BS Radiologic Technology: Course, Board Exam, Careers

TL;DR: BSRT is a four-year health science degree set by CHED Memorandum Order No. 07, series of 2018, totalling 178 units, of which the entire fourth year is an 11-month Clinical Education block worth 36 units. Yes, there is a board exam. Under Republic Act No. 7431, the Radiologic Technology Act of 1992, no one may practise as a radiologic technologist without a certificate of registration from the Board of Radiologic Technology, and the radiologic technology examination requires a baccalaureate degree in the field. RA 7431 also creates a second, different registration — x-ray technologist — which requires only an associate diploma. Those are not the same licence.

What CHED Prescribes for BSRT

The governing document is CHED Memorandum Order No. 07, series of 2018, "Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the Bachelor of Science in Radiologic Technology Program."

CMO 07 describes BSRT as "a four-year degree program consisting of general education and professional courses. The fourth year is undertaken as a Clinical Education Training Program in accredited affiliation centers." It then lists the modality coverage: general radiography plus ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, mammography, nuclear medicine, radiotherapy, interventional radiology, and other emergent fields.

That list is the useful part for a prospective student. Radiologic technology is not one machine and one skill. The degree is built to make you employable across an imaging department, and the modality-specific courses in the curriculum reflect that.

How Many Units Is BSRT?

CMO 07 s. 2018 gives a grand total of 178 units:

The 15 units of core courses are Human Anatomy and Physiology, Medical Terminology, Introduction to Research, Research Writing, and Statistics — three units each. Everything genuinely radiologic sits in the 113-unit professional block.

This is CHED's prescribed minimum. Schools may add institutional courses on top, so confirm the actual total with your target school's college.

The 113 Units of Professional Courses

CMO 07 prescribes the professional courses individually. Grouped by what they are actually about:

Physics, equipment and safety

• Radiation Production and Characteristics (3), Imaging Equipment and Maintenance (2), Principles of Imaging (3), Radiobiology (2), Radiation Protection (2), Quality Assurance and Quality Control (3)

Image acquisition and anatomy

• Computed and Digital Radiography (3), Film-Screen Image Acquisition, Processing and Image Analysis (3), Radiographic Anatomy and Physiology (4), Radiographic Positioning and Radiologic Procedures (8), Radiologic Contrast Examinations (3), Radiologic Pathology (3)

Modalities

• Computed Tomography (3), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (3), Ultrasonography (3), Mammography (2), Interventional Radiology (3), Radiation Therapy (3), Nuclear Medicine (3)

Patient care and professional practice

• Introduction to Radiologic Technology and Health Care (3), Patient Care and Management (3), Pharmacology and Venipuncture (3), Professional Ethics, Jurisprudence and Cultural Sensitivity (3), Administration, Leadership and Entrepreneurship (3), Imaging Science and Informatics (3)

Clinical

• Clinical Education, 11 months, 36 units

Radiographic Positioning and Radiologic Procedures at 8 units is the single heaviest course in the curriculum, which tells you where the practical difficulty of the degree sits. Pharmacology and Venipuncture is also worth flagging: radiologic technologists administer contrast agents, so this is a hands-on patient-contact profession, not a machine-operation job.

The Fourth Year Is Entirely Clinical

CMO 07's sample programme of study puts Clinical Education 1 (5½ months) in the first semester of fourth year and Clinical Education 2 (5½ months) in the second, completed in accredited affiliation centres. Combined, that is the 36-unit, 11-month Clinical Education block.

Two practical consequences:

1. Your final year has almost no capacity for part-time work. Budget for it before you enrol, not in third year.
2. The affiliation centres matter more than the campus. A school with rotations through a large tertiary hospital with CT, MRI, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy will give you a broader competency record than one with a single small affiliate. Ask, specifically, which hospitals and imaging centres a school rotates its interns through and which modalities you will actually touch.

Yes, There Is a Board Exam — and There Are Two of Them

Republic Act No. 7431, the Radiologic Technology Act of 1992, is the governing law. Section 15 is unambiguous: "no person shall practice or offer to practice as a radiologic technologist and/or x-ray technologist in the Philippines without having obtained the proper certificate of registration from the Board."

The part that trips people up is Section 19, on qualifications for examination. An applicant must be:

• a Filipino citizen;
• of good moral character with no conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude; and
• "a holder of a baccalaureate degree in radiologic technology" if applying for the radiologic technology examination, or "a holder of an associate in radiologic technology diploma" if applying for the x-ray technology examination.

So RA 7431 creates two distinct professions with two distinct exams. BSRT is the route to the radiologic technologist licence. The associate diploma is the route to the x-ray technologist licence. They are not interchangeable, and job postings sometimes use the terms loosely — read them carefully.

Scope of the radiologic technology examination

Section 21 of RA 7431 lists the subject areas the examination covers:

• Radiation Physics and Equipment; Equipment Maintenance
• Radiobiology and Radiation Protection
• Radiographic Positioning; Radiographic Technique; Special Procedures
• Anatomy, Physiology and Medical Terminology
• Photochemistry and Film Analysis
• Nursing and Departmental Procedures in Radiology, and Professional Ethics
• Ultrasound
• Radiation Therapy
• Nuclear Medicine
• Radiologic Pathology
• Computed Tomography / Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The statute also assigns a percentage weight to each line, but we are deliberately not reproducing that column: in the published transcription of RA 7431 the listed weights do not sum to 100%, which means at least one row has been transcribed or formatted incorrectly somewhere along the way. Rather than pick a reading and present it as fact, treat the list above as the statutory subject coverage and get the current weights from PRC's own table of specifications for the examination. The law itself adds "unless changed or modified by the Board," so the Board's current version governs regardless.

Passing

RA 7431 requires a weighted average of at least 75% with no rating below 60% in any subject. If you average 75% or above but fall below 60% in a subject, you may re-sit only those subjects — and must then score 75% in each. Fail after a third attempt and you retake the whole examination.

RA 7431 provides for the examination to be given once a year by the Board through the Commission. Actual dates and application windows are set by PRC in its master schedule of licensure examinations, so check PRC directly rather than relying on any secondhand date. Our radtech board exam guide covers the application process, and PRC board exam requirements covers the documents you will need.

BSRT Compared With Other Allied Health Degrees

The everyday distinction people miss: medical technology works on samples taken from the patient, radiologic technology works on the patient in front of you. If patient contact is what you want, that difference matters more than the curriculum comparison.

Careers

Radiologic technologists work in hospital radiology and imaging departments, standalone diagnostic and imaging centres, mobile and outreach x-ray services, and specialised units — CT, MRI, ultrasound, mammography, nuclear medicine and radiation therapy. Because CMO 07 builds modality coverage into the curriculum, sub-specialising after licensure is a normal career path rather than a career change.

Overseas practice is a common motivation for taking this degree, but requirements differ by country and by state or province, often involving separate credential evaluation and a local certification exam. Verify the current requirements with the destination country's own licensing body before you build a plan around them — do not rely on a recruiter's summary.

We are not going to quote tuition figures. Structurally, imaging programmes carry equipment, laboratory and clinical affiliation costs, so they price above business or IT degrees at the same school. State universities and colleges charge no tuition for qualified students under the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. Ask the school for the current rate, and ask separately about clinical education fees for fourth year, which are often billed apart from tuition.

Should You Take BSRT?

• Are you comfortable with physics? Radiation physics, equipment and imaging principles run through the whole degree. This is the most physics-heavy of the common allied health courses.
• Are you comfortable with patients? Positioning, patient care and venipuncture are core, not peripheral.
• Can you absorb a fully clinical fourth year? Eleven months of rotations, with the associated costs of transport, uniforms and possibly relocation.
• Have you checked the school's affiliation centres? This is the single most consequential thing that differs between BSRT programmes.
• Do you understand which licence you are aiming at? Baccalaureate for radiologic technologist; associate diploma for x-ray technologist. Choose deliberately.

If you are still comparing licensed health courses, our courses with board exams list sets them side by side.

Ready to compare schools? Browse radiologic technology programmes across Philippine schools on SchoolFinderPH.

Sources

• CHED Memorandum Order No. 07, series of 2018 — Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the BS Radiologic Technology Program
• Republic Act No. 7431 — Radiologic Technology Act of 1992 (LawPhil)
• Professional Regulation Commission — Professional Regulatory Boards
• Professional Regulation Commission — Radiologic Technology board