Jamaicans Encouraged to Pursue PhD Studies

Jamaicans are being encouraged to pursue PhD studies to tackle pressing Caribbean challenges.

University of the West Indies (UWI) Pro Vice-Chancellor, Graduate Studies and Research, Professor Aldrie Henry-Lee, has advised that there has been a decline in the number of registered PhD students at the Mona Campus in St. Andrew.

“In academic year 2019 to 2020, there were 217 registered PhD students, but this academic year 2024 to 2025, we are down to 176. I don’t like the downward trend, but we continue to market our programmes for increased enrolment,” she said.

Professor Henry-Lee was addressing UWI Research Day on March 13, held under the theme ‘The UWI Mona: Driving Jamaican, Caribbean and Global Development’.

The University had 20 and 26 PhD graduates in 2019 and 2024, respectively.

“I am very proud of the collective brilliance of our academicians and students who continue to push the boundaries of knowledge and create solutions for our region’s most pressing challenges,” Professor Henry-Lee said.

She reasoned that the Caribbean faces complex socioeconomic and environmental challenges which include climate change, public health risks, economic turbulence, energy and food insecurity, underscoring that research is the bedrock of sustainable development.

“Through rigorous research and technological innovation, we have the power to transform these challenges into opportunities of growth and resilience,” she said.