Ten Antiguan and Barbudans will receive full scholarships to Monroe University.

The announcement was made in this week’s Cabinet notes where it was explained that the initiative is a newly established agreement between the government and the university.  It followed recent discussions between Prime Minister Gaston Browne and President of the University, Mr. Marc Jerome.

Under this agreement, ten Antiguan and Barbudan students will receive full scholarships to pursue studies at Monroe College in New York, with tuition costs fully covered.

This initiative is specifically available to students who will attend as commuters.

“These are individuals who are not accommodated at the university, who are not utilizing university campus accommodation and so they will be known as commuters. They will have to commute. They will have to seek transportation to get to the university campus.

“So, individuals who reside or have relatives who reside and are able to live with them during the period of their studies in the United States, they are the ones who we are targeting because it will lessen the cost affiliated with this arrangement reached with Monroe University. Tuition paid in full.

“The responsibilities of the individual receiving the scholarship will be simply to pay their transportation costs if they live with individuals outside of the campus facilities,” Director General in the Office of the Prime Minister Maurice Merchant clarified.

The scholarships will support studies at the Associate or Bachelor’s degree level.

This partnership aligns with the Government’s broader education policy, which aims to ensure that every household in Antigua and Barbuda has at least one member with a tertiary-level qualification, thereby advancing national development through accessible higher education.

This new development comes just days after 55 students from Antigua and Barbuda were awarded their degrees during Monroe’s 92nd Annual Commencement at Radio City Music Hall in midtown New York City.

There were 55 residents from Antigua and Barbuda among the 2,785 graduates in Monroe’s Class of 2025, the fourth largest group of international graduates this year.

This year’s Commencement was particularly special as it marked the first one held at the iconic venue since Monroe’s elevation to university status last summer.