Honor Graduates may Apply for Eligibility

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) encourages honor graduates to apply for eligibility, which they may use to vie for career positions in the government.

The CSC grants the Honor Graduate Eligibility (HGE) to summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude graduates of private higher education institutions in the Philippines from school year 1972-1973 and thereafter, with baccalaureate/bachelor’s degree recognized by the Commission on Higher Education, or state/local college or university with baccalaureate/bachelor’s degree included in its charter, or baccalaureate/bachelor’s degree duly approved by its Board of Trustees/Board of Regents.

On 17 December 2013, the Commission issued CSC Resolution No. 1302714 to include summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude graduates from foreign schools in the grant of eligibility.

Honor graduates from a reputable foreign school – as verified by the Department of Foreign Affairs through the Philippine Foreign Service Posts, or as certified by a foreign government in compliance with the apostille requirements under CSC Resolution No. 2000349 dated 11 February 2020 – may apply for the Foreign School Honor Graduate Eligibility (FSHGE), provided that they are Filipino citizens.

The HGE and FSHGE are second level eligibilities appropriate for first and second level positions in the government that do not involve practice of profession and are not covered by bar, board, or other special laws.

Applications for HGE may be submitted to the CSC Regional Office (CSC RO) having jurisdiction over the area where the applicant finished his/her degree, or to any of the CSC RO’s field offices. Applications for FSHGE may be submitted to the nearest CSC Regional or Field Office where the applicant is currently based.

However, due to the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic, applicants are advised to contact the CSC RO to confirm the best means to submit their application, or to check if there are restrictions imposed by the local government unit where the CSC RO is located. (Access the CSC directory at www.csc.gov.ph/cscrod.)

The complete list of requirements can be accessed from the CSC website:

Honor Graduate Eligibility: http://www.csc.gov.ph/honor-graduate-eligibility-hge

Foreign School Honor Graduate Eligibility: http://www.csc.gov.ph/foreign-school-honor-graduate-eligibility?fbclid=IwAR1Ldo2DaEEiEhkVpcq4uDQgmwFZikohPlJVuyhDaoEMoG1m2JNcMDl7dng

The Commission grants the HGE and FSHGE to qualified individuals pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 907, issued on 11 March 1976, which mandates the grant of civil service eligibility to college honor graduates in the hope that “immediate absorption of these honor graduates in the public service will assure their participation in public affairs and bouy up the quality of the civil service.”

In 2020, the CSC has conferred 4,642 HGEs. Only two FSHGE were conferred in the same year.

Source: Philippine Civil Service Commission