The Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences annually awards prizes and scholarships for outstanding performance to students in the B.Sc. programme. At this ceremony, the Department of Life Sciences also formally recognises its students by awarding subject prizes for quality academic performance.

Sponsored Prizes

• Don Skelding's Prize in Botany
  Professor Arthur Donald Skelding, D.Sc., was the second Professor of Botany of the University of the West Indies, Mona from 1955 to 1973. When he returned to Jamaica in June 1985 in his capacity as External Examiner for the B.Sc. in Botany, he made a donation to the Botany Department, which the then Professor of Botany invested. The interest from that investment is used for an annual prize "to the best student in the Preliminary and/or Introductory courses in the June Examinations".

• L.B. Coke Prize in Plant Physiology
  The late Dr. L.B. coke, former Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Botany, taught Plant Physiology for fifteen years. The Department of Botany instituted the prize in his honour after his sudden death on 31 December 1990. This prize is awarded every year to the studnet who obtains the highest mark in the Plant Physiology course. This prize is maintained by contributions from the Consultancy Fund of the former Botany Department.

• The Vincent McKie Prize in Zoology
  This award is based on the results of the examinations taken at the end of the first year of the Advanced part of the degree programme (200 Level). It is given to a student majoring in Zoology. The award is based not only on academic excellence, but also takes into account participation in extra-curricular activities.

Departmental Prizes

• Preliminary Biology
• Introductory Biology
• Level II Zoology

2006/2007 Recipients

• Preliminary Biology: Camille Edwards
• Introductory Biology: Gayann McLeod, Janelle Kidd
• L.B. Coke Prize in Plant Physiology: Patricia Brooks
• The Vincent McKie Prize in Zoology: Lana Lowe