Welcome to your now new home, Pelicans!

The UWI Mona Campus

The #1 University in the Caribbean

Inspiring excellence, producing leaders

Start the journey to open Orientation 2026 with music, or read about the campus first.About my New Campus Home
  • Caribbean's #1
  • World's top 1.5%
  • Latin America's top 20
  • World's Golden Age top 100
  • Impact Rankings 2.5%

Orientation 2026

The largest gathering of new university studentsin the Caribbean

20–21 August 2026

Orientation 2026 save the date flyer for General Orientation for new undergraduate students, 20–21 August 2026, The University Tent, UWI Mona
Two students taking a selfie with the Pelican mascot
A student holding a Panthers hall sign at an Expo Village booth
Two students posing in an Orientation photo frame at the Social Sciences booth
Two student ambassadors in red UWI polos, smiling
A row of students in red and yellow shirts, smiling at the camera
A hall crew on stage in matching shirts
A student on stage with a microphone
Three members of staff seated under the University Tent
A student playing steel pan under the trees
Students in blue shirts among the Expo Village banners

Since 1948

The UWI started here

The University College of the West Indies opened at Mona in 1948, with a first cohort drawn from across the English speaking Caribbean and degrees awarded by the University of London. In 1962 it became a university in its own right and began awarding its own. From that one campus it grew into a regional university with contributing countries and territories right across the Caribbean, and Mona remained the founding campus. The halls, the Carnival, the rivalry and the Pelicans all come out of those decades, and from today they include you.

Read more about UWI Mona

Research at Mona

The people you will be taught by

Mona is a research campus. Every year the Principal's Research Awards name the people whose work stood out, and next year the person on this card could be someone marking your paper.

The route

Eight days,two campuses

Follow the road. Every stop is a real session on the Orientation 2026 calendar. Start at Parents & Family and end at the Expo Village in Montego Bay.

The road continues west

Western Jamaica Campus · Montego Bay

  • August 23

    WJC Parents & Family

    Montego Bay's family session at the Main Gazebo, the western welcome for WJC households.

    The Main Gazebo | WJC | Montego Bay

  • August 24

    WJC Undergrad

    WJC's own General Orientation plus the Expo Village, live at the Main Gazebo.

    The Main Gazebo | WJC | Montego Bay

Orientation Check List

Your Pathfinder Plan forThe UWI Orientation

An interactive experience powered by Campus Elite Jamaica in collaboration with the Office of Student Services and Development.

Office of Student Services and Development, The Complete ExperienceCampus Elite Jamaica

Your readiness

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Before you arrive

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On the day

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First week

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Straight answers

Questions we getevery year

Do I have to attend both General Orientation days?+

Yes. August 20 and 21 cover different ground. Day 1 is the official welcome and faculty sessions; Day 2 is student services, clubs and societies, and the second run of the Expo Village.

Can my parents come?+

There are dedicated Parent and Family sessions on July 26 and again on August 19 at the University Tent, plus August 23 at WJC in Montego Bay. Over 1,200 families attend each year.

I'm a regional or international student, where do I start?+

August 18 at the University Tent is built for you: immigration, housing, health cover and settling in, before the general sessions begin.

What is the Expo Village?+

Three days of booths, brands, giveaways and student services running alongside General Orientation, on August 20 and 21 at Mona and August 24 at WJC.

See you atthe tent

“Routes of Excellence: Future-Proofing Student Success”

mona.uwi.edu/firstyearLearn about my new campus