Request a Deferral of Admission

 

An offer of admission to a Dalhousie program is made for a specific academic start term. If you are unable to attend for the term specified, you may be eligible to defer your acceptance to a future term (up to a maximum of one year from your original start term). Please note that it may not be possible to defer acceptance to some programs with competitive enrolment.

Deferral requests are for students who have not yet started studying at Dalhousie University. Current undergraduate students looking to take a break from classes are not required to request permission for a leave of absence but must drop classes by the deadline to avoid incurring fees. However, please note that students who are away from Dalhousie for more than two consecutive terms (not including the summer) need to reapply for admission. Students withdrawing should contact their faculty directly for any important considerations regarding a lapse in studies. For full details, please see here.

Review and complete the following steps: 

  1. Complete the Reply Form
  2. Pay the non refundable confirmation deposit. 
  3. Once confirmed, the Deferral Form will become accessible in your Application PortalIf you plan on taking any secondary or post-secondary courses during this time you cannot defer but must reapply to a future term and provide transcripts from the institutions you will attend. 
  4. Granting of any deferral is conditional upon withdrawal from registered Dalhousie classes and the receipt of any outstanding final highschool or post-secondary grades for the remainder of the academic year. 
  5. If your request for deferral is conditionally approved, please ensure you drop any Dalhousie courses in which you are currently registered through Dal Online. (Please be aware that non-attendance in registered courses does not, in itself, constitute withdrawal).
  6. Failure to officially withdraw from your classes above will cause fees and interest to accrue on your account. When final grades are available for your current academic year, you must arrange to have official copies sent to formalize your deferral. See how to submit documents for more information. 
  7. If your deferral is approved, you must re-register for courses once registration opens for your deferred admit term. 
  8. Please note: Within two weeks of receiving your completed form, an Admissions Officer will contact you to outline your options if the deferral is unavailable for your program for the term requested after submission. Once your request has been reviewed you will receive email notification informing you of the decision