Admissions
Application deadline
- December 1st - with funding consideration
- February 15th - NO Funding consideration
Only applicants who have submitted ALL application documents by the deadline will be considered. You have 2 weeks from the above stated deadlines to submit application documents, though you can connect with the Administrative Coordinator earlier about document submission process.
Faculty of Law
For LLM students
Applicants for admission to the LLM program should hold a first degree in law equivalent to the Dalhousie JD, passed with at least a 3.3 GPA (or Upper Second Class Honours). The ability to conduct independent research and work easily in the English language is a prerequisite for admission.
Candidates from outside Canada whose native language is other than English will be required to pass an English language proficiency test (TOEFL, 600/250/100) (IELTS 7.5 or higher).
In an application package there should be TWO letters of reference, preferably from academic specialists in law who are familiar with your work and your scholarly capabilities.
For doctoral students
Applicants for admission to the PhD program must have demonstrated superior academic ability during their previous legal education. Normally it will be necessary to have:
(i) attained at least the equivalent of a Dalhousie A- (3.7 GPA) average at the JD level; and
(ii) completed a Master's degree in law.
Preference will be given to applicants with published scholarship of a professional calibre. This will often be reflected on an applicant's CV.
The ability to conduct independent research and work easily in the English language is a prerequisite for admission. Candidates from outside Canada whose native language is other than English will be required to pass an English language proficiency test (TOEFL, 600/250/100) (IELTS 7.5 or higher).
In an application package there should be TWO letters of reference, preferably from academic specialists in law who are familiar with your work and your scholarly capabilities.
In applying for admission, an applicant must submit a preliminary Thesis Proposal (maximum approximately 3,000 words). The Proposal should outline the proposed research, address existing literature in the area and methodological and theoretical approaches which will be employed. The Proposal should be sufficient to enable the Graduate Studies Committee to assess the suitability of the topic for development of the doctoral thesis, as well as the availability of supervisory resources and the capability of the applicant to undertake the project.
The Faculty of Graduate Studies sets the minimum admission standards that are required for entry into graduate programs. Individual departments may require additional qualifications of their candidates, and enrolment limitations usually mean that successful applicants possess qualifications that considerably exceed the minimum requirements. For more information on additional qualifications please see the program you are applying to on the graduate program page.
Common admission criteria
Department-specific admission criteria
Some departments have individualized admissions criteria--such as a GMAT, GRE, portfolio, or minimum GPA--which may be higher than the Dalhousie standard. See below for a list of departments with non-standard minimum GPAs.
English language proficiency
English is the language of study at Dalhousie; therefore all applicants whose first language is not English must demonstrate their capacity to pursue a graduate-level program in English before admission (see chart below). The language competency test may be waived if the applicant has completed a degree at a recognized university where the language of instruction is English in a country where English is one of the national languages. The claims must be verified by the Faculty of Graduate Studies. Test scores are valid for two years from the date the test was written.
Dalhousie accepts a number of different English proficiency test scores:
| Test Name | Minimum Acceptable Score |
|---|---|
| Internet-based TOEFL (Academic iBT) | 92 |
| IELTS (Academic) | 7 |
| MET | C1-level and 4-skills test required 64 (with no skills area below 53) |
| CAEL | 70 with no band score lower than 60 |
| Dalhousie College of Continuing Education (CCE) | A- |
| Pearson English Test PTE Academic | overall score of 65 and nothing below 54 |
Please note there are a number of programs that require higher test scores. See below for a list of these programs.
The Faculty of Graduate Studies is accepting the results of at home TOEFL tests and the CAEL ONLINE test as official. The use of these tests for admission to graduate studies at Dalhousie may be reassessed in the future.