Academic City University Ghana has signed a landmark agreement with the American University of Antigua College of Medicine (AUA) that removes one of the most persistent barriers facing Ghanaian students who want to become doctors but cannot access the limited number of places available in the country’s own medical schools.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed on February 19, 2026, establishes a formal pipeline between the two institutions: qualified graduates of Academic City University will receive guaranteed admission into AUA’s Doctor of Medicine (MD) programme, with significant financial and administrative benefits built into the pathway.
Under the partnership, Academic City graduates who meet the required admission criteria will receive a waiver of the application fee, an expedited admissions process, and a waiver of the pre-registration seat deposit upon acceptance. Beyond process advantages, the deal carries direct financial relief. Eligible students admitted through the pathway will qualify for a US$5,000 Preferred Programme Grant paid in instalments during the pre-clinical phase of the programme, with AUA expected to award up to 15 such grants annually across its three academic intakes. Students may also be considered for additional scholarships targeting diversity within the medical profession.
AUA, established in 2002 in Antigua and Barbuda, operates one of the Caribbean’s most recognised international medical schools, whose graduates have secured residencies across nearly all 50 United States states in the institution’s more than two decades of operation. The school is recognised by several US state medical licensing boards including New York, California, and Massachusetts.
The Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Academic City University, Dr. Lucy Agyepong, framed the deal within the university’s broader ambition to ensure its graduates contribute meaningfully to healthcare both in Ghana and internationally. She added that the agreement opens avenues for faculty exchange, joint research, and shared learning resources between the two institutions.
AUA President Dr. Peter Bell said the partnership was designed to produce physicians equipped for practice in diverse, global clinical environments, a standard that aligns with Ghana’s urgent need for doctors who can deliver quality care outside the major cities.
The agreement arrives at a moment of acute sensitivity around Ghana’s physician supply. The government is simultaneously pursuing a payroll ultimatum against doctors who have refused rural postings, a policy standoff that reflects the structural mismatch between where Ghana trains doctors and where it needs them most. Expanding the pipeline of Ghanaian medical graduates, through international pathways like the one Academic City and AUA have now formalised, forms one part of the longer-term answer to that problem.
Academic City University, which positions itself as Ghana’s premier Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) and entrepreneurship university, has been building its international academic partnerships steadily, with students recently winning the Sustainable Packaging category at the 2026 WorldStar Global Packaging Awards.
