TL;DR: BS Speech-Language Pathology is a four-year, 160-unit degree under CHED Memorandum Order No. 59, series of 2017, including at least 30 units of clinical internship. Yes, there is a PRC board exam. Republic Act No. 11249, the Speech-Language Pathology Act, was approved on 22 March 2019; its implementing rules took effect on 7 September 2022, and PRC's Board of Speech-Language Pathology has been administering the licensure examination since 2023. Passing requires a general weighted average of at least 75%, with no grade below 50%.
Speech-language pathology is one of the newest regulated professions in the Philippines. For years, practitioners here worked without a licence because none existed — the profession was recognised by employers and by the international community but not by statute. That changed with a 2019 law, and the first cohorts of licensed Filipino speech-language pathologists were registered in the 2020s.
That recency is why so much of the information floating around is out of date. This guide covers what the CHED order requires of the degree and what the current law requires of practitioners.
What Governs the Degree
The programme runs under CHED Memorandum Order No. 59, series of 2017, "Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the Bachelor of Science in Speech-Language Pathology (BSSLP) Program," adopted by virtue of Commission en Banc Resolution No. 231-2017 dated 28 March 2017.
The order states the scope plainly: BSSLP is "a four-year degree program consisting of general education and professional courses totaling 160 units," which "likewise includes at least 30 units of clinical internship."
That 30-unit internship block is a large share of a 160-unit degree — roughly a fifth of the whole programme spent in supervised clinical practicum rather than classrooms.
How the 160 Units Are Built
CMO 59 organises the curriculum into these components:
| Component | What it contains |
|---|---|
| General education | 36 units: the eight CHED core GE courses, three GE electives, and Life and Works of Rizal |
| Core courses | Foundational knowledge and skills applying across all the roles an SLP fills |
| Major courses — normal function and development | The normal processes of development and functioning that serve as the comparison point for clinical assessment |
| Major courses — clinical conditions | Medical diseases, developmental disorders and specific speech-language or related disorders, their assessment and intervention |
| Major courses — introduction to clinics | Preparation for the reasoning and processes common to all clinical work, regardless of the condition |
| Practicum | The clinical practicum that hones clinical skills |
| Research | Including the writing of a research treatise |
| PE and NSTP | The mandated courses |
The CMO designates the practicum and research courses as related learning units, deliberately distinct from the lecture and laboratory units used elsewhere in the programme. That is a technical point with a practical consequence: those units are counted and scheduled differently, and they are the part of the degree that cannot be taken online or compressed.
Is There a Board Exam? Yes
Republic Act No. 11249, the Speech-Language Pathology Act, was approved on 22 March 2019 and took effect on 29 May 2019. It created a Professional Regulatory Board of Speech-Language Pathology under the PRC and made the licensure examination compulsory for registration.
The board's implementing rules and regulations were promulgated as Professional Regulatory Board of Speech-Language Pathology Resolution No. 04, series of 2022, with a date of effectivity of 7 September 2022. PRC's Board of Speech-Language Pathology has administered the Speech-Language Pathologists Licensure Examination on a regular cycle since 2023, with sittings reported in both the first and second halves of recent years.
Who can sit it. Under Section 13 of the Act, an applicant must be a Filipino citizen or a citizen of a country that observes reciprocity with the Philippines, must be of good moral character, must not have been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, and must be a graduate of a bachelor's degree in speech-language pathology from a school in the Philippines or abroad that is recognised by CHED. The IRR broadens the degree wording to "Speech Pathology or Speech-Language Pathology," which matters because Philippine schools have used both names.
The IRR also lists the documentary requirements, including a notarised application form, a PSA birth certificate, the college diploma and transcript of records marked for board examination purposes, an NBI clearance, and — the one specific to this profession — a certificate of completion of the ten months of internship, signed by the dean and registrar with the school seal.
What it covers. Section 14 sets thirteen areas:
- Anatomy and physiology of the speech and hearing mechanism
- Neurological bases of speech and hearing disorders
- Articulation and phonological disorders
- Hearing impairment and aural habilitation
- Language and cognitive communication disorders
- Fluency disorders
- Voice disorders
- Cleft lip and palate and craniofacial conditions
- Dysphagia
- Medical and neurological disorders that may cause communication and swallowing disorders
- Normal development and function of speech, language, hearing and swallowing
- Principles of assessment and intervention for speech, language, hearing and swallowing conditions
- Research, professional ethics and community development
The Board may modify, recluster or rearrange the coverage and its percentage weights as standards of practice change, so this is the statutory baseline rather than a fixed table of specifications.
What passing takes. A general weighted average of at least 75%, with no grade lower than 50% in any given subject.
For the mechanics that apply across PRC exams, see our PRC board exam requirements guide. PRC sets fees, schedules and testing centres per cycle — take those from prc.gov.ph.
The one-off route that has closed
RA 11249 contained a transitional provision, Section 15, letting people who already held a CHED-recognised bachelor's degree in speech-language pathology before the Act's effectivity register without examination, provided they were certified members of the accredited integrated professional organisation and filed within one year after the implementing rules took effect. That window was tied to the IRR's 2022 effectivity and is not a current pathway. If a source tells you that you can register as an SLP without sitting the exam, check the date on it.
What Speech-Language Pathologists Do
CMO 59 lists the roles the degree targets: clinician, educator, administrator or manager, researcher, social advocate and mobiliser or change agent, and community-based therapist.
The clinical reality is broader than the name suggests. The exam coverage alone signals the range: articulation and phonology, language and cognitive communication, fluency, voice, craniofacial conditions, hearing impairment and aural habilitation — and dysphagia, that is, swallowing disorders, which is a substantial part of hospital-based SLP work and has nothing to do with speech at all.
In the Philippines, SLPs commonly work in hospitals and rehabilitation centres, in private clinics, in early intervention and paediatric practice, and in school-based settings supporting learners with communication needs. If that last area is what interests you, our guides to special education in the Philippines and school options for children with autism or ADHD give useful context on how those services are organised locally.
Speech-language pathology also overlaps heavily with occupational therapy in paediatric and developmental practice, though the two are entirely separate professions with separate laws. Our BS Occupational Therapy guide covers that side.
Practical Notes for Applicants
BSSLP is offered by a comparatively small number of Philippine institutions. That has three consequences worth planning around:
- Programme availability is a real constraint. Do not assume a nearby university offers it. Check CHED's list of recognised programmes and the school's own registrar, and see our guide to CHED-accredited schools.
- CHED recognition is a licensure requirement, not just a quality signal. RA 11249 makes a CHED-recognised degree a condition of exam admission.
- Cohorts are small, so board statistics are volatile. A passing rate computed on a couple of dozen examinees tells you very little about a school. Ask for several cycles, and ask about internship placements instead.
There are no tuition figures in this guide, on purpose. Schools set their own rates and change them most years, and with so few programmes offering BSSLP a national average would be close to meaningless. Ask the specific school. For a wider view of which degrees end in a licence, see courses with board exams.
Sources
- CHED Memorandum Order No. 59, series of 2017 — Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the Bachelor of Science in Speech-Language Pathology (BSSLP) Program — Commission on Higher Education (programme scope, 160 units, 30 units of clinical internship, curriculum components, graduate roles)
- 2017 CHED Memorandum Orders — Commission on Higher Education (CMO number and title verification)
- Republic Act No. 11249 — Speech Language Pathology Act — LawPhil / Arellano Law Foundation (board creation, exam qualifications, thirteen coverage areas, passing rating, registration without examination)
- Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 11249, Professional Regulatory Board of Speech-Language Pathology Resolution No. 04, series 2022 — Professional Regulation Commission (date of effectivity, degree wording, documentary requirements including the ten-month internship certificate)
- November 2023 Speech-Language Pathologists Licensure Examination Results Released — Professional Regulation Commission (confirmation that the Board has been administering the examination)
