TL;DR: BSBA's CHED-mandated curriculum (CMO No. 17, series of 2017) totals 122 units: 50 units of General Education/NSTP/PE shared by everyone, 30 units of common business core courses, then 24 units of major-specific professional courses plus 12 units of electives split across five majors (Human Resource Management, Marketing Management, Financial Management, Operations Management, Business Economics), and a 600-hour, 6-unit internship. Each major has exactly 8 named professional subjects. This guide lists every subject, by major, straight from the CHED policy document.
BSBA subjects vary more than most students expect, because "Business Administration" isn't one curriculum, it's five, split by major under a single CHED policy. This guide is the subject-by-subject breakdown: the shared core every BSBA student takes regardless of major, then the exact professional courses for each of CHED's five official majors, plus the internship requirement. For the higher-level overview of what BSBA is, its majors, tuition, and career comparison against BS Accountancy, read BSBA Explained first; this guide goes one level deeper into the actual course list. If you're mapping this back to senior high, the ABM strand guide covers the feeder track.
What's in the BSBA Core Curriculum Before You Pick a Major?
Every BSBA student, regardless of major, takes the same 50 units of General Education, NSTP, and PE, plus 30 units of shared business coursework before their major-specific subjects kick in. This is prescribed by CHED CMO No. 17, series of 2017, "Revised Policies, Standards and Guidelines for Bachelor of Science in Business Administration."
CMO 17 builds the whole curriculum out of three integrated elements: the common business and management education courses, the business administration core, and the major courses. It also expects most upper-level courses to carry a practical project component, which is why third- and fourth-year subjects tend to be built around company cases, field studies, and a feasibility output rather than exams alone.
One naming note worth checking before you enrol: the same memorandum discontinued the old Bachelor of Science in Commerce (BSC) title and instructed schools still using it to rename their programmes. A school still advertising "BSC" is worth asking about, because it usually means the published curriculum has not been refreshed against CMO 17.
| Shared Component | Subjects | Units |
|---|---|---|
| General Education (per CMO 20, s. 2013) | Understanding the Self, Readings in Philippine History, The Contemporary World, Mathematics in the Modern World, Purposive Communication, Art Appreciation, Science Technology and Society, Ethics, Rizal's Life and Works, plus 3 GE electives | 36 |
| NSTP | 2 terms | 6 |
| Physical Education | 4 terms | 8 |
| Common Business and Management Education Courses (CBMEC) | Operations Management (TQM), Strategic Management | 6 |
| Business Administration Core | Basic Microeconomics, Business Law (Obligations and Contracts), Taxation (Income Taxation), Good Governance and Social Responsibility, Human Resource Management, International Business and Trade, Business Research, Thesis or Feasibility Study | 24 |
| Subtotal (shared, before major) | 80 |
After this shared foundation, each student adds 24 units of major-specific professional courses and 12 units of major-specific electives, plus the 6-unit internship, bringing the CHED-prescribed total to 122 units.
Disclaimer: schools may add units beyond CHED's floor, rename electives, or sequence subjects differently. Confirm the current curriculum with your target school's business department before enrolling.
How Many Units Is BSBA, and How Are They Split?
| Curriculum Component | Minimum Units Prescribed |
|---|---|
| General Education | 36 |
| NSTP | 6 |
| Physical Education | 8 |
| Common Business and Management Courses | 6 |
| Business Administration Core | 24 |
| Professional Major | 24 |
| Electives (major-specific) | 12 |
| Internship (600 hours) | 6 |
| Total | 122 |
Every one of the five majors uses this identical unit structure; only the specific 8 professional-course titles and the elective menu change.
Are These the Only BSBA Majors?
CMO 17 names five majors, but it does not close the list. The memorandum allows schools to offer other majors subject to CHED approval, provided the minimum curricular requirements for the common business and management courses, the business administration core, and the major and elective courses are still met. That is the mechanism behind majors you will see advertised that are not on CHED's five, such as Business Analytics, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, or Entrepreneurial Management as a BSBA track.
Those programmes are legitimate when the approval exists, and the practical consequence for your subject list is predictable: the 80 shared units below stay the same, and the 24 professional units plus 12 elective units are what the school has designed itself. If you are looking at a non-standard major, two questions are worth asking the department: whether the major carries the corresponding CHED authority, and to see the actual 8-subject professional course list, since there is no CHED-published list to compare it against the way there is for the five below.
What Subjects Does the Human Resource Management Major Include?
The HRM major covers 8 subjects worth 24 units: Administrative and Office Management, Labor Law and Legislation, Recruitment and Selection, Training and Development, Compensation Administration, Labor Relations and Negotiations, Special Topics in Human Resource Management, and Organizational Development. CHED's suggested elective list for this major (12 units, chosen from the list) includes Marketing Management, Management, Managerial Accounting, Entrepreneurial Management, Logistics Management, Environmental Management System, Global/International Trade, Project Management, and Personal Finance.
HRM graduates typically start in roles like HR/recruitment assistant or training and development associate. For the full salary picture across all BSBA majors, see BSBA Explained; Jobstreet's July 2026 career-advice data lists HR Assistant pay around ₱18,000-₱21,000 per month for entry-level roles.
What Subjects Does the Marketing Management Major Include?
The Marketing Management major covers 8 subjects worth 24 units: Professional Salesmanship, Marketing Research, Marketing Management, Distribution Management, Advertising, Product Management, Retail Management, and Pricing Strategy. Suggested electives include Consumer Behavior, Sales Management, International Marketing, Franchising, E-Commerce and Internet Marketing, Entrepreneurial Management, Direct Marketing, Services Marketing, and Strategic Marketing Management.
Marketing majors commonly move into marketing/brand assistant or digital marketing roles after graduation. Jobstreet lists Marketing Assistant pay around ₱18,000-₱22,000 per month for entry-level positions, broadly in line with other BSBA entry roles. A dedicated deep dive on this major, including school-specific program strength, is covered in our BSBA Marketing Management guide.
What Subjects Does the Financial Management Major Include?
The Financial Management major covers 8 subjects worth 24 units: Financial Management, Financial Analysis and Reporting, Banking and Financial Institutions, Monetary Policy and Central Banking, Investment and Portfolio Management, Credit and Collection, Capital Market, and Special Topics in Financial Management. Suggested electives include Public Finance, Cooperative Management, Entrepreneurial Management, Treasury Management, Risk Management, Security Analysis, Behavioral Finance, Financial Controllership, and Venture Capital.
This is the most quantitative of the five majors alongside Business Economics, and it feeds most directly into finance-analyst and credit-analyst roles. Jobstreet's July 2026 data shows Financial Analyst pay around ₱30,000-₱40,000 per month, notably higher than the general BSBA entry-level average. See our dedicated BSBA Financial Management guide for the full breakdown, including how this major compares to BS Accountancy.
What Subjects Does the Operations Management Major Include?
The Operations Management major covers 8 subjects worth 24 units: Environmental Management System, Inventory Management and Control, Project Management, Costing and Pricing, Logistics Management, Productivity and Quality Tools, Facilities Management, and Special Topics in Operations Management. Suggested electives include Marketing Management, Managerial Accounting, Entrepreneurial Management, Balanced Scorecard, Global/International Trade, Financial Management, Operations Research, Configuration Management, and Enterprise Resource Planning.
Operations majors typically start in supply chain, logistics, or production/operations associate roles. Indeed's Philippines salary data lists Operations Associate pay averaging around ₱21,873 per month.
What Subjects Does the Business Economics Major Include?
The Business Economics major covers 8 subjects worth 24 units: Basic Macroeconomics, History of Economic Thoughts, Advanced Microeconomics, Advanced Macroeconomics, Managerial Economics, International Economics, Project Development Management, and Special Topics in Business Economics. Suggested electives include Economic Development, Mathematical Economics, Economic Statistics, Current Economic Issues, Operations Research, Industrial Economics, Monetary and Fiscal Economics, Economic Research, Labor Economics, and Agricultural Economics.
This is the most theory- and research-heavy major of the five, and it's the strongest springboard toward graduate economics study or research-analyst roles. Jobstreet lists Economist salaries around ₱38,000-₱41,000 per month, among the higher entry-level figures across the five majors.
What About the Internship/OJT Requirement?
Every BSBA major shares the same internship structure: 600 hours worth 6 units, set in Section 22 of CHED's CMO 17, typically scheduled in the second semester of the fourth year, in CHED's sample program of study, after most professional and elective coursework is complete. The placement itself usually matches the student's chosen major (an HRM major interns in an HR department, a Marketing major at an agency or brand team, and so on), though the exact placement process and partner-company network varies by school.
CMO 17 deliberately leaves the placement open-ended. It states that decisions on the nature, location, and activities of the practicum are arrived at through discussion and agreement among the school administrators, the faculty adviser, the practicum site supervisor, and the student. In other words, the 600 hours are fixed but the content is not, so the value of this 6-unit block depends almost entirely on the school's industry partnerships. Asking where recent BSBA interns from your target major were actually placed tells you more than reading the school's course list, because the course list is largely CHED's and the placements are the school's own.
Disclaimer: internship hours and placement structure can vary slightly by school, since CHED sets 600 hours as the prescribed unit-bearing minimum, not a rigid national placement system. Confirm your target school's internship coordinator office for specifics.
Do These Subjects Lead to a Board Exam?
No. Business administration is not a regulated profession in the Philippines, and it does not appear among the professional regulatory boards the Professional Regulation Commission maintains. There is no BSBA licensure examination, no licence to renew, and no review-centre stage after graduation, so none of the subjects above function as board-exam preparation the way BS Accountancy's subjects feed the CPA licensure examination. The practical trade-off, and how BSBA stacks up against licensed business degrees, is covered in BSBA Explained and in our list of courses with board exams.
Which BSBA Major Should You Choose?
Before committing to a major, weigh these questions:
- Do you enjoy working with people and organizational processes more than numbers? HRM's focus on recruitment, labor law, and organizational development fits that profile.
- Are you drawn to consumer behavior, branding, and campaigns? Marketing Management is built specifically around that skill set.
- Do you want the most direct path into finance-analyst or banking roles, and possibly a CFA later? Financial Management is the closest BSBA track to that goal, alongside BS Accountancy for anyone who also wants CPA eligibility.
- Are you interested in how products actually get made, moved, and delivered efficiently? Operations Management covers logistics, quality control, and supply chain, all in demand in manufacturing and retail.
- Do you want the strongest foundation for graduate economics study or policy-adjacent research work? Business Economics is the most theory-heavy of the five and the best on-ramp to that path.
For the broader comparison of BSBA against BS Accountancy and BS Entrepreneurship, along with tuition ranges and school recommendations, see BSBA Explained. For a wider view of course options generally, see what course to take in college and the top in-demand courses in the Philippines.
Ready to find the right school? Browse schools or compare tuition and programs across hundreds of Philippine colleges and universities on SchoolFinderPH.
Sources
- CHED CMO No. 17, s. 2017 — Revised Policies, Standards and Guidelines for BSBA (official PDF, via legacy.ched.gov.ph)
- CHED — 2017 CHED Memorandum Orders (index)
- Professional Regulation Commission — Professional Regulatory Boards
- Jobstreet Philippines — Human Resources Assistant Salary
- Jobstreet Philippines — Marketing Assistant Salary
- Jobstreet Philippines — Financial Analyst Salary
- Jobstreet Philippines — Economist Salary
- Indeed Philippines — Operations Associate Salary
- SchoolFinderPH — BSBA Explained: Majors, Subjects, and Career Paths
- SchoolFinderPH — Average Cost of College in the Philippines
