The degree is called Bachelor of Forensic Science, it is governed by a CHED order issued in 2012, and it leads to no licensure examination of any kind. If you are choosing it because you want to be the person testifying about DNA evidence in court, read the whole of this page first - particularly the part about which laboratory jobs are closed to you without a separate licence.
The order behind the programme
The standard is CHED Memorandum Order No. 48, series of 2012, titled "Criminal Justice Education: Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the Bachelor of Forensic Science Program." It was adopted by virtue of Commission en banc Resolution No. 471-2012 dated 13 November 2012, and it builds on CMO No. 21, s. 2005, which had named forensic science as one of the degree programmes under Criminal Justice Education.
The order defines forensic science as "the application of scientific principles and techniques to the legal process in support of the proper administration of justice," and describes the programme it wants: interdisciplinary, "combining a strong foundation in the natural and social sciences, with extensive laboratory and field experiences."
Section 3 is blunt about the diploma: a student who completes the programme "shall be conferred with the degree of Bachelor of Forensic Science (BFSci)."
The unit totals in that order describe the old curriculum
This matters, and most write-ups get it wrong. CMO No. 48 was issued in 2012, before the K-to-12 transition changed what a Philippine college curriculum contains. Its curriculum description sets a total of 182 units, of which 63 units are general education "following GEC-B under CMO 4, series of 1997."
That 63-unit general education block no longer exists. CHED replaced it with the 36-unit general education curriculum in CMO No. 20, s. 2013, and the forensic science order anticipated exactly this. Its own text says the general education subjects "shall be considered automatically revised once a new CMO on General Education is issued by CHED, without the need for additional action on the part of the concerned Technical Panel."
So: do not quote 182 units as the size of the degree you would enrol in today, and be suspicious of any page that does. Ask the school for its current, approved checklist.
What has not changed is the professional shape of the programme, which the order fixes as:
| Component | Units in CMO No. 48, s. 2012 |
|---|---|
| General education (old GEC-B, since superseded) | 63 |
| Core courses | 24 |
| Major courses | 75 |
| Electives (forensic specialisations) | small block |
| Physical education | 8 |
| NSTP | 6 |
| Total as written in 2012 | 182 |
What you actually study
The core is seven courses: Philippine Criminal Justice System, Fundamentals of Criminal Investigation, Introduction to Forensic Science, Forensic Photography, Dactyloscopy, Human Anatomy and Physiology, and Crime Scene Investigation. Several carry laboratory hours.
The major block is where the degree earns its name. The order lists, among others, Criminal Law 1 and 2, Criminal Procedure, Rules on Evidence, Forensic Chemistry, Forensic Toxicology, Forensic Medicine 1 and 2, Forensic Psychology, Forensic Instrumentation, Questioned Document Examination, Firearms Identification, Polygraphy, Explosives and Fire Technology, Sexual Assault Investigation, Mass Fatality Incident Investigation, Introduction to DNA Analysis and Molecular Biology, Computer Forensics, a forensic science internship, and Case Preparation and Mock Trial or Moot Court Presentation.
The named electives are the specialist ones: Forensic Odontology, Forensic Anthropology, Forensic Pathology and Forensic Entomology.
Two features of that list tell you what the degree is for. Half of it is law - evidence, procedure, the courtroom - because a forensic finding that cannot survive cross-examination is worthless. And the mock trial requirement is not decoration; the order describes the programme as preparing students "to properly, confidently and competently testify and present evidence in a court of law."
No board exam, and the two licences you cannot shortcut
The Professional Regulation Commission lists 46 professional regulatory boards. Forensic science is not one of them. Our Lady of Fatima University describes its programme, accurately, as a non-board degree.
That means nothing stands between graduation and employment. It also means two doors stay shut unless you take a different degree.
The criminologist licence. Republic Act No. 11131 admits only holders of a bachelor's degree in criminology, or a CHED-recognised equivalent foreign degree, to the criminologist licensure examination. Forensic science graduates are not eligible. If you want the licence and the roles that require it, the route is BS Criminology, and the distinction between the two programmes is covered in our guide to criminal justice versus criminology.
The chemist licence. Republic Act No. 10657 lets holders of "a degree of Bachelor of Science (BS) in Chemistry or an allied degree" sit the chemistry licensure examination, but with a hard condition: "the applicant must have earned at least sixty (60) university units in chemistry which shall include all of the professional chemistry courses," and "the allied degree and its curriculum shall have passed the evaluation of the Board." The forensic science curriculum is nowhere near 60 units of chemistry. If your ambition is to be the forensic chemist, look at BS Chemistry - or plan on additional coursework and a Board evaluation, with no guarantee attached.
The same logic applies to the medical-laboratory side of a crime laboratory, where BS Medical Technology carries its own licensure examination.
Where graduates work
CMO No. 48 lists the careers the programme is meant to prepare people for: scientific crime investigation, law enforcement, forensic science education, foreign or international agencies, and the research, analysis and evaluation of forensic evidence in courts of law. It adds that the programme is good preparation for law and medicine and for further specialisation in forensic science.
Schools describe the same territory. The University of Baguio, whose programme states plainly that it conforms to CMO 48-12, lists forensic investigator, crime scene investigator, DNA analyst, forensic pathology assistant, expert witness, law enforcement analyst and forensic educator among its career paths.
Read those lists with one caution. Many of the roles sit inside government agencies - the PNP Crime Laboratory, the NBI, and the forensic units of other national agencies - and entry into those agencies runs on their own recruitment rules, eligibility requirements and hiring cycles, some of them uniformed-service tracks with physical and neuro-psychiatric screening. A degree qualifies you to apply. It does not create a position. Check the recruitment announcement of the specific agency in the year you intend to apply.
Private-sector work exists too, and is less discussed: document examination and fraud investigation for banks and insurers, corporate investigations, digital forensics in IT security teams, and laboratory or technical sales roles for instrumentation suppliers.
Which schools offer it
Programmes are offered by a small set of schools rather than the whole sector, and they usually sit inside a College of Criminal Justice Education. The University of Baguio, De La Salle University-Dasmariñas, Lyceum of the Philippines University-Batangas and Our Lady of Fatima University all publish Bachelor of Forensic Science programme pages on their own sites; LPU Batangas also publishes a double-degree route combining BS Criminology with the forensic science degree, which is one way to solve the licence problem.
Because this is a laboratory degree, the shortlist should be built on facilities rather than reputation:
- What instruments does the forensic laboratory actually have, and can I see it?
- How many students share a laboratory station?
- Who teaches forensic chemistry, forensic medicine and DNA analysis, and what are their credentials?
- Where do interns go, and what do they do there?
- What have graduates from the last three batches been hired to do?
If a school cannot answer the last one with names of employers, treat the brochure carefully.
Is it the right choice?
Take it if the laboratory and the evidence are what interest you, you are comfortable with heavy science and heavy law in the same week, and you have a realistic plan for the first job.
Do not take it as a shortcut into the police. That is what criminology is for, and the licence is the difference. Do not take it expecting to become a licensed chemist without the chemistry units. And if you want a course with a licence at the end because the licence itself is the point, our list of courses with board exams is the more useful place to start.
Sources
- CHED Memorandum Order No. 48, s. 2012 — Criminal Justice Education: Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the Bachelor of Forensic Science Program
- CHED Memorandum Order No. 21, s. 2005 — Criminal Justice Education: Policies and Standards for the Criminology Program
- Republic Act No. 11131 — Philippine Criminology Profession Act of 2018 (LawPhil)
- Republic Act No. 10657 — Chemistry Profession Act (LawPhil)
- Professional Regulation Commission — Professional Regulatory Boards
- University of Baguio School of Criminal Justice and Public Safety — Bachelor of Forensic Science
- De La Salle University-Dasmariñas — Bachelor of Forensic Science
- Our Lady of Fatima University — Bachelor of Forensic Science
- Lyceum of the Philippines University-Batangas — Bachelor of Forensic Science
