Barbados Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries

In Barbados, scholarships and awards of excellence are given to the students based on the performance in the annual advanced level G.C.E, Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), and associate degree examinations.

The following persons are eligible for the Barbados scholarships, awards of excellence and exhibition:-

Bursaries are awarded to students who demonstrate financial need and have been offered a full-time place to study at the University of the West Indies. Bursaries are awarded on an annual and are generally available between July and August of each year.

National development scholarships are awarded to candidates pursuing study programmes that are considered critical for national development. These scholarships are awarded in order to give training in areas that are of great importance in socio-economic development of the country. 

Scholarship dates: Offered in May each year

Selection ways and means: Candidates are selected for these scholarships through a process of interviews conducted by the National Scholarship Committee headed by the Deputy Chief Education Officer with members taken from different institutions within the country.

No. of scholarships offered: Each year about 10 scholarships in different disciplines are offered to the candidates based on the training needs of the public and private sectors of the country. 

Postgraduate scholarships, such as Commonwealth Scholarships are provided to Barbados once every year by the UK and Canada between August and September, and by New Zealand between March and April.

Eligibility: Candidates must hold an upper second class honours degree in order to be eligible for the United Kingdom and Canada awards and at least a Lower second class honours degree in order to be eligible for New Zealand awards.

Scholarship benefits: These scholarships are completely sponsored by the awarding countries and cover living expenses, tuition fees, books, accommodation and airfare.

Selection way: Candidates are selected for the scholarships by the National Scholarship Committee on the basis of their academic accomplishments, community involvement and relevance of the course.

The Student Revolving Loan Fund was set up under the Student Revolving Loan Fund Act, 1976-20 and have taken the place of the Higher Education Loan Fund. The Student Revolving Loan Fund (SRLF) provides student loans to Barbadians. Whether the student has a Barbados Scholarship or any of the others, the Student Revolving Fund provide additional funds to meet the financial needs of the students.

Areas: Business, professional and technological programmes, such as computer technology, medicine, accounting, etc.; locally, regionally and extra regionally.  

Areas: Developmental programmes of the Barbados Community College (BCC) and other post secondary and technical institutions that located in the country and internationally  in the field of commerce, computer studies, health sciences, etc.

Loans are offered for full-time study programmes offered at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP)

The upper limit of the loan amount is BDS$100,000. Lesser amount is also given to some of the institutions and for particular programmes. The loan amount is decided by the expenses expected to be incurred while pursuing a specific study programme or training.

It includes registration costs, tuition fees, thesis fee, books, laboratory fee, security deposits and approved transportation to and fro at the most reasonable costs; and living costs related to studies/training.

The loan must be paid back by the student within the repayment portion of time of 5 to 12 years, depending on the loan size.

Students must fill out the application forms that can be taken from the office of the Student Revolving Loan Fund.  

To know more about the SRLF repayment conditions and applying process, visit the website of SRLF .Or you can also email your queries to office@srlfloan.edu.bb

Financial assistance is provided to the Barbadians and CARICOM (Caribbean community) citizens who wish to study at the Barbados Community College (BCC), University of the West Indies (UWI), or the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP).

The University of the West Indies offers many scholarships for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. These comprises of academic bursaries and co-curricular bursaries. The academic bursaries are awarded on the basis of the candidates’ academic record, while the co-curricular bursaries are awarded on the basis of the candidate’s contribution/involvement to co-curricular activities. 

 

The Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP) provides 4 scholarships to help pupils in their studies including the Jeffrey Barrow Scholarship. Students who demonstrate a financial need, who are actively involved in student activities are given these scholarships.

To know more, contact the Registrar at SJPP. 

 

The Barbados Community College (BCC) provides scholarship for students with financial needs. The scholarships cover full payment of tuition fees and the books. In order to be eligible for the scholarships, candidates must have a minimum of 6 General Proficiency CXCs at Grades 1, 2 or 3, with at least a Grade 2 in French, Spanish or English A.

Most of the higher education institutions in Barbados also provide scholarships and grants to study abroad. There are many international exchange and study abroad programmes.