Important Note about Selecting your References

Please note the following:

• for those applicants who have been out of school for some time, we do accept letters of reference from clinical instructors (if you are still in contact with any of them), clinical nurse educators with whom you have worked closely, or instructors from a certificate program (for example, the Nova Scotia Health RNPDC).
• Your academic reference should come from someone who can speak to your academic ability, areas of expertise, ability to learn and problem solve, and your suitability for the NP program / MN MH&A program from an academic perspective.
• Your managerial reference must be from a current manager to whom you directly report. It may not be a peer or colleague – these references will not be considered when evaluating your application – it must be someone who manages you directly and can speak to your nursing assessment skills and attributes that make you suitable for the MN NP Program/ MN Mental Health and Addictions Program.
• Reference letters should be submitted through the electronic reference system in the online application. We do not require letters of recommendation other than the standard format provided through the e-reference system.
• 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 personal email addresses, such as Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, or business addresses). Please allow five 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.
• We prefer that all reference forms are sent using the electronic reference system. However, if you are using a professional reference for your application and are unable to use the graduate online e-reference system because of their email address (ie. Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail or business address), please email graduate.nursing@dal.ca with your request, and provide the name(s) and email address(es) for your referee(s). We will send the confidential reference form to your referees, and request that they complete and send the PDF form directly to our office via email.