Top 5 Chemistry Schools in the Philippines (According to the Licensure Exam Results)

Do you lab to tinker and experiment with things? Okay, excuse the pun—we just had to put it there. Interested in playing (safely) with fire and ice and all things matter—for research?! Maybe you’re meant to be a chemist!

Of course, gaining a BS in Chemistry and the road to becoming a certified chemist isn’t exactly a walk in the park. You’ll be dealing with data, precise measurements, and, well, chemicals. But your future career in chemistry is a fulfilling and important one. Especially with the growth and improvement of chemistry-related industries both locally and abroad.

So what can you expect to do with a career in chemistry?

Well, one option is becoming a licensed chemist. You’ll need to have graduated with a BS in Chemistry and take the Chemist Licensure Examination which the Board of Chemistry gives under the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

You can work in industries like pharmaceutical companies, medicine, food and beverage, construction, environment, even cosmetics!

Licensed chemists work mainly in chemical and computer labs. They prepare, test, and improve different chemical solutions. Expect to deal with and report on standards and specifications for processes, facilities, products, and tests. It’s all about improving products with better formulas and analytical methods!

So what are the top schools to go to for BS Chemistry? Here are the 5 you need to know about!

University of the Philippines Diliman

UP fight! UP Diliman is the only top performing Chemistry school in the 2018 PRC results, given the qualifications. A total of 59 of 64 takers passed, giving the school a 92.19% passing rate! What’s more, 3 of the 11 chemist licensure exam top notchers are from UPD, too! Additionally, UP Diliman holds a center of excellence in the fields of chemistry, chemical engineering.

Ateneo de Manila University

With 25 out of 26 successful examinees (a passing rate of 96.15%), Ateneo de Manila University lands second on our list. Another 3 of the 11 top notchers hail from this school on top of the hill as well. If that won’t wow you, ADMU holds centers of excellence in its chemistry, physics, and biology departments.

Interestingly, the chemistry courses offered here are interdisciplinary. You have the option to take up the traditional BS Chemistry rout. But also, you might want to check out BS Chemistry with Materials Science and Engineering: a double degree program merging chemistry, physics, and engineering that still qualifies you for the licensure exam!

University of the Philippines Los Baños

Third on our list is University of the Philippines Los Baños with a passing rate of 88.57%. That’s 31 passers out of 35 takers! While UPLB holds a center of excellence for chemical engineering, its chemistry department is pretty great, too! And as expected of these hard-working iskos, one of them made it into the top 11! Chemistry courses you can enroll in are BS Chemistry and, with the flourishing Laguna as your laboratory, BS Agricultural Chemistry.

University of the Philippines Manila

Well, medicine and chemistry do go hand in hand after all. This top nursing and medicine school scored a passing rate of 87.5% with 21 out of 24 successful examinees. One of those 24 students also made it into the top 11 examinees. You can take up BS Biochemistry at UP Manila, and it’ll still qualify you for the Chemist Licensure Exam.

Mapua Institute of Technology-Manila

Finally, we have the Mapua Institute of Technology with a 81.25% passing rate. That’s 13 out of 16 successful takers, with 1 of them gaining topnotcher status! Mapua has a center of excellence in chemical engineering as well as other engineering departments. It’s been performing well in the Chemical Engineer Licensure Exam as well.

Find your future and make an impact with us. Figure out your path and check out more careers (and schools) on our College Life section on the Edukasyon.ph blog!

Note: A top school needs 50 or more examinees with at least an 80% passing rate. Therefore, according to the 2018 PRC Chemist Licensure Exam results, only the University of the Philippines Diliman qualified as a top school. In lieu of such results, Edukasyon.ph’s list of top chemistry schools was made and ranked holistically according to the performance of all schools as well as the list of top notchers.

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