Dalhousie University

Founded 1818 | Halifax, NS

Dalhousie University is the largest university in Atlantic Canada and home to 56 Canada Research Chairs. Key research areas include healthy people, communities and populations; clean technology, energy and the environment; a sustainable ocean; food security; and culture, society and community development. Each area is supported by expertise in big data, innovation and entrepreneurship. Dal believes in giving undergrads access to research opportunities with experts. A large co-op program provides workplace experience, and all programs offer experiential learning.

“Dalhousie has everything you would look for in a large university, but with the community feeling that comes from a smaller institution,” says president Deep Saini. “It is research intensive, but simultaneously focused on teaching and student experience.”

The main campus is located in the heart of Halifax’s historic South End; two other downtown campuses are adjacent to Spring Garden Road, close to pubs, cafés and restaurants. A campus in Truro, N.S.—about an hour from Halifax—is home to the only agriculture program in Atlantic Canada. Halifax gets a significant amount of fog throughout the year, but the main campus, which combines historic stone buildings with contemporary architecture, is warm and welcoming.

Standout Programs

• Management: Core courses, such as accounting, marketing and economics, dominate the first two years; in upper years, students customize their degree with electives and an optional internship.

• Environment, Sustainability and Society: In this interdisciplinary program, students combine ESS with a second major; students explore the links between the environment and issues such as poverty, consumption and globalization.

• International Food Business: Students in this program, offered by the faculty of agriculture in Truro, explore the global food industry and earn two degrees in four years by spending a year abroad at the Aeres University in the Netherlands.

Tuition (includes compulsory ancillary fees)

$8,093 ($9,376 out-of-province students)

Minimum Entering Grades

Arts: 70% · Science: 75% · Commerce: 70-75% · Engineering: 70%

Student Body

Undergraduates: Full-time: 14,080 · Part-time: 1,602

Graduates: Full-time: 3,733 · Part-time: 802

International Students: First-year: 22.3% · Graduate: 31.3%

Male-Female Ratio: 45 to 55

Housing Facts

Residence Spaces: 2,082 (1,775 reserved for first-year students)

Residence Costs: Single room: $7,514 to $8,636 · Single room with meals: $11,262 to $14,305 · Apartment-style: $8,763 to $10,328

Cool Courses

• Field Studies of Marine Mammals: This intensive summer course with hands-on research includes a five-day camping trip during which students observe marine mammals from a whale-watching boat.

• Health: A Biopsychosocial Approach: Students examine the interactions of biological, psychological and social systems and learn how to apply these concepts to health issues in Canada.

Student Life on Campus

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