TL;DR: PhilSCA, renamed the National Aviation Academy of the Philippines (NAAP) under Republic Act 12255 in September 2025, is a state college, so tuition and most standard school fees are free for qualified Filipino undergraduates under RA 10931. What isn't free is flight training: the Flying School runs the practical flying component of BS Air Transportation, and that is billed separately from academic tuition, though NAAP does not publish an exact peso figure for it. Admission runs through the ₱300 PhilSCAAT exam, with an 85% GWA cutoff for BS Aeronautical Engineering and BS Air Transportation. NAAP's December 2025 board exam passing rate for Aeronautical Engineering, 92.73%, beat the national rate by 28.48 points.
Searches for "PhilSCA tuition fee" usually come from students who have heard the school is free but are not sure what that actually means once flight hours, uniforms, and lab work enter the picture. Philippine State College of Aeronautics, now legally the National Aviation Academy of the Philippines (NAAP), is a state college, which puts it in the same free-tuition category as PUP or UP under RA 10931 rather than the private-school category most aviation schools fall into. This guide separates what the law actually waives from what aviation students still pay for, using the school's own admission pages, the text of RA 10931, and recent PRC board exam data.
Is PhilSCA (NAAP) Tuition Really Free?
Yes. As a state university/college, PhilSCA/NAAP is automatically covered by RA 10931, the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which zeroes out both tuition and what the law calls "other school fees" for qualified Filipino undergraduates. Section 3(h) of the law defines "other school fees" specifically as "library fees, computer fees, laboratory fees, school ID fees, athletic fees, admission fees, development fees, guidance fees, handbook fees, entrance fees, registration fees, medical and dental fees, cultural fees and other similar or related fees." That is a broad list, and it is why a PhilSCA/NAAP undergraduate does not receive a tuition bill the way a student at a private aviation school does.
The law draws a separate line, however, around what it calls "other education-related expenses": books, school supplies, uniforms, and similar costs that RA 10931 explicitly does not cover. That distinction matters most at an aviation school, because the single biggest expense in an aviation education, actual flight hours, sits outside both categories entirely.
Disclaimer: fee coverage under RA 10931 and CHED guidance can be revised; confirm current terms directly with NAAP's registrar or admissions office before enrolling.
What's Free vs. What You Still Pay For at PhilSCA/NAAP
| Cost Category | Covered by RA 10931? | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | Yes, free for qualified Filipino undergraduates | RA 10931, Section 4 |
| Library, laboratory, admission, registration, medical/dental fees | Yes, classified as "other school fees" | RA 10931, Section 3(h) |
| Books, school supplies, uniforms | No, classified as "other education-related expenses" | RA 10931, Section 3(g) |
| Flight training (aircraft rental, instructor time) for BS Air Transportation | No official RA 10931 coverage confirmed; billed through the Flying School | NAAP Flying School page |
| PhilSCAAT admission test fee | ₱300, a fixed fee separate from tuition | NAAP Admission Requirements page |
The gap that trips up most applicants is the flight-training line. NAAP's own Flying School page confirms the office "handles the flight training course of the BSAT program under the Institute of Engineering Technology," but neither that page nor the school's public admission materials publish a specific peso rate for flight hours. Flight training nationwide, at private and public aviation schools alike, is typically billed by aircraft rental and instructor hour rather than as a flat semester fee, which is the same structure covered in our guide to what strand to take for a pilot career. Treat any flying-fee number you see elsewhere as unverified until NAAP confirms it directly.
Why Was PhilSCA Renamed to NAAP?
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act 12255 on September 5, 2025, renaming Philippine State College of Aeronautics as the National Aviation Academy of the Philippines and designating it the country's national professional institution for aviation. NAAP's own announcement described the moment plainly:
"Not just a law — it's our flight plan to the future of world-class Philippine aviation education!"
The rename expands the school's mandate rather than changing its funding model. It remains a state college, so its free-tuition status under RA 10931 is unaffected. Older sources, admission documents, and even some of its own subdomains still use the PhilSCA name and the philsca.edu.ph domain, so do not assume outdated material refers to a different, now-defunct school.
What Programs Does PhilSCA/NAAP Offer?
NAAP runs 16 academic programs concentrated entirely in aviation and aeronautics, a narrower catalog than a general state university but one of the few in the country built specifically around this field. Undergraduate options include:
- BS Aeronautical Engineering (BSAeE)
- BS Air Transportation (BSAT), the program tied to the Flying School's flight-training component
- BS Aircraft Maintenance Technology (BSAMT)
- BS Aviation Electronics Technology (BSAET)
- BS Aviation Information Technology (BSAIT)
- BS Information Management, major in Airline Operation Procedures (BSIM-AOP)
- BA programs majoring in Aviation Communication, Aviation Tourism, or Aviation Logistics
NAAP also runs graduate programs in aeronautical education and management, one of the few Philippine institutions to do so. Not every program requires flight training or carries the same admission bar, so confirm the specific track's requirements before applying.
How Do You Get Admitted to PhilSCA/NAAP?
Admission runs through the PhilSCA Admission Test (PhilSCAAT), which costs ₱300 and is required for undergraduate applicants. BS Aeronautical Engineering and BS Air Transportation applicants need a General Weighted Average of at least 85% just to sit for the test; NAAP's admission page notes other courses carry no specific grade requirement, and transferees need a minimum 80% average from their most recent semester.
Freshman applicants submit a photocopy of their Senior High School card (or latest grading period for current Grade 12 students), a certificate of good moral character, and two 1x1 photos. Flight-related and technical programs, including BS Air Transportation, BS Aeronautical Engineering, BS Aircraft Maintenance Technology, BS Aviation Electronics Technology, and BS Aviation Communication with a Flight Operation major, add an interview and additional program-specific screening.
Which Campuses Does PhilSCA/NAAP Run?
NAAP operates six campuses, each with its own admission portal during intake:
| Campus | Location | Established |
|---|---|---|
| Villamor (main) | Pasay City | 1977 |
| Basa Air Base | Floridablanca, Pampanga | 1967 |
| Basa-Palmayo Extension | Floridablanca, Pampanga | 2014 |
| Fernando Air Base | Lipa, Batangas | 1977 |
| Mactan | Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu | 1979 |
| Mactan-Medellin Extension | Cebu | 2014 |
A Guimaras campus is planned for future development. For the Academic Year 2025-2026 intake, applications for the Villamor and Fernando Air Base campuses ran through separate online portals in December, so confirm which campus's cycle applies to your target program before applying, since dates and portals differ by site.
Is NAAP a Strong School for Aeronautical Engineering?
Its recent licensure exam record backs up the reputation. The Professional Regulation Commission named NAAP a Top Performing School in the December 2025 Aeronautical Engineer Licensure Examination, where the school posted a 92.73% passing rate against a 64.25% national passing rate, a gap of 28.48 percentage points. That result produced 153 new aeronautical engineers, including two topnotchers: Engr. Adrian Paul Cabangon Racoma at rank 4 and Engr. Pablo Jose Nuevo Alvarez at rank 5. NAAP's own bulletin called it "a new record" for the institution.
That track record is one reason PhilSCA/NAAP shows up in guides to strand choices for aspiring pilots: a free-tuition state college with a genuinely strong board-exam history is a rare combination, and it is why some aviation-bound students complete their bachelor's degree here before paying separately for commercial flight-school licensing.
How Does PhilSCA/NAAP Compare to Other Free-Tuition Routes?
Not every "free college" claim in the Philippines holds up the same way. Our guide to free college in Pasay found that PhilSCA/NAAP is the one genuinely free undergraduate option physically inside Pasay city limits, unlike the city-run university there, which is not on CHED's covered-LUC list and still charges a per-unit fee. For the national picture of which schools are truly free versus merely cheap, see our guides to free tuition universities in the Philippines, how CHED's free tuition program works, and whether college is really free in the Philippines.
How Should You Plan for PhilSCA/NAAP Costs?
- Budget for flight hours separately if you're pursuing BS Air Transportation. Tuition being free does not extend to the flight-training component; get a written cost estimate from the Flying School before committing to that track.
- Confirm your target campus's GWA cutoff and admission cycle early. BS Aeronautical Engineering and BS Air Transportation require an 85% GWA just to test, and Villamor and Fernando Air Base run separate application windows.
- Set aside money for uniforms, supplies, and the ₱300 PhilSCAAT fee. These fall under "other education-related expenses," which RA 10931 does not cover even though tuition and most school fees are free.
- Don't confuse an aviation degree with a pilot license. A PhilSCA/NAAP degree satisfies the bachelor's-degree requirement most airlines expect of First Officers, but licensing itself still runs through separate, self-funded flight-school training, the same path detailed in our strand-for-pilot guide.
Ready to find the right school? Browse schools or compare tuition and reviews across hundreds of Philippine schools on SchoolFinderPH.
Sources
- Republic Act No. 10931, full text — Sections 3(g), 3(h), and 4
- NAAP — Flying School
- NAAP — Admission Requirements
- NAAP — Admissions Academic Year 2025-2026 announcement
- NAAP — Congratulations NAAP Topnotchers and Passers, December 2025 AELE
- National Aviation Academy of the Philippines — Wikipedia
- Presidential Communications Office — PBBM renames Philippine State College of Aeronautics as NAAP
- SchoolFinderPH — Free College in Pasay: What Is Really Free vs. Just Cheap
