CCRIF Scholarship Programme

CCRIF SPC Postgraduate Scholarship Programme Guidelines
2025

For 2024, CCRIF will provide scholarships for students pursuing a Masters or an MBA programme in a number of pre-identified areas related to disaster risk management for study at the following accredited universities in the Caribbean: The University of the West Indies, University of Technology Jamaica, Northern Caribbean University (Jamaica), University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (Jamaica), University of Guyana, University of Suriname, and University of Trinidad and Tobago

Ivan+20 logo

In 2024, CCRIF will offer an additional 2  "Ivan+20" postgraduate scholarships to nationals of the Cayman Islands and Grenada.

Applicants for these scholarships should use this application form:
Ivan+20 Postgraduate scholarship - Application form


The application process for these special scholarships is the same as for the general CCRIF postgraduate scholarships - as outlined below

Eligibility

Scholarship recipients must be citizens of CARICOM member or associate member countries and/or CCRIF member countries in the Caribbean (The CCRIF Scholarship Programme is not available to CCRIF member countries in Central America.)

The eligible Master's level programmes in the Caribbean are presented in the table below. This table will be revised from time to time as new programmes emerge either across these universities listed here or other universities.
 

University

Eligible Programmes

University of the West Indies

 

Cave Hill Campus

  • Faculty of Science and Technology – M.Sc. Natural Resource and Environmental Management (all options)
  • Faculty of Social Sciences – M.Sc. Building and Construction Management
  • Centre for Biosecurity Studies –MPhil Biosecurity and Biorisk Management

Mona Campus

  • Faculty of Science and Technology – M.Sc. Natural Resource Management (Option – Integrated Urban and Rural Environmental Management)
  • Faculty of Science and Technology, M.Sc. – Enterprise Risk Management (Jointly with Mona School of Business and Management)

St. Augustine Campus

  • Faculty of Engineering – M.Sc. Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Faculty of Engineering – M.Sc. Urban and Regional Planning
  • Department of Civil Engineering - M.Sc. Coastal Engineering and Management
  • Institute of International Relations – M.Sc. Climate Studies
  • Faculty of Science and Technology - M. Sc. Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development in the Caribbean

University of Guyana

  • Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences
    • M.Sc. Environmental Management
    • M.Sc. Urban and Regional Planning
    • M.Sc. Urban Planning and Management

University of Technology, Jamaica
  • Faculty of the Built Environment, School of Building and Land Management
    • M.Sc. Built Environment
    • MPhil Built Environment
    • M.Sc. Integrated Rural Development
    • M.Sc. Sustainable Energy and Climate Change
  • Caribbean School of Architecture, Master of Architecture (M.Arch)

Northern Caribbean University (Jamaica)
  • M.Sc. Environmental Science

University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (Jamaica)
  • Master of Business Administration (Disaster Management)

University of Trinidad and Tobago

  • M.Sc. Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management
Anton de Kom University of Suriname
  • Faculty of Technology - M.Sc. in Sustainable Management of Natural Resources

Online programmes also are eligible for these scholarships.

Applicants must be holders a bachelor’s degree with a GPA of at least 3.0 in an area related to disaster risk management, environmental management, geography/geology, engineering, actuarial science, or a related discipline. Preference may be given to candidates who have some work or volunteer experience in a related field.

The scholarships are valued up to US$11,000 each and are specifically for those applicants who have gained admission to a Masters level programme or an MBA programme fitting the eligibility criteria presented above.

Preference will be given to persons with supporting nominations from publicly-funded (government) national or regional agencies whose mandates are specific to risk management, disaster risk modelling, disaster risk management, meteorology, climate change, civil with environmental engineering or environmental management.

Conditions

Registration
  • Recipients must be registered full-time (except in the case of online programmes).

CCRIF Scholarship Agreement
  • Recipients will be required to sign a CCRIF Scholarship Agreement agreeing to the terms and conditions of the scholarship prior to the commencement of their programme

Bonding
Requirement
  • Recipients will be required to work in the Caribbean for a period of 18 months immediately after completion of the programme.
  • Upon completion of the programme, recipients will be required to notify CCRIF of their employment in the Caribbean at select times/intervals within the bonding period as stipulated in the signed CCRIF Scholarship Agreement.
  • Recipients who fail to complete the bonding period will be required to repay the award, unless CCRIF has provided a waiver.

Thesis Topic
  • Recipients must select a thesis topic in an area in which CCRIF has an established interest or which is aligned to the CCRIF mandate and strategic objectives, with a focus on the Caribbean, which must be approved by CCRIF

Academic Performance
  • Recipients are expected to achieve academic excellence and are required to ensure that grades are at least a Merit or B grade.
  • A report on academic performance will be required at select times within the academic programme.

Withdrawal
  • Recipients who withdraw from the programme without good reason and the approval of the Academic Director, or who fail to complete the programme, will be required to repay the award.

Applications must be submitted via the CCRIF online scholarship programme platform at:

https://www.ccrif.org/scholarship no later than June 14, 2025.

Important

* Denotes a mandatory field - your submission will not be accepted until all such fields are complete.

  • Please affix your name to the documents to be uploaded. 

    For example: JohnBrown_Application Form.ext

  • Names of the uploaded documents must match their contents.


Applications must be submitted using the online application form June 14, 2025

For additional information or for clarification, please email: technicalassistance@ccrif.org 

Click Here To Apply

Scholarship Guidelines

All applicants must submit via the CCRIF scholarship online platform:

  • A complete application form for 2025/2026 (click here)
  • An essay based on the prompt provided in the application form
  • A letter of intent telling us about yourself and what motivates you. Indicate why you chose to apply for this scholarship and why you deserve to be awarded this scholarship. Explain why you chose this university and course of study. Explain how you think your course of study will benefit you personally, your country or the wider Caribbean region and how it is aligned with CCRIF’s mandate. The letter should also indicate long-term career goals as well as any other relevant information the Committee can consider in awarding the scholarship.
  • A curriculum vitae
  • Copy of undergraduate degree and transcript; where the degree is not yet awarded by the application deadline date and will be awarded by the beginning of the postgraduate programme the most up to date transcript will be accepted
  • Letter of admission to an eligible programme at an eligible university in the Caribbean
  • Details from the university of the cost of the programme
  • Proof of citizenship (copy of passport or national identity document with valid dates)
  • Passport-size photograph


Applicants must also provide the following letters of reference:

  • Two letters of reference from academic referees at the university level attesting to the applicant’s academic ability and potential
  • A professional letter of reference from one of the following:
    • a current employer – this should explain how the applicant and the home institution will benefit from this new knowledge and expertise;
    • If not currently employed: a former employer – this should attest to the applicant’s skills and professional demeanour and contributions to the institution
    • In the absence of professional experience: a project supervisor or supervisor for volunteer activities – this should attest to the applicant’s skills and contributions


Referees must submit these letters of reference to the following email address: scholarshipapplications@ccrif.org.

  • The subject line of the email must include the name of the scholarship applicant.
  • The reference report must be in an attachment and the filename must include the name of the scholarship applicant.
  • Emails will be accepted only from organizational email addresses – i.e. emails from google, hotmail, yahoo etc. addresses will not be accepted.
  • The reference reports must be submitted no later than June 21, 2025 (note that this is after the scholarship application deadline).


Applicants must ensure that referees submit the reports by the deadline.

The above guidelines and additional information can be viewed in the Guideline Document (PDF)

About CCRIF SPC

CCRIF SPC is a segregated portfolio company, owned, operated and registered in the Caribbean.

 

It limits the financial impact of catastrophic hurricanes, earthquakes and excess rainfall events to Caribbean and Central American governments by quickly providing short-term liquidity when a parametric insurance policy is triggered.

Contact info

Registered Office
  • c/o Sagicor Insurance Managers Limited, 198 North Church Street, 2nd Floor, Sagicor House, PO Box 1087, Grand Cayman, KY1-1102, Cayman Islands

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