Trinidad and Tobago - Higher Education

The tertiary enrollment rate in Trinidad and Tobago is relatively low, despite the wide variety of programming that exists to serve the needs of students beyond the secondary level. In 1996 the gross enrollment ratio for higher education was only 8 percent (8 percent for males and 7 percent for females)—about 5,000 students in all. In 1995 only 4 percent of the country's population over age 25 had completed tertiary studies. About 13.3 percent of all public spending on education went to the tertiary level that year.

At the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, Bachelor's degree programs generally require three years of study, except in medicine, which takes six years, and law, where only the first year of instruction is available at the university. Master's degree programs are also available and typically require two years of study (three years for medicine) beyond the Bachelor's degree. Doctoral programs generally require an additional two years of study beyond the Master's. Besides the programs offered at the university, a large number of nonuniversity educational institutions, both public and private, offer courses leading to the National Technician Certificate. Higher education offered through NIHERST is provided in four main teaching divisions and leads to the Associate's degree, a Diploma, or a Certificate. Nonuniversity tertiary studies include colleges and institutions providing instruction in teacher education, agriculture, forestry and fishery, technical and information technology, management and banking, languages, nursing and healthcare, and theological education.