Scholarships

📌 Scholarship Application Deadline

Dalhousie offers several graduate scholarships and bursaries.

You apply for the following scholarships directly to your Faculty:

• One-year Masters Scholarship
• Nova Scotia Graduate Scholarships (Masters and Doctoral)
• Dalhousie Research Excellence Scholarship (Doctoral)
• Killam Predoctoral Award (Doctoral)

Each scholarship or award has its own eligibility criteria. Consult the Faculty of Graduate Studies scholarship pages for those conditions. All are open to international students. 

Scholarships are, first and foremost, merit-based awards.

Applications will be assessed on:

• Academic strength, as assessed by your transcripts
• The quality of the research proposal and your sustainability to act on that proposal
• Your publication (if any), with consideration for the quality of the publication venue and your contribution to the publication
• References (2)
• Achievements beyond your courses, such as awards and leadership activities

The weight of the factors differs between Masters and Doctoral students, but the greatest weight items are the research proposal, the publications, and your academic strength.

Applicants who have encountered special circumstances that affect their performance may submit an optional one-page note to outline those circumstances. 

📢 Applications

Applicants provide a single application for all the Faculty-assessed awards. You will be considered for all awards for which you are eligible with that single application. 

Applications for scholarships must be submitted by 4pm (Atlantic time), January 16, 2026, using the on-line form available at forms.cs.dal.ca, which will open in early January. All awards will be assigned to those applicants who submit applications by this time. Late applications will only be considered when awards are declined and only in cases of strong late applicants. 

We encourage members of equity-seeking groups to apply. 

The application process will ask you for: 

• Basic demographic information, including optional self-reported equity, diversity, and inclusion information
• Your target program of study and unofficial transcripts of all prior academic degrees after high school
• Your research proposal (maximum 2 pages), including statement of your suitability for the research
• Your CV, including any employment history, publications, scholarships and awards, and other achievements
• Two reference letters

See the admission guidelines for research proposals (item C) for advice on how to pose a research proposal. 

While applicants may receive feedback and guidance on their applications, your submissions must be your own. You may not have your supervisor write your research proposal for you nor have generative AI tools create or refine your application. 

📢 Scholarship Results & Acceptance

• We anticipate the award pool to be 9 Masters-level awards and 7 Doctoral-level awards. Success rates depend on the number of applicants. In January 2025, we received 90 applications for this set of awards.
• Successful applicants will receive notification directly through the contact information provided on their application form.
• You must formally accept the scholarship within three weeks of the notification date to secure your award.
• If acceptance is not received within this time-frame, the scholarship offer will be withdrawn and awarded to another candidate.