Application Information

• Canadian applications - subject to availability of positions. Please contact the department.
• Non-Canadian Applicants - For September start: April 1; if visa processing is likely to be lengthy, please apply by March 1. Prospective PhD students: January or May start dates are also available, with August 31 or December 31 deadlines, respectively.

Applications and supporting documentation (official transcripts, IELTS/TOEFL scores, Reference Letters sent directly to the department) should be submitted well in advance of the appropriate deadlines to allow time for consideration by the department. The Department also requires a Research Statement (1-2 pages maximum) detailing past research experience and research interests for graduate study; a CV or resume is also requested for a full assessment of academic acceptability.

Admissions Criteria

Enrolment in our graduate program depends both on (1) securing a research supervisor and financial support and (2) meeting our standards for academic acceptability.

(1) Research supervisor and financial support. Our department has a diverse range of research interests. Therefore, to find a suitable research supervisor, direct contact with faculty members whose research activities are of interest is strongly encouraged. NOTE: this early contact with faculty should be made before formally applying to our program.

Financial support is also important, because graduate study with us is a full-time endeavor. Therefore, all of our graduate students receive financial support. This support typically comes from competitive scholarships awarded to the student or from graduate stipends derived from faculty research funds. Whether a potential research supervisor has a graduate stipend available can be learned through the early faculty contact noted above. Suggestion: when contacting faculty about a graduate position it is helpful to send a copy of your academic transcripts.

(2) Academic acceptability. Evaluation of academic acceptability is done by the department's Graduate Committee after receipt of a completed application by the Faculty of Graduate Studies. Academic acceptance into our graduate program is based on academic excellence (i.e., a minimum admissions GPA of 3.3 or better, as defined by Dalhousie's Faculty of Graduate Studies) and demonstrated research experience – both are essential. For the MSc program, our undergraduate degree requirements are usually met in the form of a four-year Honours B.Sc. degree (or equivalent) in biochemistry or a related field such as biology, chemistry or relevant biomedical sciences. A four-year B.Sc. without a formal Honours research component may be considered acceptable in the context of other research experience (e.g., co-op work terms, summer lab jobs). For direct admission to the PhD program, completion of a thesis-based MSc degree in an appropriate field of study is required. An applicant is informed promptly of the outcome of this academic evaluation provided that a prospective supervisor has been identified.

Additional requirements. A minimum TOEFL score of at least 600 (paper-based) or 100 (internet), or an IELTS score of at least 7.5, is necessary if your native language is not English. Documentation for this score must be officially issued by the testing agency. The TOEFL/IELTS requirement may be waived if your degree was earned at an institution where English is the language of instruction, plus English is one of the official languages of your home country. A Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) score is not required.

PLEASE NOTE

Graduate program admissions applications may be either completed online or in print. The current process is detailed on the Faculty of Graduate Studies website

Graduate Inquiries