Apply Now

Academics

Fields of Study: Humanities, Social Sciences, Science, Engineering

At the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill you can access a wide variety of coursework in most disciplines. Courses with an emphasis on Caribbean studies are available across majors and departments. UCEAP students often take courses in African diaspora studies, gender studies, political science, chemistry, literature and art, history, religious studies, sociology, and psychology. If you are interested in marine biology and environmental studies, Barbados is an ideal location to study island biodiversity with unique opportunities for research. As the leading provider of management, business, and finance education in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, UWI Cave Hill also offers particularly strong coursework in these areas. 

Unique study opportunities

On this program, you can enjoy a wide range of unique study opportunities. Highlights of a few of these options include:

  • Study tropical plant biology at the Andromeda Gardens, the island’s botanical garden.
  • Learn about the political and economic challenges facing small island states in today’s competitive world.
  • Broaden your knowledge of settlement in the Americas.
  • Examine the role of women in work and the family in Caribbean society.
  • Conduct research in living laboratories to investigate marine resource management and preservation and tropical horticulture.
  • Study and experience the music, dance, and literature that make the Caribbean unique, particularly through the extensive offerings of the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination.

Language

Language of Instruction: English

Language Study: Optional

Courses and credit

Requirements While Abroad

To successfully complete this program:

  • Take a full-time course of study: A minimum of four courses and 24 quarter/16 semester UC units each semester. 
  • You may select one course for pass/no pass; co-curricular courses (COCR) are often graded for pass/no pass credit only, but will not count against your one course pass/no pass limit. 

Current Program Courses

Although you’ll be assigned to one faculty, you will be able to select courses from any faculty at UWI as long as you meet the course prerequisites. Some courses (such as law and natural science courses) may limit student enrollment. UWI professors grant final registration approval.

Course division is based on host course numbers. 1000 are assigned lower-division UC credit. 2000 and 3000 are assigned upper-division UC credit with the exception of curricular studies courses (COCR course code) and intermediate language courses.
 

Catalogs and resources

  • UWI Undergraduate Faculty Handbooks: Find lists of course titles and catalog descriptions across all UWI degrees (called programmes). If the current handbook is unavailable, refer to the previous year’s handbook.
  • UWI Undergraduate Programmes: Look up degree programs at UWI to get to specific faculty websites. You can search by faculty, majors and departments. Each faculty site is set up differently, but look for links that say Programmes, Areas of Study, or Courses Offered.
  • The UWI Schedule of Classes is available through the Cave Hill Online Student Information System, or CHOL. Follow the Student Access link, go to Class Schedule then select any Semester I field. Class schedules are not available ahead of time, but because offerings typically rotate each semester, you can still see what is usually available each fall, even if the schedules aren't yet set.
  • UCEAP Course Catalog: See a list of courses students have taken on this program. This is not a current representation of course offerings on this program. Reference the above links to review recent course offerings. 
  • Campus Credit Abroad: Learn the types of credit (major, minor, general education, elective) students from your campus received at this location.

Academic culture

The undergraduate degree at UWI is a three-year degree. Local students are specialized in their field by the time they enter second- or third-year courses. The UWI Cave Hill is based on the British university model. This means more formality, centralization and structure than at UC, and more than many might expect within an island culture. 

You will finalize your study plans and register for classes after arrival.

Courses typically consist of two hours of lecture and one hour of tutorial each week. Tutorials are discussion sessions in which you’ll present papers for discussion and critique. You will receive required and recommended book lists for each course, which you can purchase at the campus bookshop. UWI professors seldom give course readers or packets.

Assessment during the semester is rare. While methods of evaluation vary by subject, grades are based primarily on coursework during the semester and written exams at the end of the term. The exam format usually consists of essay questions and can count for 60 to 100 percent of the course grade.

Grades

You will earn direct UC credit and grades for all coursework. Fall grades for this program are usually available in January. Spring grades are usually available in July. Requests for early grades cannot be accommodated.