Application Process

Thank you for your interest in our department! 

Find a Supervisor

The first step in applying is to identify a potential supervisor. Please review our Faculty Profiles to determine who may be have experience in your preferred area of research and make contact with them to discuss your interest in joining the program. The supervisor typically funds his/her students from his/her research grant, but you are also encouraged to apply for external funding. For more information on external funding you can visit our Funding Opportunities page.

Apply to the Faculty of Graduate Studies

Once you have an interested supervisor, then you must apply to the Faculty of Graduate Studies. To learn more about applying, you can review the Faculty of Graduate Studies Admissions Requirements.

Apply to the Department

After you have submitted your online application and paid the application fee, you will need to submit the following supporting documents to our department:

• CV
• 2 transcripts of your previous academic work. These can be in the form of:
  
• Electronic file-transfers from the issuing institution and from services such as Parchment, National Student Clearinghouse, eScript-Safe, or TranscriptsNetwork. 
  
• PDFs sent by email directly from the issuing institution. 
  
• Unofficial copies of your transcripts provided by you. Once the department reviews your application, however, if you are accepted, you will be asked to provide official transcripts for the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
  
• 1 page letter detailing your previous research experience and current research interests
• For those whose previous degrees were not in English, Proof of English Proficiency (TOEFL or IELTS, we do not accept GRE)
  
• Letter of recommendation from your potential supervisor
• 2 reference letters. If you apply online, your references will be automatically prompted for a letter, which they will submit to us electronically through Dalhousie's eref system. 

These documents can be sent directly to the department at: gradpb@dal.ca

Important application deadlines

Canadian Students

• September admission: June 1st
• January admission: October 31st
• May admission: February 28th

International Students

• September admission: April 1st
• January admission: August 31st
• May admission: December 31st

For more information, please refer to our Admissions Policy [PDF - 178 KB].