The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus

About The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus

St. Augustine is one of the constituent campuses of The University of the West Indies, a regional university serving Caribbean countries and territories. The Trinidad campus began in 1960, developing from the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture. UWI itself became an independent university in 1962. For prospective students, this structure matters: admission is to a UWI programme at a specified campus, while academic governance and the degree-awarding university operate across the wider regional system. The campus is operating and recruiting students. Its official programme search presents more than 200 offerings across eight faculties and 38 departments and research centres. The range extends from first-degree study to taught and research postgraduate education. Trinidad and Tobago’s Accreditation Council lists The University of the West Indies among accredited institutions, providing an important local check on institutional status. St. Augustine’s history gives it a distinctive academic emphasis. It is the UWI campus with the Faculty of Food and Agriculture, reflecting its origins and the importance of agriculture and food systems to the Caribbean. At the same time, it functions as a comprehensive campus rather than a specialist agricultural institution. Students should note that the campus is geographically distributed: most activity is in St. Augustine, while the Faculty of Medical Sciences is associated with the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex at Mount Hope. Programme pages should therefore be checked for the actual teaching location, attendance mode and intake before applying.

For the 2026/2027 academic year, the main undergraduate application window ran from January 5 to July 17, 2026 for full-time and part-time study across faculties, programmes and sessions. The postgraduate Semester I deadline was also July 17, 2026. Those dates had passed by August 20, 2026, so prospective applicants should not assume that a late application will be accepted; they should check the admissions portal for another intake or the next published cycle. Undergraduate admission requires both UWI’s general matriculation standard and the requirements of the selected faculty or programme. Routes include Caribbean qualifications such as CSEC and CAPE, approved associate degrees and other recognized secondary or tertiary credentials. Programme-specific subjects and selection rules can be more demanding than the university minimum. Mature applicants aged 21 or older who have been out of secondary school for at least five years may be assessed through their academic preparation and workplace experience and may face tests or interviews. Applicants whose first language is not English must provide acceptable evidence of proficiency. The current undergraduate requirements page identifies an IELTS overall score of 6.5 or TOEFL results meeting its stated standard, but applicants should verify test details for their programme. Applications are submitted online with certified supporting documents. Medical Sciences and some education programmes require additional materials, while MPhil and PhD applicants must provide a research proposal. International students should also review immigration requirements separately from academic admission.

Academic choice at St. Augustine spans undergraduate, taught postgraduate and research degrees. The official programme search groups more than 200 programmes across eight faculties and 38 departments and research centres. The academic areas include Engineering, Food and Agriculture, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences, and Sport. Applicants can search by level and faculty, then consult the relevant faculty material for programme descriptions, course structures and admissions conditions. The Faculty of Food and Agriculture is a defining feature of the campus and is unique within the UWI campus network. This makes St. Augustine particularly relevant to students interested in agriculture, food systems and related Caribbean development questions. The campus is nevertheless multidisciplinary, with professional education in fields such as engineering, law and the health sciences alongside arts, sciences and social sciences. Programme selection requires attention to detail. Some courses are full-time, part-time or offered through particular sessions, and not every programme necessarily opens in every intake. Medical Sciences activity is based partly at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mount Hope rather than solely on the main St. Augustine site. Prospective postgraduate researchers should also distinguish taught degrees from MPhil and PhD routes, because research applicants may need a proposal and programme-specific supervision arrangements. The programme search and current faculty booklets are the appropriate starting points; students should confirm the curriculum, campus location and professional-accreditation implications directly with the relevant faculty before committing.

Key Highlights

• Operating Trinidad and Tobago campus of the regional University of the West Indies
• Trinidad campus established in 1960
• Listed by Trinidad and Tobago’s regulator as part of an accredited institution
• More than 200 programmes across eight faculties

Student Life & Environment

Student life combines a largely commuter population with residential communities. The Student Accommodation Office oversees university halls and assists students using monitored off-campus options. Its current overview describes five halls with capacity for more than 1,300 students, while also stating that most St. Augustine students live off campus. Three halls are on the main campus, Sir Arthur Lewis Hall is on the nearby North Campus with shuttle service, and Joyce Gibson-Inniss Hall at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex is reserved for Medical Sciences students. Housing requires a separate application and availability should not be assumed from an academic offer. Hall communities organize activities such as concerts, dinners, sport and resident-led programmes. Students considering private housing can consult the university’s accommodation database; listed properties are visited by the accommodation office, although students should still evaluate contracts, transport and personal suitability themselves. The Division of Student Services and Development provides support extending beyond accommodation. Its stated areas include orientation, counselling and psychological support, disability services, student government and leadership, funding guidance, commuting-student support, co-curricular activity, volunteering, careers and student employment. This mix is useful for both residential and commuting students, but access procedures and programme schedules can change during the year, so new students should use current departmental notices after registration.

Location & Surroundings

The main campus is in St. Augustine, Trinidad, within the urbanized east–west corridor of northern Trinidad. Its setting combines early twentieth-century buildings, newer academic facilities and landscaped grounds. The surrounding communities of St. Augustine, Curepe and Tunapuna provide housing, shops and transport connections, which is relevant because the majority of students live outside university halls. Not every student studies exclusively at the main site. The Faculty of Medical Sciences uses the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex at Mount Hope, and its dedicated Joyce Gibson-Inniss Hall is located there. Applicants in health-related programmes should confirm where classes and clinical activities occur before choosing accommodation. Sir Arthur Lewis Hall is also off the main campus on the North Campus, with a university shuttle serving residents. The campus’s position in northern Trinidad provides access to the country’s capital-region economy and institutions, but commuting conditions can differ considerably by time and route. Prospective students should compare residence location, programme site, transport options and evening-class schedules together rather than treating “St. Augustine” as a single compact location.

Costs & Career Outcomes

UWI uses programme- and student-category-specific pricing rather than one universal tuition figure. Undergraduate charges are generally credit-based, and students are responsible for applicable tuition and compulsory fees as well as residence charges if they occupy a hall. Government sponsorship arrangements can affect the amount paid by nationals of contributing Caribbean countries. Trinidad and Tobago citizens may be eligible for GATE support for certain undergraduate programmes, subject to government rules. Postgraduate students are not eligible for GATE according to the current postgraduate finance page. The most recent detailed undergraduate fee booklet located during research applies to 2025/2026, not 2026/2027. Its figures should therefore not be treated as current estimates. For 2026 entry, students should obtain a fee assessment or written confirmation from the university and budget separately for compulsory charges, housing, food, transport, books and programme-related expenses. Tuition may change during a course of study. Scholarships and bursaries are offered, but eligibility, value and application timing vary. Career support is provided through the Division of Student Services and Development. Its Careers and Placement section facilitates on-campus student work, vacation employment and employer-supplied external opportunities such as internships, graduate programmes, projects and contract roles. These opportunities depend on demand and are not guaranteed. The service also offers career-planning support, while programme choice should be evaluated against relevant professional recognition and the student’s intended employment jurisdiction rather than assumed salary outcomes.