester Philippines
