Do I need to take PE courses?

Generally speaking, yes. 

Alternative qualifications

If you are not satisfied with the PE courses offered at UPOU, you have options:

1. Cross-enroll at another UP campus unit (CU).
2. Take the PE Proficiency Exam (PEPE) at another UP CU. Contact the CU in which you wish to take the PEPE, as UPOU cannot provide any guidance on how to do this.
3. Membership in a Varsity or National Team in sports also may be used to fulfill the PE requirement.

Exemptions
You may be exempted from taking PE courses if you are:

• 30 years old and above at the time of admission to the ASIT program; 
• A person with a legally-recognized disability that prevents you from taking PE courses;
• A veteran of the armed forces, navy, or air force; or
• Have served on a full-time basis for at least two (2) years in the armed forces, navy, or air force.

If you meet any of these requirements, you can request a PE waiver:

1. Fill in this form, digitally sign it, and save it as a PDF,
2. Send the form along with the other requirements stated in the form by opening a new ticket. Please include documentation related to the exemption criteria (e.g., your birth certificate, a government-issued PWD card, your record of military service, etc.) 

Issues arising from religious convictions

Some students have requested an exemption from PE 2 - Hatha Yoga because they believe that this would go against their religious beliefs. Please note that when the Hatha Yoga PE class was proposed, UPOU made sure that the course content would not be associated with any sect or religion since doing so would contradict our charter as a state university. Furthermore, it is worth noting that yoga is now recognized as relevant to all faiths; some Catholic faithful now practice Ignatian Yoga as proposed by the Jesuits, for instance.

However, if you still strongly believe that your religious beliefs preclude you from taking Hatha Yoga, you have options:

• Cross-enroll your PE course in any university; 
• Wait for a new PE course to be instituted, as new PE courses are being planned for the near future; 
• See if you can meet any of the alternative qualifications for PE (as discussed above); or
• See if you qualify for an exemption as officially allowed (as discussed above).

Other notes

Please note that you cannot take the same PE course twice.