Eligibility & Applications

The following information is for Visiting Undergraduate Research Students only. Visiting Graduate Research Students can review the Faculty of Graduate Studies site for more information.

Visiting Undergraduate Research Students can include:

• Self-funded students
• Faculty-funded students (e.g. SSHERC, NSERC, NRC, CIHR)
• Mitacs Globalink Research or Research/Interns Award recipients
• Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program-ELAP award recipients
• Global Affairs Canada short-term research scholarships and exchanges (e.g. Emerging Leaders in the Americas [ELAP] Program, Canada-ASEAN Scholarships & Educational Exchanges for Development [SEED] Program, Study in Canada [SiC] scholarships, etc.).
• Foreign-funded students: China-Canada Scholars’ [CSC] Program, CAPES (Brazil), German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), etc.

Eligibility Criteria

• Students must be enrolled at an international educational institution other than Dalhousie University. Postdoctoral fellows and professors are not eligible to participate as Visiting Research Students. For more information about this category of international researchers, visit the Dalhousie Human Resources International Visitors page.
• Students must intend to come to the Dalhousie University solely for the purpose of conducting research on a full-time basis on a project that is part of their curriculum or academically relevant to their program.
• Students must obtain approval from the host and home supervisors for research activities to be conducted at the Dalhousie University.
• Academic research activities cannot lead to credits from Dalhousie. Researchers are not permitted to register in courses at Dalhousie University. The Registrar’s Office will enroll visiting researchers in a specially-coded course that will give them student status at Dalhousie.
• The duration of a student's research activities at Dalhousie is limited to a maximum of 12 months. Under special circumstances, a longer duration may be requested.

Application Process

• Visiting Research Students (VRS) must formally apply to Dal and be admitted as a special non-degree student. 
  1. Visit the Applying for Undergraduate Studies page to begin the application process.  
  2. Select “Apply Now for September 2024” and then create an account as a first-time user.  
  3. Once inside the application portal, select “Dalhousie Undergraduate Application” and complete the “Personal Information” page.  
  4. On the Program Selection page, select “non-degree application” followed by the “Non-Degree” option.  
  5. Under “Admission Term,” select the term that most closely matches your time at Dalhousie.  
  6. On the Academic History page, list the name of your current or most recent educational institution.  
  7. Digitally sign and provide your informed consent to complete the application
• As part of your application, you must provide the Registrar’s Office with the following documents: 
  1. A copy of the Letter of Invitation from your Dalhousie supervisor, and 
  2. A copy of the Letter of Support from your home university. The Letter of Support should indicate that your home university is aware that you will be doing research at Dalhousie and gives their official approval/support. 
  3. Send these documents to admissions.documents@dal.ca.
• Note: References, transcripts, TOEFL/IELTS scores, or other supporting documents are not required as part of the application.

Immigration Guidance

• Visiting Research Students are encouraged to contact the International Centre directly with any immigration-related questions.
• Supervising professors are encouraged to complete and submit to the International Centre an Immigration Information Form (PDF) to determine what immigration process(es) the Visiting Research Student must follow and what timelines may apply.

Please contact us if you have any questions about eligibility or the application process.