Second Degree, Second Board Exam: Why Some Filipinos Return to College After Their First Career
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Jun 16, 2025 • Study in Southeast Asia
Many Filipino professionals with an unrelated first degree go back to college for a second bachelor's, usually nursing or education, because it leads to a board exam and a license that opens jobs abroad. The path costs two to three more years of tuition and lost income, on top of the board exam itself.
🎓 Nursing (leading to the NLE) and education (leading to the LET) are the two most common second-degree paths
⏱️ Many schools credit general education units from your first degree, cutting the second degree below four years
📩 A PRC license, not the diploma alone, is what makes you eligible for licensed jobs at home or abroad
💵 Weigh tuition plus lost income for the second degree against your current career trajectory before enrolling
Why Filipinos Go Back for a Second Bachelor's Degree
A common pattern in the Philippines: someone earns a business, IT, or arts degree, works for a few years, then enrolls in a second bachelor's, often nursing or education. The reason is rarely a change of interest. It is a licensure credential, attached to a board exam and a Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) license, that opens job markets a first degree in an unregulated field never reaches.
Nursing and teaching are regulated professions in the Philippines. A degree alone does not let you practice nursing or teaching, in the Philippines or apply for most licensed jobs abroad. You need to pass the relevant PRC board exam first and hold an active license.
Which Second Degrees Filipinos Choose Most
Nursing draws the largest share of second-degree Filipino students. It leads to the Nursing Licensure Examination (NLE) and, from there, a license that recruiters in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Gulf states, and Australia recognize when hiring from the Philippines. Education is the second most common route, leading to the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) and eligibility for local public school hiring plus demand from international schools and, in some cases, US school districts that recruit licensed Filipino teachers on exchange visas.
Engineering and accountancy also draw second-degree students, though less often, since both require a longer sequence of prerequisite coursework that a first degree in an unrelated field usually does not cover.
How a Second Degree Differs From the First
Universities that accept second-degree students typically credit general education units already completed in your first degree. Philosophy, humanities, and some elective courses often transfer. What is left is the major coursework and, for nursing, the required clinical hours. That shortens the program below the standard four years at many schools, though the exact reduction depends on the receiving university's own credit evaluation. Confirm it directly with the admissions office rather than assume a fixed timeline.
Tuition for the second degree is a separate, full cost. Republic Act 10931 free tuition at state universities and colleges applies only to a student's first undergraduate degree, so second-degree students pay standard tuition, at a state school or a private one.
The Board Exam Step
Finishing the second degree does not end the process. Graduates still sit the PRC board exam for their field, the NLE for nursing or the LET for education, and only a passing result and an active license make them eligible to apply for licensed jobs in the Philippines or abroad. Check current schedules and requirements directly on the PRC official site before you plan a timeline around an exam date.
The Overseas Pull Behind the Decision
The overseas job market is the main reason professionals accept the cost of starting over. A licensed Filipino nurse or teacher applies through direct hospital and school district recruitment, bilateral labor arrangements, or private agencies once the PRC license is active. That path does not exist for a business or IT graduate without the license, regardless of work experience in their first field.
Alternatives to a Full Second Degree
Not every professional needs another bachelor's degree to reach an overseas job. Technical-vocational certifications through TESDA, in fields such as caregiving, culinary arts, or industrial trades, lead to National Certificates that some overseas employers and licensing bodies accept without a university degree at all. These programs run shorter than a second bachelor's and cost less, though they lead to a different pay band and job category than a licensed profession such as nursing or teaching.
Some universities also offer a shorter bridging or ladderized track for allied health roles, rather than a full second bachelor's from scratch. Availability and content of these tracks vary by school and by profession, so confirm directly with CHED and the specific university whether a bridging option exists for your target field before assuming a full second degree is the only route.
What to Weigh Before You Enroll Again
Two to three years of tuition plus the income you give up while studying full time
Clinical or practicum schedules that often require leaving a current job entirely rather than cutting hours
Board exam pass rates and review center costs on top of the degree itself
Whether your target overseas market has current demand in your new field, since hiring cycles for nurses and teachers shift with each destination country's own policy
A second degree only pays off if you complete it, pass the board exam, and the license leads to the job you enrolled for. Talk to your target university's admissions office and CHED's official site about second-degree credit policy before you commit to a specific school.