Students required to take the National Service Training Program (NSTP) are all incoming freshmen, male and female, enrolled in any baccalaureate degree course or at least two-year technical-vocational or associate courses in public or private higher educational institutions in the Philippines. Completion of one NSTP component is a mandatory graduation requirement for these students
. Specifically:
- Students in any bachelor's degree or technical-vocational courses must complete one of the three NSTP components: Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS), or Literacy Training Service (LTS)
- Exemptions apply only to students who have already completed NSTP in a prior degree, transferees or shiftees who completed NSTP before transferring, and foreign students or aliens
- Male students who have completed two semesters of Expanded ROTC or National Service Program (NSP) are considered compliant; those who have only completed one semester must take an additional NSTP component to graduate
The NSTP is taken over two semesters, with 54 to 90 contact hours per semester, and counts as six academic units total
. In summary, all Filipino college students in relevant degree or technical courses must take NSTP as a graduation requisite unless exempted by prior completion or foreign status
