The International Students Office was established in 2008 in response to the growing needs of our non-Jamaican student population. As a non-Jamaican student we recognized that your needs differ somewhat from that of our nationals. As a result, greater focus had to be placed on catering to your peculiar needs. The office had to be deliberate in the services it provided to non-Jamaican students. We also had to be the main drivers of the internationalization imperatives of the institution. This included forging strategic partnerships that would provide access to international development opportunities for our local students, faculty and staff.

The International Students Office in recent years has become the home away from home to many of our non-Jamaican students. Navigating a new space and new country can be frightening for some. However, knowing that there is a place dedicated to serving you can make a world of difference. It is therefore important to us that your stay at the Mona Campus, whether for 2 weeks or 5 years is a positive and rewarding one.

We serve both inbound and outbound students and these services include,

1. The hosting of a pre-orientation webinar series each summer
2. The special regional and international orientation programme
3. Information sessions within faculties
4. The pre-departure and re-entry sessions for our outbound exchange/study abroad students
5. Application support and counselling for the exchange/study abroad programme
6. Registration and orientation support to our inbound medical elective and clerkship students
7. Facilitation of the ‘Extension of Stay’ immigration process
8. The hosting of an annual semester II excursion
9. The coordination of international scholarship programmes such as the Canada-CARICOM and Erasmus+ Scholarships; and any matters related to assisting you navigate the UWI system.

Outside of our services to students the International Students Office (ISO) also manages over 70 international partnership agreements and drives the campuses international recruitment efforts. We host between 8 and 13 study tours annually and facilitate international faculty visits. The ISO works closely with the University’s Office of Global Affairs to help the institution realize its vision of being an excellent global university rooted in the Caribbean.