Dominican President Luis Abinader Announces 5,000 Merit Scholarships and 1,500 International Grants

President Luis Abinader presided over a ceremony at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo where the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Mescyt) awarded 1,500 international postgraduate scholarships. At the same event he launched the "Excelencia Sin Barreras" programme, which will provide 5,000 new merit‑based undergraduate scholarships for high‑performing Dominican students.

The new scholarships eliminate the previous requirement that applicants wait for their high‑school diploma; candidates can now apply using grades from the penultimate year of secondary school. Selections will be made by an independent, apolitical commission that evaluates academic merit and economic need. About 70 % of the international awards target STEM fields, and recipients are expected to return to the country to contribute to its development.

Abinader emphasized that education is a key driver of national progress and pledged that the expanded scholarship system will help expand the country’s human capital and reduce socioeconomic barriers to higher education.