Place of Residence
Entrance to the MPAS Program is currently 24 students annually.
Beginning with the 2026 application cycles (for entry in January 2027), four of those seats will be allocated to Maritime applicants--three students from New Brunswick and one from Prince Edward Island.
20 of the 24 seats will be prioritized for Nova Scotia residents during the application process. If all 20 seats are not filled by Nova Scotian candidates, Maritime Canadian applicants will be considered.
Applicants from outside of the Maritime Provinces, and those who are not permanent residents, will not be considered.
Applicants must be Canadian citizens or Canadian permanent residents (valid and non-expired) at the time of application deadline. International students are not eligible for these positions.
Residency Policy
For the purpose of applying to the Master of Physician Assistant program at Dalhousie University, you are considered a resident of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick or Prince Edward Island if you meet one of the three following criteria:
Criteria A |
Within [twelve (12) years] of the date of application, the applicant has completed four (4) years of junior high/high school between grade 7 and grade 12 in the same Maritime Province (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick or PEI). This includes those students who are deemed to have met Nova Scotia, New Brunswick or PEI junior high/high school requirements through other equivalent means (e.g. homeschooling) in the same Maritime Province. Proof of completion of high school in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick or PEI via an official government-issued or local school transcript may be required. |
Criteria B |
At the time of application to the program, and for at least the immediate six (6) prior years, the permanent** address for the applicant is located in the same province (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, or PEI) for the purpose of attending high school and/or post-secondary study and/or employment. |
Criteria C |
At the time of application to the program and, for at least the immediate three (3) prior years, the permanent address** for the applicant is located in the same province (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, or PEI) while NOT attending a post-secondary institution on either a part-time or full-time basis, in-person or virtually. |
Applicants may be required to provide evidence of permanent home address in the Province in the form of government-issued documents.
**An applicant's 'permanent address' is defined as:
- the address where one physically resides for at least 10 months each year for the last 3 consecutive years immediately prior to application while not attending a post-secondary institution on a full-time or part-time basis, in person or virtually; OR
- the address where one physically resides for at least 10 months each year for the last 6 consecutive years immediately prior to application while attending high school and/or post-secondary institution and/or actively employed; OR
- the address within 100km of one's employment for the last 3 years immediately prior to application while not attending a post-secondary institution on a full-time or part-time basis, in person or virtually.
If you do not meet any of the criteria above but believe your application should be considered a resident of one of the Maritime provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick or PEI) for other reasons you can submit a brief statement (250 words) providing your rationale within Section 1 of the online application prior to the section 1 deadline. Some examples could include, but are not limited to: having recently acquired Canadian Permanent residency or Canadian Citizenship and have lived only in the same Maritime province prior to application deadline; those identifying as Indigenous and/or African Nova Scotian who are currently living outside of the Maritime Provinces and have substantial connections to Mi'kmaq, Wolastoqiyik, Peskotomuhkati, African Nova Scotian or Black Maritime communities.
Applications may be reviewed on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the Admissions Subcommittee for evidence of substantial connection to and engagement with Maritime communities such as, but not limited to, birthplace, location of educational study, extended periods of lived experience in Maritime Communities, total number of years lived in the same Maritime province. Additional documentation (such as but not limited to birth certificate, high school diploma, academic transcripts, utility bills with address over the designated time period, residential lease or mortgage, payroll documents and redacted tax returns) may be requested. Submitting a statement does not guarantee allocation of in-province status.
Applicants are required to give complete information on their residency status and residency history in their application.
English Language Requirements
Dalhousie graduate programs require students to have a high level of English language proficiency to be successful. To ensure you possess the language skills necessary to thrive, we ask all students who speak English as an additional language to demonstrate their abilities through a language competency test.
It is possible to have this requirement waived if you completed your degree at a recognized university where the language of instruction is English and, in a country, where English is one of the official languages. You will be able to request this waiver during the application process. Requests can be sent to pa.admissions@dal.ca.
Please visit the Faculty of Graduate Studies website here for a list of accepted English language proficiency tests.