Studying and researching in Seychelles

The University of Seychelles

The University of Seychelles, UniSey, opened in 2009 and is the country's public university, with campuses at Anse Royale on Mahé, at Ma Joie (the Guy Morel Institute, for professional and in-service training) and at Mont Fleuri, home to the India-Seychelles Centre of Excellence in ICT. A distinctive feature is that many of its degrees are awarded by the University of London, so a Seychelles degree can carry a London parchment.

Applying as an international student

UniSey welcomes international students. You request or download the programme application form, submit it to Student Services with your documents and a non-refundable processing fee, and wait for an admission decision by email. Tuition differs a good deal between local and international students, and third-party figures online are unreliable, so take the fee and the current tuition only from the university's own site. Plan on applying three to six months ahead to leave room for the permit and travel.

The student permit

Admission is not entry. Once UniSey confirms your enrolment you apply for a student permit through the Seychelles Department of Immigration, valid for the length of your programme and renewable. One condition matters more than any other: a student permit does not let you work in Seychelles, paid or unpaid. If you need to earn, that is a different permit and a different plan, described on the move-and-work page.

Doing research in Seychelles

Seychelles is one of the great living laboratories of the Indian Ocean, and it guards that carefully. Research, particularly anything touching the environment, protected areas or wildlife, needs the right permissions from the relevant authority before you arrive, not after.

• Aldabra and the Vallée de Mai. Both UNESCO World Heritage Sites are managed by the Seychelles Islands Foundation, which runs the Aldabra research station and issues permits for access and research there. Aldabra is remote and fragile, and places are limited, so approach SIF early and formally. Our natural-heritage page explains what these places are.
• Conservation science more broadly. Long-running organisations such as Nature Seychelles work on island restoration and birds, and the Seychelles Fishing Authority governs marine and fisheries research. Your first move is to identify the body that owns your subject and write to it.
• Ethics and the environment ministry. The Ministry responsible for the environment oversees protected areas and species permits. Build the permission and any ethics clearance into your timeline from the start; it is the difference between a season of fieldwork and a season on the dock.