The short answer, because it changes what you enrol in this year: there is no bachelor's degree in guidance and counseling prescribed by CHED. Guidance and counseling in the Philippines is a licensed profession you enter at the graduate level. Republic Act No. 9258, the Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004, requires a master's degree in Guidance and Counseling before you can even sit the licensure examination.
Psychology, on the other hand, is a real undergraduate degree with its own CHED memorandum order, CMO No. 34 series of 2017, and its own licensure ladder under Republic Act No. 10029, the Philippine Psychology Act of 2009.
So the two are not alternatives you pick between at age 17. One is the undergraduate route; the other is the destination you reach later, if you want it. Here is the whole ladder.
What CHED actually prescribes at undergraduate level
CMO 34 s. 2017 is titled "Policies and Standards for Undergraduate Programs in Psychology." It names exactly two degrees:
- Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (AB/BA Psychology)
- Bachelor of Science in Psychology (BS Psychology)
There is no third degree in that order, and there is no separate CHED order creating an undergraduate guidance and counseling programme. What CMO 34 does contain is Introduction to Counseling as an elective in the Psychology Elective Series, sitting alongside Health Psychology, Group Dynamics, Educational Psychology, Positive Psychology, Ethics in Psychology, and about a dozen others.
CMO 34 is also explicit that some counselling-adjacent work is off-limits at undergraduate level. It states that Projective Techniques is a graduate level course and should not be offered in the bachelor's programme. That single line lines up exactly with what the psychometrician licence later allows, which we get to below.
The AB and BS Psychology curriculum
| Component | Units |
|---|---|
| General Education courses (12 subjects) | 36 |
| Basic courses (Introduction to Psychology 3, Psychological Statistics 5) | 8 |
| Required courses (13 subjects) | 45 |
| Psychology Elective Series (2 subjects) | 6 |
| Physical Education | 8 |
| NSTP | 6 |
| AB Psychology total | 109 |
| Natural science electives, BS only | 20 |
| BS Psychology total | 129 |
The 45-unit required block is the spine: Developmental Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Theories of Personality, Physiological/Biological Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Field Methods in Psychology, Social Psychology, Psychological Assessment, Abnormal Psychology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Culture and Psychology or Sikolohiyang Pilipino, and Research in Psychology I and II.
CMO 34 also fixes a few prerequisites: Introduction to Psychology and Psychological Statistics come before everything else; Theories of Personality is a prerequisite of Psychological Assessment; and Experimental Psychology plus Field Methods are prerequisites of the two research courses. If a school's sequencing looks different, ask why.
We cover the degree in more detail in the BS Psychology guide, and the AB-versus-BS question in BS vs AB Psychology.
The psychology licensure ladder
RA 10029 created the Professional Regulatory Board of Psychology and two separate licences.
Psychometrician. The entry-level licence, and the one a fresh psychology graduate can go for. To qualify you need at least a bachelor's degree in psychology from a CHED-recognised institution, plus the usual citizenship and good-character requirements. The examination covers four subjects: Theories of Personality, Abnormal Psychology, Industrial Psychology, and Psychological Assessment.
What the licence lets you do is narrowly drawn in the law. A psychometrician may administer and score objective personality tests and structured personality tests, excluding projective tests and other higher-level forms of psychological tests; interpret those results and prepare a written report; and conduct preparatory intake interviews for psychological intervention sessions. RA 10029 adds that all of this "shall at all times be conducted under the supervision of a licensed professional psychologist." Our psychometrician board exam guide covers the application side.
Psychologist. The full licence. It requires at least a master's degree in psychology from a CHED-recognised institution with sufficient credits in the examination subjects, plus a minimum of 200 hours of supervised practicum, internship or clinical experience under a licensed psychologist or other licensed mental health professional. The examination covers Advanced Theories of Personality, Advanced Abnormal Psychology, Advanced Psychological Assessment, and Psychological Counseling and Psychotherapy.
For both licences, passing means a weighted general average of at least 75 percent with no grade below 60 percent in any subject.
The guidance and counseling ladder
RA 9258 created a separate Professional Regulatory Board of Guidance and Counseling. It is genuinely a different profession with a different board, not a specialisation inside psychology. The Professional Regulation Commission lists Guidance and Counseling and Psychology as two of its 46 Professional Regulatory Boards.
To sit the guidance counselor licensure examination, Section 13 of RA 9258 requires that you be a Filipino citizen or a foreigner from a country with reciprocity, have no conviction for an offence involving moral turpitude, and be a holder of a Bachelor's Degree in Guidance and Counseling or in other Allied Disciplines and a master's degree in Guidance and Counseling from an institution recognised or accredited by CHED.
Read that clause carefully, because it is the practical answer to the whole question. The law contemplates a bachelor's in guidance and counseling, but it also accepts an allied discipline. Since CHED does not prescribe an undergraduate guidance and counseling programme, in practice almost everyone arrives through an allied bachelor's degree, most commonly psychology or a teacher education degree, then does the master's.
The examination covers five areas set out in Section 15: philosophical, psychological and sociological foundations of guidance; counseling theories, tools and techniques; psychological testing; organization and administration of guidance services; and group process and program development. Passing requires a weighted general average of 75 percent with no grade below 60 percent in any subject.
The licence is required to practise. Section 27 states that no person shall engage in the practice of guidance and counseling without a valid Certificate of Registration and a valid Professional Identification Card or a special permit. Section 14 provided a registration-without-examination window for experienced practitioners, but it closed two years after the Board was created, so it is not a route available today.
Master's programmes in guidance and counseling exist at a number of institutions. De La Salle University runs a Master of Science in Guidance and Counseling under its Br. Andrew Gonzalez FSC College of Education, which also houses a Counseling and Educational Psychology department. Philippine Normal University offers a ladderised Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Psychology and Counseling as a single undergraduate entry programme, which is worth knowing about if you are certain about the destination at 17. Programme names differ, so check that the master's you enrol in is in Guidance and Counseling as RA 9258 words it before you pay for it.
The two paths, side by side
| Psychology route | Guidance and counseling route | |
|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate anchor | CMO 34 s. 2017, AB or BS Psychology | No CHED undergraduate PSG; enter via an allied bachelor's degree |
| Governing law | RA 10029, Philippine Psychology Act of 2009 | RA 9258, Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004 |
| First licence available after a bachelor's | Psychometrician | None |
| Graduate requirement for the full licence | Master's in psychology plus 200 supervised hours | Master's in Guidance and Counseling |
| PRC board | Board of Psychology | Board of Guidance and Counseling |
| Passing mark | 75% weighted average, no grade below 60% | 75% weighted average, no grade below 60% |
What this means for your decision
If you are choosing a course now, the question is not "psychology or guidance and counseling." It is which allied bachelor's degree to take, because the guidance counselor licence is at least a master's away either way.
Psychology under CMO 34 is the most direct feeder. It gives you a licence you can earn straight out of the bachelor's, it covers Psychological Assessment and Abnormal Psychology which recur in both licensure examinations, and it keeps the psychologist route open as well as the counsellor route.
Teacher education is the other common feeder, and it matters if you want to work in a school. Guidance offices sit inside schools, and a background in teacher education makes the institutional side of the job familiar.
If you are already a psychology graduate, decide which master's you want before you enrol in one. A master's in psychology leads to the psychologist licence. A master's in Guidance and Counseling leads to the guidance counselor licence. They are not interchangeable, and the wrong one costs you years. Our master's in psychology rundown covers the psychology side.
One number nobody should invent for you. Tuition for these master's programmes, PRC examination fees, and review costs all vary by institution and change every cycle. Neither CMO 34 nor either statute fixes a peso figure. Get the current schedule from the school's graduate office and from PRC directly.
If you are still in senior high school, strand for psychology covers which track sets you up best for the undergraduate half of this path.
Sources
- CHED Memorandum Order No. 34, series of 2017, Policies and Standards for Undergraduate Programs in Psychology — Commission on Higher Education. Degree names, curriculum components, unit totals of 109 for AB and 129 for BS, required and elective course lists, prerequisites, and the note that Projective Techniques is a graduate-level course. Scanned document; figures read from the pages.
- Republic Act No. 10029, Philippine Psychology Act of 2009 — LawPhil. Definitions of the practice of psychology and of psychometrician, qualifications for both licensure examinations, examination subjects, and passing ratings.
- Republic Act No. 9258, Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004 — LawPhil. Examination requirement, qualification for examination including the master's degree requirement, registration without examination window, scope of examination, passing ratings, and the prohibition on unlicensed practice.
- Professional Regulatory Boards — Professional Regulation Commission. Confirms Guidance and Counseling and Psychology are separate boards among the 46 under the Commission.
- Master of Science in Guidance and Counseling (MSGC) — De La Salle University. Example of a master's programme in the field.
- PNU Undergraduate Admission Brochure AY 2025-2026 — Philippine Normal University. Lists the Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Psychology and Counseling programme.
