CHED Scholarship 2026–2027: Requirements, Results, Benefits & Official Guide

If you submitted before the cut-off, your application is in evaluation and ranking. Jump to the results timeline.

CHED Scholarship 2026–2027 at a glance

CHED Scholarship 2026 results: what happens now

Nothing is required of you at this stage except a working email address and patience. Applications are not reviewed in the order they arrive, so submitting on 24 June rather than 30 July gives you no advantage now.

What CHED is doing with your application

Your CHED Regional Office validates the documents you uploaded, checks them against the eligibility rules, then scores and ranks every valid application in the region. Slots are allocated regionally, so you are competing against applicants in your own domicile region rather than against the whole country. Applicants belonging to a Special Equity Group carry additional ranking points at this stage, which is where that status actually matters.

Once the ranking is settled, the office publishes an official ranklist and issues a Notice of Award to applicants who placed within the available slots.

When are the CHED scholarship results released?

CHED has not published a national release date, and historically there has never been one. Each regional office announces on its own schedule, which is why students in one region hear back weeks before students in another.

The written service standard is that applicants are notified within 120 days of the start of the semester, provided their documentary requirements were complete.

For a sense of the real-world pace, the previous cycle is the better guide. In AY 2025–2026, CHED Regional Office V announced its 243 grantees in early August, roughly six weeks after that year’s 20 June deadline, and gave scholars a document-submission and award-confirmation window running from 11 to 29 August. If AY 2026–2027 follows a similar rhythm from a 31 July deadline, regional announcements would begin landing from around September. Treat that as precedent rather than as a commitment. Your own CHEDRO is the only authority for your region.

How will I know if I passed?

By email, sent to the address on your application form. Two practical points catch people out every year:

• Check your spam and promotions folders. CHEDRO mail is sent in bulk and gets filtered routinely.
• If you mistyped your email address, no notice will ever reach you and your status will simply sit unresolved. If you are unsure what you entered, contact your regional office now rather than in October.

Most regional offices also post the ranklist to their own website and verified Facebook page. Those are worth checking weekly from September.

If you receive a Notice of Award

You will be asked to submit original or certified true copies of the documents you uploaded, in person or by courier to your CHEDRO, and to formally accept the award within a stated window. Miss that window and the slot passes to the next applicant on the ranklist.

You must then enroll within one semester of receiving notice. You may defer to the following semester, but deferral requires a fresh application with complete documents. Your original approval does not carry over.

A warning about the waiting period

The gap between deadline and results is when scholarship scams peak. CHED does not charge for anything. Not for processing, not for releasing a Notice of Award, not for reserving a slot, not for checking your status. Nobody from CHED will message you privately asking for a fee or for your bank details. Report anyone who does to your regional office.

Scholarships you can still apply for right now

Missing CMSP does not mean sitting out the year. These are the realistic options as of late August 2026.

Start with TES

The Tertiary Education Subsidy is the most overlooked option on this page and the one most likely to actually help you this semester. It is need-based rather than merit-based, so there is no grade requirement at all, and it is open to students at any year level.

There is no national TES deadline. Each SUC, LUC and private HEI runs its own schedule tied to its own enrolment period, which means the window is open somewhere right now. You apply through your own school, not through CHED. Go to your Office of Student Affairs or scholarship office and ask directly. Do not wait for an announcement, because many schools never make one.

One constraint worth knowing before you invest effort: you cannot hold TES alongside CMSP or another national government-funded programme. If you are waiting on a CMSP result, ask your school how they handle applicants with a pending CMSP application rather than assuming you are disqualified.

Then line up DOST-SEI for next year

If you are a Grade 12 student heading into a science, engineering or mathematics degree, DOST-SEI is the strongest remaining option and its cycle has not started yet. Applications have historically opened in October and closed in late November, with a qualifying examination the following February.

That gives you roughly two months to prepare, which is more preparation time than almost anyone who applied to CMSP had. Unlike CMSP, DOST-SEI does require passing an examination and does carry a return service obligation equal to the length of your scholarship.

Also check your city or municipal hall

Many LGUs run scholarship programmes that attract a small fraction of the competition CMSP does, precisely because almost nobody thinks to ask. Requirements are usually lighter and residency is often the main gate. This takes an afternoon to investigate and is the highest-return hour on this list.

Other guides on this site: Bagong Pilipinas Merit Scholarship, CHED Tulong Dunong, Iskolar ng Bayan.

Three things most CHED scholarship guides get wrong

These errors cause qualified students to give up and unqualified students to waste weeks. Worth clearing up before anything else.

You do not need to be a PWD, solo parent, or certified indigent. Many guides list Special Equity Group membership under “requirements,” which reads like a hard gate. It is not. That status earns additional ranking points during evaluation. If you belong to one of these groups, submit the ID or certification because it genuinely improves your ranking. If you do not, you are still fully eligible.

The minimum general average is 93, not 90. Several pages state that applicants with at least 90% may proceed to the online application. They cannot. 93 is the floor.

There is no exam. No qualifying test, no interview, no “CHED Scholar examination.” One widely-copied FAQ answers “Can I get a grant without passing the CHED Scholar examination?” with “Yes, as long as you pass the exam,” which contradicts itself twice in one sentence. CMSP is evaluated on submitted documents and competitive ranking. That is the whole process.

What is the CHED Merit Scholarship Program?

The CMSP is a competitive, government-funded scholarship under CHED’s Student Financial Assistance Programs (StuFAPs). It supports academically outstanding Filipino students enrolling in CHED-identified priority degree programmes, covering tuition, a living stipend, and a book or connectivity allowance.

Awards are issued under one of two tracks, depending on where you enroll.

State Scholarship Program (SSP) covers students entering a State University or College, or a Local University or College holding a Certificate of Program Compliance.

Private Education Student Financial Assistance (PESFA) covers students entering a private Higher Education Institution.

Both tracks offer Full Merit and Half Merit packages, released either annually or per semester.

CHED scholarship requirements: who can apply

You qualify if all of the following are true:

• Filipino citizen residing in the Philippines
• Senior High School graduate or graduating student with a general average of at least 93% on your Grade 12 record
• Parents’ or legal guardian’s combined annual gross income does not exceed ₱500,000
• Incoming first-year college student
• Will enroll in a CHED priority programme at an SUC, an LUC with a Certificate of Program Compliance, or a private HEI
• Not currently holding another government-funded scholarship or financial assistance programme

Special Equity Groups: the full list of bonus ranking points

Most guides list only three or four of these. There are seven, and the last one catches far more students than people realise. Membership is not a requirement, it adds points during ranking.

Read that last row again. If neither of your parents finished a college degree, you are a first-generation college student, and that earns ranking points. This applies to a very large share of CMSP applicants and almost nobody claims it, because most guides leave it off the list entirely. It costs one trip to your municipal social welfare office.

If you are under legal guardianship rather than living with a parent, also prepare a notarised Certificate of Guardianship.

If you graduated years ago

You can still apply, as long as you have never enrolled in college and earned no college credits. Working after Senior High does not disqualify you. Completing even one semester at a local college does.

Full Merit vs Half Merit

The gap between 95 and 96 is worth ₱60,000 a year at a private school. It also explains why the 93 to 95 tier is so heavily contested: that pool is enormous relative to the slots allocated to it.

CHED scholarship benefits: private HEIs (PESFA)

Students enrolling at private Higher Education Institutions receive assistance for tuition and other school fees, a stipend, and a book or connectivity allowance.

CHED scholarship benefits: SUCs and LUCs (SSP)

Students at State Universities and Colleges and Local Universities and Colleges already receive free tuition under RA 10931, so the SSP package covers the stipend and allowance.

The stipend is released directly to scholars or through their HEI. The book and connectivity allowance is provided every semester until the degree is completed.

SUC or private HEI: which package is actually worth more?

On paper PESFA pays ₱40,000 more per year. In practice it usually does not.

SUC students already get free tuition under the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. That ₱40,000 tuition line in PESFA is filling a hole SUC students never had. The money that actually reaches your pocket, stipend plus allowance, is ₱80,000 either way.

So the real question is whether your private school’s annual tuition exceeds ₱40,000. If it does, you cover the difference yourself and the SUC comes out cheaper. If your private HEI charges less than that, PESFA genuinely covers you and may leave you ahead.

Then there is the cost the spreadsheet misses. If the SUC is in your city and the private university means renting in Manila, your ₱70,000 stipend is gone by November. Board, lodging and transport decide this more often than the headline figure does.

CHED scholarship requirements: document checklist

These are the documents CMSP asks for. If you are holding a Notice of Award you will submit certified originals of the same set. If you are preparing for the AY 2027–2028 cycle, this is your gathering list.

A. The application form itself

The accomplished CMSP application form, issued as Annex A of the programme guidelines, with the data privacy consent on the reverse completed and signed. This is submitted through the online portal.

B. Proof of identity and citizenship

Any one of:

• PSA-issued Birth Certificate (certified true copy)
• Philippine National ID
• PSA National ID transaction slip

C. Academic documents

• Certified true copy of Grade 12 School Form 9 (SF9), also called the Learner’s Progress Report, signed by the school registrar or an authorised representative
• Graduating students: certified copy of grades for Grade 11 and the first semester of Grade 12

D. Proof of income

Any one of:

• Latest Income Tax Return of parents or legal guardian
• Certificate of Tax Exemption or a Non-Filer Certificate from the BIR
• Certificate of Indigency from the Barangay or DSWD
• Social Case Study Report from the City or Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office
• Latest contract or proof of income, for children of OFWs and seafarers

E. Special Equity Group documents (if applicable)

• PWD ID from the C/MSWDO, or certification from the Persons with Disability Affairs Office
• Solo Parent ID or certification
• Certificate of Indigency for underprivileged and homeless citizens
• Certificate of Tribal Membership for Indigenous Peoples

What you do not need

Several guides list these. They belong to other programmes and are not CMSP requirements:

• NBI or police clearance
• Medical certificate
• Marriage contract
• Barangay clearance
• Certificate of Good Moral Character

File and scanning specifications

• Maximum 5 MB per file
• PDF preferred, one file per document category; JPEG accepted
• File naming format LastName_FirstName_DocumentType, for example Santos_Maria_SF9
• Every page fully readable: no glare, no shadows, no cut-off corners

Photographing documents on a bed with the ceiling light behind you produces exactly the kind of file evaluators reject. Use a scanning app, work on a table near a window, and inspect the output at full zoom before uploading.

How to apply for the CHED Scholarship

The process below is how the AY 2026–2027 cycle ran and is the best available guide to how AY 2027–2028 will run. The portal link changes each cycle, so treat the sequence as stable and the URL as not.

1. Prepare every document first. Do not open the form to see what it asks. Sessions time out, and incomplete submissions are among the most common causes of delay and rejection.
2. Scan and rename your files to the specifications above. This takes longer than people expect.
3. Open the official application portal for the current cycle, obtained from your own CHED Regional Office. Read the warning below first.
4. Complete the form and upload each document to its designated section. Verify every required file uploaded successfully before advancing.
5. Review before submitting. Check the spelling of your name against your PSA record, your general average, your intended course and HEI, and your income figures. Corrections after submission are generally not possible.
6. Save your application reference number and the confirmation email.

Verify the portal link before entering anything

CHED distributes its application portals through shortened URLs, and different regional offices use different shorteners. That is the agency’s own choice, but it makes impersonation easy, and fake portals collecting processing fees circulate every cycle.

Before you enter any information, go to your CHED Regional Office’s own website or verified Facebook page and click their link from there. Confirm the destination resolves to a ched.gov.ph domain or an official CHED form.

CHED Priority Courses 2026–2027

Your intended course must appear on the priority list. Enrolling in a non-priority programme is grounds for termination even after approval, so confirm this before you apply.

Under Republic Act 12314, Educational Psychology (BS Psychology and AB Psychology) now receives priority. CHED may add further programmes through subsequent Memorandum Orders.

First Priority programmes (ranked ahead of everything else)

This tier is the single most useful thing on this page and most guides omit it. CHED does not treat all priority courses equally. Four programmes are designated First Priority, and qualified applicants intending to pursue them are considered before anyone else. Only if slots remain does CHED move to the Second Priority list.

These four address workforce gaps the government considers critical, which is why they jump the queue. If you are genuinely torn between, say, BS Psychology and a general business degree, and the scholarship is what decides whether you can enrol at all, that ranking difference is worth knowing before you commit.

Second Priority is everything in the national and regional lists below, drawn from CHED Memorandum Order No. 7, series of 2023, which covers AY 2023–2024 through AY 2027–2028.

A. National priority courses

1. Science and Mathematics. Applied Physics / Physics · Applied Mathematics / Mathematics · Applied Statistics / Statistics · Biochemistry · Biology · Botany · Chemistry · Environmental Science · Geology · Human Biology · Marine Biology · Marine Science · Meteorology · Molecular Biology and Biotechnology · Volcanology and Seismology-related fields

2. Information Technology. Computer Science · Cyber Security · Game Development and Animation · Entertainment and Multimedia Computing · Information Technology · Library and Information Science

3. Engineering and Technology. Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering · Chemical Engineering · Civil Engineering · Computer Engineering · Ceramic Engineering · Electrical Engineering · Food Engineering · Industrial Engineering · Electronics and Communications Engineering · Materials Engineering · Mechatronics Engineering · Metallurgical Engineering · Geodetic Engineering · Mining Engineering · Robotics Engineering · Manufacturing / Production Engineering · Petroleum Engineering · Mechanical Engineering · Sanitary Engineering · Structural Engineering · Industrial Technology · Engineering Technology · Aircraft Maintenance Technology · Aviation-related programmes

4. Architecture and related programmes. Architecture · Landscape Architecture · Interior Design · Environmental Planning · Fine Arts

5. Business and Management. Accountancy · Business Analytics · Hospitality Management / Hotel and Restaurant Management · Tourism Management

6. Health Profession Education. Nursing · Pharmacy · Midwifery · Doctor of Optometry · Doctor of Dental Medicine · Physical Therapy · Occupational Therapy · Respiratory Therapy · Nutrition and Dietetics · Public Health · Medical Technology / Medical Laboratory Science · Radiologic Technology · Speech and Language Pathology

7. Maritime Education. Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering

8. Social Sciences. Psychology · Educational Psychology (RA 12314) · Social Work · Community Development · Peace Studies / Peace Education · Human Services (Guidance and Counselling) · Indigenous Peoples Studies / Education

9. Teacher Education. Special Needs Education · Early Childhood Education · Culture and Arts Education · Sports and Exercise Science · Secondary Education majors in Science and Mathematics

10. Multi and Interdisciplinary Cluster. Agroforestry · Agribusiness · Disaster Risk Management · Climate Change · Renewable / Sustainable Energy · Data Science and Analytics

B. Regional priority courses

These qualify only in the region listed. A course that is priority in Region VI is not automatically priority in Region III.

Region I (Ilocos). Bachelor of Physical Education · Bachelor of Technical-Vocational Teacher Education · Bachelor of Technology and Livelihood Education

Region II (Cagayan Valley). BA Philosophy · Bachelor of Elementary Education · BS Business Administration major in Human Resource Development · BS Criminology · BS Entrepreneurship

Region III (Central Luzon). BS Agriculture · BS Business Administration (all majors) · Bachelor of Elementary Education · Bachelor of Secondary Education (all majors) · Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

Region IV (CALABARZON). BS Marine Engineering · BS Marine Transportation · BS Industrial Technology / Engineering · BS Electronics and Communications Engineering · BS Mechanical Engineering

Region V (Bicol). BA Communication · BA Accounting Technology · BS Business Administration major in Financial Management · BS Criminology · BS Office Administration

Region VI (Western Visayas). Bachelor of Elementary Education · BS Criminology · BS Fisheries · BS Food Technology · BS Packaging Engineering

Region VII (Central Visayas). BA Communication · BS Naval Engineering / Architecture · BS Office Administration · BS Public Administration · Bachelor of Secondary Education majors in English, Filipino, Social Studies and Values

Region VIII (Eastern Visayas). BS Entrepreneurship · BS Travel Management · Bachelor of Secondary Education majors in Filipino and Social Science · Bachelor of Technical-Vocational Teacher Education

Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula). BS Medical Technology · BS Criminology · Bachelor in Islamic Education · BS Information Technology · Bachelor in Early Childhood Education

Region X (Northern Mindanao). BS Agriculture · BS Development Communication · BS Ecology · BS Forestry · BS Performing Arts

Region XI (Davao). BA / BS Theology · Bachelor of Physical Education · Bachelor of Technical-Vocational Education · Bachelor of Technology and Livelihood Education · Creative and Performing Arts

Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN). BS Criminology · BS Agriculture · BS Fisheries · AB Islamic Education · Bachelor of Elementary Education

CAR (Cordillera). BS Entrepreneurship

CARAGA. BS Fisheries · BS Agroforestry · BS Geology · BS Hospitality Management · BS Tourism Management

MIMAROPA. Bachelor of Elementary Education · BS Business Administration (all majors) · BS Entrepreneurship · BS Physical Education · Bachelor of Secondary Education (all majors)

NCR (Metro Manila). Bachelor in Multimedia Arts · BA Communication · BS Business Administration major in Supply Chain / Logistics Management · BS Criminology · Bachelor of Secondary Education (all majors)

Which region do you apply under?

Not the region where your school is. You apply under your domicile region, meaning where you have resided longest over the past ten years. If that is genuinely unclear, your current address governs.

Students who assume their university’s location determines their region file with the wrong CHEDRO and lose the application entirely. If you live in Cebu and are enrolling at a university in Manila, you apply through Region VII, not NCR.

Keeping the scholarship once you have it

The scholarship covers each year of your undergraduate degree, provided you maintain CHED’s academic standards. Continuing scholars submit updated income documents and their previous semester’s grades before the current scholarship period ends.

Grounds for termination

A CMSP grant may be revoked for any of the following:

• Submission of fake or fraudulent documents
• Offences involving moral turpitude
• Enrolment in a non-priority programme
• Failure to carry a regular unit load
• Shifting programmes or transferring HEIs without CHED Regional Office approval
• Non-completion of the degree programme

The transfer rule catches people. If you decide in second year that engineering is not for you, coordinate with your CHEDRO before you shift, not after.

CMSP compared with other Philippine scholarships

If your family income is above ₱500,000, CMSP is not your programme. The Bagong Pilipinas ceiling of ₱2 million is far more forgiving, though that cycle has closed for 2026.

If you are already enrolled in college, CMSP is closed to you regardless of grades. Look at Tulong Dunong or TES.

CMSP vs Bagong Pilipinas Merit Scholarship (BPMSP)

CHED ran two separate merit tracks for AY 2026–2027, and students routinely confuse them or assume they are the same programme. They are not. BPMSP is far larger and far more forgiving on income, which makes it the better target for most families next cycle.

The trade-off is straightforward. BPMSP has roughly nine times the slots and a ceiling four times higher, so a family earning ₱800,000 that is shut out of CMSP entirely is comfortably inside BPMSP. What you give up is freedom after graduation: BPMSP scholars sign a Return Service Agreement committing them to work in the Philippines, while CMSP carries no such obligation.

If your general average sits at 95 or above, apply to both next cycle. They open at different times, so there is no scheduling conflict, and you may only accept one.

Full detail: Bagong Pilipinas Merit Scholarship Program guide.

How to prepare for the AY 2027–2028 cycle

If you are aiming at next year’s round, the useful work is not waiting for the announcement. It is removing the bottleneck that ends most applications before they start.

Request your certified Grade 12 School Form 9 now. This is the single document that kills applications. Registrars are slow, some charge a fee, some require an in-person request, and demand spikes exactly when the window opens. Getting it in hand months early costs you one afternoon and removes the only genuinely unpredictable step.

Sort your income document. If your parents file an ITR, locate the latest copy. If not, a Barangay Certificate of Indigency is usually same-day. A DSWD Social Case Study Report takes considerably longer, so only pursue that route if the barangay option is unavailable.

Get a certified PSA birth certificate. Online ordering through PSA Serbilis takes time. Check whether your local outlet handles same-day walk-ins.

Check your intended course against the priority list above, including the regional list for your domicile region. A course that is not priority anywhere is a reason to reconsider either the course or the scholarship, and it is much better to learn that now than in July.

Watch your CHEDRO, not national news. Regional offices announce the call for applications on their own websites and Facebook pages, often before any national coverage appears.

Where to get help

CHED Central Office. Higher Education Development Center Building, C.P. Garcia Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City · info@ched.gov.ph · (02) 8441-1260

For your own region, contact your CHEDRO directly through the regional websites listed on ched.gov.ph. Regional offices are the authoritative source for slot allocations, ranklists, portal links and deadline confirmations in your area.

Frequently asked questions

Is the CHED Scholarship 2026 still open?

No. The CMSP application window for AY 2026–2027 ran from 22 June to 31 July 2026 and is closed. CHED has not announced an extension or a second call. Applications filed after the deadline are not accepted or considered.

When will the CHED Scholarship 2026 results be released?

CHED has not announced a national release date, and results are published per region rather than all at once. The service standard is notification within 120 days of the start of the semester. In the previous cycle, some regional offices announced grantees roughly six weeks after the deadline. Watch your CHED Regional Office website and Facebook page, and check your email including spam.

How will I know if I passed the CHED scholarship?

Your CHED Regional Office emails applicants using the address on the application form, and most offices also publish an official ranklist on their website and verified Facebook page. There is no national status-check portal.

What scholarships are still open right now?

The Tertiary Education Subsidy through UniFAST is open at most schools, applied for through your own institution with no grade requirement and no national deadline. DOST-SEI undergraduate applications historically open around October. Many LGUs run rolling scholarship programmes with far less competition.

How many slots were available for 2026–2027?

2,223 nationwide. The figure of 2,779 circulating on several sites was the allocation for AY 2025–2026.

Is there an entrance exam for the CHED scholarship?

No. There is no qualifying exam and no interview. Evaluation is based entirely on submitted documents and competitive ranking.

Can I apply if I am already in college?

No. CMSP is strictly for incoming first-year students. Consider Tulong Dunong or the Tertiary Education Subsidy instead.

Can I apply if I am 22 or older?

Yes. There is no upper age limit. What matters is that you have never enrolled in college or earned college credits.

My general average is 92.8. Can I round it to 93?

No. Report the average exactly as it appears on your SF9. Altering it constitutes falsification, which terminates the grant and disqualifies you from future CHED programmes.

My family income is slightly above ₱500,000. Should I apply anyway?

The ceiling is a stated eligibility requirement, so applications above it are likely to be screened out. The Bagong Pilipinas Merit Scholarship uses a ₱2 million threshold and is a better fit.

Do I need to be enrolled before applying?

No. The form asks for your intended HEI and course, but actual enrolment is not required at the time of application.

Can I hold CMSP alongside another government scholarship?

No. You may only avail of one government-funded financial assistance programme at a time.

Is there a return service agreement?

No. Unlike DOST-SEI scholarships, CMSP carries no return service obligation.

Does the scholarship cover all four years?

Yes, subject to annual renewal. You must maintain CHED’s academic standards, remain in your priority programme, and carry a regular unit load each term.

Can I change my course after being awarded?

Only with prior approval from your CHED Regional Office, and only to another priority programme. Shifting without approval terminates the scholarship.

Can I transfer to another school as a scholar?

Yes, under conditions. You need CHEDRO approval, you must be in good standing with no outstanding obligations to CHED, and the new programme must be a priority course.

What if my chosen course is not on the priority list?

You will not qualify. Either choose a priority programme or apply to a different scholarship. Check the regional list too, since your course may be priority in your domicile region even if it is not a national priority.

What if my application is rejected?

Contact your CHED Regional Office for the specific reason and your options. Common causes are incomplete documents, a non-priority course, or income above the ceiling.

Can I apply if I am an OFW dependent?

Yes. Submit your parent’s latest contract or proof of income as your financial document.

What if I cannot enroll after being approved?

You may defer to the following semester, but you must submit a new application with complete documents. You must enroll within one semester of approval or the slot is forfeited.

Does CHED charge anything to apply?

No. The application is free at every stage. Any request for payment is a scam and should be reported to your regional office.

When does the next CHED Scholarship cycle open?

The AY 2027–2028 call has not been announced. Recent cycles have opened around mid-year, with AY 2026–2027 running from 22 June to 31 July 2026. Regional offices usually publish the call before national coverage appears.

Sources: CHED Memorandum Orders on the Merit Scholarship Program, CHED Regional Office announcements for AY 2026–2027, and UniFAST guidance on the Tertiary Education Subsidy. Application dates and slot figures verified 24 August 2026. Programme details change through subsequent CHED issuances, so confirm with your CHED Regional Office before acting on anything here.