How to Apply

Official academic transcripts and degree certificates (if degree conferral not stated on transcripts) are required for each post-secondary institution attended. FGS will not require paper-based documents to support any application between the terms starting January 2020, May 2021 and September 2021. Documents can instead be sent electronically. Please see below for more information.

Transcript submission from applicants:

For applicants applying for January 2021, May 2021 and September 2021, the Faculty of Graduate Studies will allow:

• Electronic file-transfers from the issuing institution and from services such as Parchment, National Student Clearinghouse, eScript-Safe, or TranscriptsNetwork. Electronic transcripts are to be sent directly to the department you are applying to. 
• PDFs sent by email directly from the issuing institution. These emailed transcripts are to be sent directly to the department you are applying to. 

If you are unable to have your official transcripts sent from the issuing institution, Dalhousie will allow you to email the department you are applying to an unofficial copy of your transcripts. You may be required to provide proof of the inability for the issuing institution to send documents directly. Transcripts must include your first and last name, degree and program type and name of degree issuing university.

Transcript submission from newly-accepted students:

For students that have been accepted to Dalhousie University for January 2021, May 2021 and September 2021, you can send your final transcripts, stating degree completion, to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in any of the ways provided below:

• Electronic file-transfers from the issuing institution and from services such as Parchment, National Student Clearinghouse, eScript-Safe, or TranscriptsNetwork. Electronic transcripts are to be sent to graduate.studies@dal.ca. 
• PDFs sent by email directly from the issuing institution. These emailed transcripts are to be sent to graduate.studies@dal.ca.  

If you are unable to have your official transcripts sent from the issuing institution, you may email an unofficial copy of your transcripts to graduate.studies@dal.ca. This email should be sent from your official Dalhousie email account. You may be required to provide proof of the inability for the issuing institution to send documents directly. Transcripts must include your first and last name, degree and program type, name of degree issuing university and date of degree completion. Degree and graduation certificates must be included if the transcript does not indicate the type of degree and date granted.

Your final transcripts will be required within 90 days of the start of your program.

*Note that FGS reserves the right to verify the validity of all documents provided, as well as the inability of an issuing institution to issue documents.  

Important transcript details:

• Transcripts in languages other than English or French must be accompanied by an English translation provided by the institution issuing the transcript.
• Notarized copies of transcripts are not permitted.
• Degree and graduation certificates must be included if the transcript does not indicate the type of degree and date granted.
• Transcripts submitted with applications become the property of Dalhousie University, are subject to verification, are not available for copying and will not be returned to the applicant.
• Official transcripts are not required for any courses or degrees you have completed at Dalhousie University.

Two letters of reference are required for admission into a graduate degree. These letters are normally required to be from academics familiar with the applicant but may be replaced with relevant professional references for some course-based professional master's programs. If accepted, professional references can be submitted according to the following schedule:

1. For applicants who completed their undergraduate (or related graduate) degree within the past 3 years: two academic references.
2. For applicants who completed their undergraduate (or related graduate) degree 3 to 5 years ago: a) one academic reference and one relevant professional reference, or b) two academic references.
3. For applicants who completed their undergraduate (or related graduate) degree more than 5 years ago: a) two relevant professional references or, b) one academic reference and one relevant professional reference, or c) two academic references.

For professional reference letters contact your department. Contact the department you are applying to with the email addresses of your professional references, so the department can contact your referees. Please also let your referees know that they will be contacted by the department.

Reference letters provided in confidence to Dalhousie University for purposes of determining a candidate's suitability for admission to an academic program, receipt of an honour or award, or evaluating the applicant's research projects and materials will be kept confidential. This confidential reference may be used internally by Dalhousie University for the purposes of considering the applicant for institutional, provincial and federal awards or scholarships.

Reference letters can be submitted through the electronic reference system in the online application. You may also submit a paper reference letter in a sealed, stamped envelope which is endorsed across the back seal by the referee and mailed to the address indicated on the paper reference form [PDF - 160kb]. To assist your reference, you may consider providing a stamped envelope, addressed to the department to which you are applying, and have them mail the letter directly. If the reference is given to the student directly, do not open the envelope.

E-reference submission

If using the e-reference system, make sure to have the email addresses of your referees ready to list when completing the online application. Dalhousie University will only accept university, teaching hospital, and government email addresses (i.e. not Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, or business addresses). Please allow 5 business days for your referee(s) to be contacted by our system. If you made an error in the submission of an email address, please contact eref@dal.ca.

Other supplementary documentation, such as English language proficiency scores, GMAT, GRE, CV, statement of intent, statement of research interests, portfolio, etc. as required by your department.

Please check with your department to determine if additional documents are required.

If you plan to self-fund your studies, please include an original teller-stamped or equivalent bank statement showing that you have sufficient funds for your full program fees (fee calculator) plus $1200 per month for the full term of your studies.

Each program will list their faculty, and give information about each faculty member’s research and publications on their websites. Go to the list of Dalhousie programs, select the program you are interested in, then choose Faculty or Department Members to see prospective supervisors.

Once you’ve found one or two potential supervisors, read a few of their publications to make sure you are interested in their research and that they have the right expertise for the project or subject area you plan to do you thesis work on.

If your prospective supervisor looks like a good fit for your research interest, then the simplest way forward is to send a clear and concise email directly to the potential supervisor.