TL;DR: There is no single "BS Aviation" degree in the Philippines and no PRC board exam for pilots. Schools use different titles - BS Air Transportation, BS Aviation Technology major in Flying - and what actually qualifies you to fly is a CAAP licence under Part 2 of the Philippine Civil Air Regulations. The regulations set the bar: student pilot at 16, private pilot at 17 with at least 40 hours, commercial pilot at 18 with 200 hours (150 in an approved course), airline transport pilot at 21 with 1,500 hours. Medical certificates: Class 2 for student and private, Class 1 for commercial and airline transport.
The most expensive mistake in this field is assuming the diploma and the licence are the same purchase. They are not. Read the licence requirements first, then judge the degree by how much of that path it covers.
What the Degree Is Called, and Who Regulates It
CHED publishes its memorandum orders by year. The indexes from 1994 through 2026 contain no policies, standards and guidelines for a flying or air transportation degree. The only aviation programme with its own CHED PSG is Aeronautical Engineering, under CMO No. 28, series of 2007, later CMO No. 93, series of 2017 - and that is an engineering degree with a PRC board exam, not a pilot's course.
So schools name the programme themselves, within their CHED authority to operate. Titles you will encounter on schools' own websites:
| School | Programme as the school names it |
|---|---|
| National Aviation Academy of the Philippines | Bachelor of Science in Air Transportation (major in Advance Flying) |
| PATTS College of Aeronautics | BS in Air Transportation |
| Indiana Aerospace University | BS Aviation Technology major in Flying |
Republic Act No. 12255, approved 5 September 2025, declared the Philippine State College of Aeronautics the national professional institution for aviation and renamed it the National Aviation Academy of the Philippines. Section 5 of the law lists the programmes NAAP shall offer, beginning with a "Bachelor of Science in Air Transportation specializing in Commercial Pilot". If you were searching for PhilSCA, that is where it went. Our PhilSCA tuition fee guide and PATTS tuition fee guide cover what those schools publish on cost.
Licensing is CAAP's. Part 2 of the Philippine Civil Air Regulations covers personnel licensing and issues, among others: private pilot licence, commercial pilot licence, airline transport pilot licence, multi-crew pilot licence, glider and free balloon pilot licences, flight engineer and flight navigator licences, aviation maintenance technician and specialist licences, air traffic controller licence, and flight operations officer licence.
The Licence Ladder
Student pilot licence
- Age: not less than 16
- Knowledge: able to read, speak and understand English
- Medical: current Class 2 Medical Certificate
- Training: ground training from an authorised instructor covering the applicable sections of Parts 2 and 8, airspace rules and procedures for the airport where the student will fly solo, and the flight characteristics and operation of the make and model to be flown
A student pilot may not fly solo except under the supervision or authority of an authorised flight instructor, and may not fly solo on an international flight.
Private pilot licence, airplane - PPL(A)
- Age: not less than 17
- Medical: current Class 2 Medical Certificate
- Experience: not less than 40 hours of flight time as pilot of airplanes, of which up to 5 hours may be in a flight simulator or flight procedures trainer; not less than 10 hours of solo flight time under the supervision of an authorised instructor, including 5 hours of solo cross-country with at least one cross-country flight of not less than 270 km (150 NM) with full-stop landings at two different aerodromes
- Flight instruction: not less than 20 hours of dual instruction, of which up to 5 hours may be in a simulator or flight procedures trainer
- Night privileges: 4 hours of dual night instruction including take-offs, landings and 1 hour of navigation, endorsed on the licence
- Skill: an instructor endorsement and a passed skill test
A PPL is not a commercial qualification. It is the stepping stone.
Commercial pilot licence, airplane - CPL(A)
- Age: not less than 18
- Medical: current Class 1 Medical Certificate
- Prerequisite: must already hold a PPL(A)
- Experience: not less than 200 hours of flight time as pilot of airplanes, or 150 hours if completed in an Authority-approved training course at an approved training organisation, of which up to 10 hours may be in a simulator or flight procedures trainer
- Within that: 100 hours as pilot-in-command, or 70 hours as pilot-in-command in an approved course; 20 hours of cross-country as pilot-in-command including one flight of not less than 540 km (300 NM) with full-stop landings at two different aerodromes; 10 hours of instrument instruction of which not more than 5 may be instrument ground time; and, for night privileges, 5 hours of night flight including 5 take-offs and 5 landings as pilot-in-command
- Flight instruction: not less than 25 hours of dual instruction, of which up to 5 hours may be in a simulator or flight procedures trainer
The approved-course discount is the reason to care whether your school's flight training runs inside a CAAP-approved training organisation: 150 hours instead of 200, and 70 pilot-in-command hours instead of 100.
Airline transport pilot licence, airplane - ATPL(A)
- Age: not less than 21
- Medical: current Class 1 Medical Certificate, with narrow exceptions in the regulation
- Prerequisite: must hold a CPL(A) with instrument and multi-engine ratings
- Experience: not less than 1,500 hours of flight time as pilot of airplanes, of which a maximum of 100 hours may be in a flight simulator, including at least 250 hours as pilot-in-command (or 100 hours as pilot-in-command plus supervised co-pilot time), 200 hours of cross-country, 75 hours of instrument time (not more than 30 of which may be instrument ground time), and 100 hours of night flight
- Plus a crew resource management course
Ratings you will hear about
Ratings sit on top of a licence: category ratings (airplane, helicopter, glider, free balloon), class ratings (single-engine land or sea, multi-engine land or sea), type ratings for specific aircraft, instrument ratings, and instructor ratings. A commercial licence without an instrument rating and a multi-engine rating does not get you to an airline job.
How a Four-Year Degree Fits Around That
Look closely at what a flying programme actually bundles. Indiana Aerospace University's page for its BS Aviation Technology major in Flying describes a four-year undergraduate programme integrating general education, aviation theory, aircraft maintenance and flying, with extensive flight training including solo flights, cross-country flying and advanced manoeuvres, and states the programme is compliant with CAAP's Philippine Civil Air Regulations. Separately, the same page lists a set of pilot certifications students may pursue: private pilot ground course, commercial pilot ground course, instrument rating, multi-engine rating and pilot instructor course.
That separation is normal in this industry and it is where the money hides. Flight hours are billed by the hour on real aircraft. Before enrolling, get written answers to:
- Which licences and ratings does tuition cover, and which are charged separately?
- How many flight hours are included in the programme fee?
- Is the flight training conducted by a CAAP-approved training organisation, and does the approved course qualify me for the reduced 150-hour commercial pilot route?
- What happens if weather, aircraft availability or maintenance delays my hours past the programme timeline, and who pays?
- What is the school's fleet, and how many students share each aircraft?
- What medical screening does the school require before I enrol?
We do not publish flight training costs because they are set per school, per aircraft type and per hour, and any figure printed on a blog will be wrong for someone. Ask the school for a written schedule of fees covering the full path to a commercial licence, not just the first year.
Careers, and the Honest Risk
The obvious path is airline first officer, reached through a commercial licence, instrument and multi-engine ratings and hour-building - often as a flight instructor, since instructing is one of the few ways to accumulate paid hours towards the 1,500 needed for an airline transport pilot licence. Beyond that: general aviation and charter, cargo, survey and aerial work, government and military flying, and the non-flying aviation roles the same schools offer degrees for - flight operations, aviation safety and security, aviation logistics.
The risk that deserves stating plainly: your career depends on holding a medical certificate. Commercial and airline transport licences require a Class 1. A medical condition that develops later can end flying. That is a real argument for choosing a degree programme over a pure flying course, and for choosing a school whose non-flying aviation degrees you could transfer into.
If you are still in senior high school and planning backwards, our guide on the strand for aspiring pilots covers the choice at that level. If you want the maintenance side of aviation instead, which is licensed by CAAP under the same Part 2, see our BS Aircraft Maintenance Technology guide. And because there is no national PSG for these programmes, checking the school itself matters more than usual - our guide on how to verify school legitimacy covers the CHED side of that.
Bottom Line
Buy the licence path, not the brochure. The Philippine Civil Air Regulations tell you exactly what is required at each rung - age, hours, medical class, prerequisites - and none of it is negotiable by a school. A good aviation degree gets you those hours inside an approved course, at a predictable price, with a fallback qualification if flying does not work out. A weak one sells you four years of theory and leaves the expensive part for later.
Comparing aviation schools? Browse schools on SchoolFinderPH to see what is available near you.
Sources
- CAAP - Philippine Civil Air Regulations Part 2, Personnel Licensing, July 2026 edition (official PDF)
- CAAP - Civil Aviation Regulations
- Professional Regulation Commission - Professional Regulatory Boards
- Commission on Higher Education - CHED Memorandum Orders, indexed by year (1994-2026)
- LawPhil - Republic Act No. 12255, renaming the Philippine State College of Aeronautics as the National Aviation Academy of the Philippines
- National Aviation Academy of the Philippines - Programs Offered
- PATTS College of Aeronautics - Academic Programs
- Indiana Aerospace University - BS Aviation Technology Major in Flying
