Dominica State College (DSC), the Caribbean nation’s leading tertiary education institution, has announced a remarkable surge in student enrollment for its 2026 academic intake, with multiple long-running and recently revived programs posting their highest participation numbers in the college’s history.
Data released by the institution shows broad-based growth across science, business, legal, and technical fields. Enrollment in Biology jumped from 24 students in the 2025 intake to 38 this year. The Bachelor of Science in Business Management and the Paralegal Studies program also hit all-time enrollment highs, welcoming 21 and 29 new and returning students respectively. The Pre-Health program, a critical pathway for learners pursuing medical and allied health careers, attracted a total of 74 students, while two engineering programs hit new enrollment milestones: Automobile Engineering enrolled 23 students, marking the first time the program has crossed 12 accepted learners, and Electrical Engineering hit 26 students, surpassing its previous record of 15.
Psychology, another fast-growing program, also reached a historic enrollment peak of 21 students, more than 75% higher than its previous high of 12. Meanwhile, Chemistry welcomed its first cohort of students since 2024, with 12 learners joining the 2026 intake.
Kimberly Benjamin, DSC’s Marketing and Communications Officer, noted that the Associate Degree in Business Administration remains one of the college’s most popular programs, drawing a total of 102 students across all its specialized concentrations this year. This represents a substantial 31% increase from the 78 students enrolled in the program in 2025.
Beyond growth in existing programs, DSC is also seeing a resurgence of student interest in academic disciplines that were paused in recent years. Physics is being offered again for the first time since 2022, while Geography, brought back last year after a hiatus, is running for a second consecutive year. This extended run signals steady, sustained demand from students for a broader selection of liberal arts and science coursework.
One of the most notable shifts in the 2026 intake is the dramatic rise in the number of learners seeking to re-enroll and complete interrupted studies. DSC received 239 re-matriculation applications for the 2026 academic year, and accepted 110 of those applicants. In comparison, the college received just 167 re-matriculation applications and accepted 51 last year, meaning acceptances more than doubled year-over-year.
Benjamin says this sharp increase reflects a growing trend of adult learners seeking second chances to complete degrees they started years ago, or to upskill by pursuing new academic pathways. As the college prepares to launch the 2026/2027 academic year, this enrollment boom has boosted institutional confidence in its mission to deliver accessible, career-relevant, high-quality tertiary education to all learners across Dominica. Benjamin added that the growing demand from adult learners also highlights the urgent need to expand dedicated support systems and flexible academic pathways for this fast-growing student demographic, particularly for those pursuing associate degree programs.