WELCOME TO FASS Helpful information for first-year undergraduate students
The 2025 (winter term) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences newsletter for first-year students
A message to new students from the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Hello and welcome to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) at Dalhousie University!
My name is Dr. Jennifer Andrews and I'm the Dean of FASS. We're looking forward to welcoming you to the FASS and Dal community, and we're excited to be a part of your journey to accomplish your post-secondary education goals.
As you prepare to come to campus as we begin the winter term, I hope you take advantage of all that Dalhousie has to offer for students and our community. I am eager to help you to fulfill your dreams and aspirations as you undertake your degree in one of the most dynamic and wide-ranging faculties on the Dalhousie campus. Professors in FASS provide you with the opportunities to explore subject areas that you are passionate about and to learn how to think critically, analyze arguments, and communicate effectively.
Visit www.dal.ca/fass/programs for more information on all of our programs. Click here to access further links to resources that you may find helpful as a new FASS student.
Remember too that learning communities extend far beyond the classroom. I would encourage you to engage with advocacy groups, student clubs, and societies. You can connect with fellow first-year students as well as upper-year students by getting involved with the Dalhousie Arts and Social Sciences Student Society (also known as DASSS). There are also many student societies housed within the departments and programs across FASS that you should consider joining - getting involved with department and program societies is a great way to meet students with interests similar to your own, to become more familiar with faculty members and staff, and to become more involved with the departments/programs. Click here to find details about many of the student societies at Dalhousie.
Several of our programs offer courses abroad where you can travel and explore new places while on your learning journey. FASS has a great number of opportunities for study abroad that we encourage you to consider.
I look forward to meeting you in the months ahead and wish you all the best in your transition to university life. If you have any questions for me, you can reach me at fassdean@dal.ca.
Getting started in FASS
Welcome! We are so happy that you chose the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Dalhousie.
My name is Dr. Lindsay DuBois and I am the Associate Dean Academic of the Faculty, which means that it is my job to help support existing Academic programs and to foster new ones.
I expect for many of you, these terms – Honours, Major, Minor, Certificate – are bewildering right now. They indicate different degrees of concentration in a subject area. So you will build your own program around your passions and interests. You don’t have to choose only one. For example, you could Major in Political Science, with a Minor in Indigenous Studies, adding a Certificate in Theatre Creation. The possibilities are pretty amazing. We know that all this choice can also be a bit daunting. Don’t worry, this first year is all about exploring and finding what types of courses and programs interest you the most. For those of you registered as Dalhousie students at the start of your Bachelor of Arts degree, when you return to Dal next fall you will take either one of our first year lecture courses: Introduction to the Humanities (ASSC 1300) and Introduction to the Social Sciences (ASSC 1400). These courses, only offered in the fall term, are designed especially for you, to introduce you to the range of academic disciplines, approaches, and ideas we teach here. Some of the disciplines that we offer will be familiar, but some may not. For example, I ended up as an anthropologist. Anthropology is the study of people, societies, and cultures across the globe, but it is a word I had not even heard before I arrived at university! In other words, there is a lot to discover on this journey you are on.
If you have questions about FASS courses or programs, or suggestions about ideas for how we can best help you to succeed in a degree that fits you, I’d love to hear them! Please don’t hesitate to contact me at fassadac@dal.ca . I hope to see you around Dal. Have a wonderful term!
Academic Support for FASS Students
Hello, and welcome to the winter term at Dal!
I’m Dr. Becca Babcock, the Assistant Dean of Student Matters in FASS.I’m the person you might come to when something’s gone wrong. If something has gotten in the way of your academic progress, if you discover that your program or your classes are not what you’d hoped they might be, if unexpected issues prevent you from completing your courses, or if you’re facing academic probation or even dismissal, please come and talk to me. We’ll figure out your options together.
Many new students discover that university is the first time they are accountable to themselves—not to teachers or parents or bosses or families. This discovery will lead to new skills, new strategies, new ways of understanding, and new ways of approaching challenges. I hope that you find this academic journey fulfilling and successful. If you need support from my office along the way, please contact me at asstdeanfass@dal.ca.
During the fall and winter academic terms, I hold drop-in hours to allow students the option to drop in to my office to talk to me without an appointment. My drop-in hours are: Wednesdays from 12:00 pm (noon) to 4:00 pm in the Office of the Dean, room 3030 of the Marion McCain Arts and Social Sciences Building.
If you'd like to book an in-person or online meeting with me, please email asstdeanfass@dal.ca to schedule an in-person or virtual appointment.
I hope you have a great and successful start as a Dalhousie FASS student! All the best to you in 2025!
The FASS First-Year Buddies Program!
We are inviting new first-year Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) students that are beginning their first term at Dalhousie in January 2025 to sign up for the FASS First-Year Buddies program! This program will connect new first-year FASS students (starting in the winter term) with a current, returning first-year FASS student that started at Dalhousie in the Fall 2024 term. The FASS Buddy Mentors will introduce the FASS Buddy Mentees to some key resources and supports that are available across Dalhousie's campus and online.
If you’d like to join the FASS First-Year Buddies program, you’ll be introduced to a returning first-year student (a FASS Buddy Mentor) who has already completed a term at Dal. Your Mentor will share some tips and advice they have already learned and help introduce you to Dal student life in Halifax, Nova Scotia. You’ll also be invited to attend a FASS First-Year Buddies meet-and-greet event in January.
Kick off the 2025 winter semester with Winter Welcome Week!
Dalhousie University is excited to welcome new and returning students to campus for the Winter 2025 semester with the Winter Welcome Week! Two free events are planned for early January for all students on the Halifax campuses: the Dalplex Pool Party and Dal Gives Back.
Check out this great interview featuring Dr. Becca Babcock (Assistant Dean, Student Matters for FASS) who sat down with two current Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences students - Kriti Maini (who is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts with Combined Honours in Political Science and History and is also the President of the Dalhousie Arts and Social Sciences Society - also known as DASSS - find them on Instagram) and Jeremie Boudreau (a Bachelor of Music student with a concentration in Composition) - who shared some details about their Dal FASS experience and why future post-secondary students should consider studying in the humanities, social sciences, and performing arts at Dalhousie University!
FASS Locations Across Dal's Studley Campus in Halifax, Nova Scotia
The Marion McCain Arts and Social Sciences Building
This building, located at 6135 University Avenue, is home to most of the FASS departments and programs' offices (plus lounges that students are welcome to use!) including Classics, English, French, German, History, International Development Studies, Philosophy, Russian Studies, Sociology & Social Anthropology, Spanish & Latin American Studies, the Multidisciplinary Centre, and the Office of the Dean. This building also houses two lecture auditoriums, dozens of classrooms, computer labs, study spaces, and faculty members' offices. When you arrive to campus, you'll notice a lot of construction happening on the McCain Building as it's currently undergoing an exterior siding, roof and windows renewal. But fear not - the building is stilll open and operational and we're looking forward to welcoming new and returning students into the McCain building!
The Henry Hicks Building
The Henry Hicks Academic Building, located at 6299 South Street (you can access this building from University Avenue by walking up past the Killam Library and through the Studley Quad), houses the Political Science department (which is one of the departments in FASS). The Hicks also houses classrooms, the Registrar's Office, Student Accounts, the Faculty of Graduate Studies and a number of student services and administration offices including Human Rights & Equity Services.
The Fountain School of Performing Arts Building
This new (2022) building, located at 1385 Seymour Street houses the Fountain School of Performing Arts's 300-seat Joseph Strug Concert Hall, innovative practice and rehearsal spaces, and the Costume Studies studios. You will also find study, performance and practice spaces; as well as faculty and staff members' offices at the adjoining Dalhousie Arts Centre (home of the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium and the Dal Art Gallery) at 6101 University Avenue. Together, the two buildings house The Fountain School which encompasses Dalhousie's Music, Theatre, and Cinema and Media Studies programs.
