About the Program

The BS Biology program was first offered in the year 2000 per BOR Res. No. 28 s 2000. It was offered with two major fields only (Ecology and Marine Biology) under the then Department of Plant Protection (now Department of Pest Management). In 2002, the Department of Biological Sciences was created, and the third major field (Botany) was added. In 2010, the BS Bio program was subjected to evaluation for the first time by the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities in the Philippines ( AACCUP ), Inc. The accreditation was done to ensure the quality of our program offering. This has led to the revision of the curriculum in 2011 per BOR Res. No. 12 s. 2011, to be compliant with the requirements of CHED. The program was further subjected to accreditations in 2013 and 2016 until AACCUP awarded it Level III-Reaccredited in 2018. This coming 2022, the program will be further subjected to Level IV accreditation, the highest level of accreditation by AACCUP.

With the implementation of K-12, the BS Biology program was revised in compliance with the CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 49 s. 2017. One of the highlights of the revision is the addition of Zoology as a major field in BS Bio. Furthermore, as per instruction of CHED, Marine Biology was not anymore offered as a major field in Biology, but a separate degree program since CMO No. 46 s 2017 was already released specifying the policies, standards, and guidelines for BS Marine Biology. Hence, starting 2018, DBS offered BS Marine Biology as a separate degree program. In 2018, CHED Regional Quality Assurance Team (RQAT) evaluated the newly revised BS Biology and BS Marine Biology programs. CHED awarded the Certificate of Program Compliance (COPC) to the BS Bio (COPC No. 21) and BS Marine Bio (COPC No. 22) programs on May 6, 2020.

Career Opportunities

• Researchers in various government and private agencies in the country and abroad
• Laboratory Analyst/Technician
• Aquarium Curator
• Marine Park Manager
• Researcher and faculty member in academic institutions
• Development worker in national and international agencies
• Dive Operations Manager
• Natural Resource Specialist
• Marine Resource Management specialist/Marine Resource Manager
• Field Representative/Communications Specialists in NGOs
• Technical sales representative
• Can pursue graduate studies or further training through scholarships in the country and abroad and follow a career path in oceanography, marine archaeology, pollution and siltation control and management, environmental biology, and science communication/education

Notable Alumni

The following Viscans who graduated in this program have made a name in their field: