To be considered under the Black Learner seats, learners must self-identify as Black in Section 1 of the online application. Currently Dalhousie University’s registrar’s office has the following racial categories:
- Black/African Nova Scotian
- Black/African Canadian
- Black/African
Section 2 of the online application is specific to the MPAS. Applicants will be required to provide responses to the following self-identification questions:
1. Do you self-identify as Black?
2. If yes, please choose one you identify most with:
- African Nova Scotian*
- Black Nova Scotian (without ties to a historic African Nova Scotian community)
- Black/Indigenous
Applicants with a substantial connection to a historic African Nova Scotian community will be prioritized for admission to six Black Learner seats in the MPAS program. Black applicants from Nova Scotia who report substantial connection to their Black heritage will also be considered.
3. In a 250-500 word statement, how has your identification with, and connection to your Black ancestry and community impacted your educational path and goals?
Feel free to share your experiences, positive or negative, in getting to where they are today. This will assist in determining your suitability under this stream.
Self identified applicants will be reviewed by the Black Learners Admissions Subcommittee (BLAS) comprised of Black community and academic representation for consideration for these prioritized seats.
Information will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and clarification may be sought by members of the BLAS. Applications deemed ineligible in the Black Learner seats will be redirected to the general admissions pool.
* “African Nova Scotians are a distinct People whoseats willm free and enslaved Black Planters, Black Loyalists, Black Refugees, Maroons and other Black people who inhabited the original 52 land-based Black communities in that part of Mi’kma’ki known as Nova Scotia.” (African Nova Scotian Strategy)
