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Submit supporting documents

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Submitting your supporting documents

Your application for graduate studies requires supporting documents that help your program determine your admissibility. You will need to submit transcripts and reference letters and may also be required to supply additional test scores, a statement of interest or samples of work. It can be time consuming to assemble this information, so be sure to review what is required and budget your time accordingly. 

To complete your application, you must send your supporting documents directly to the academic department to which you are applying. Please note that some departments may have different requirements for admissions documents as part of your internal application. Please contact the department that you are applying to for their specific requirements.

Transcripts

Transcript submission for new applicants

  • For your initial application to graduate studies, we only require your unofficial academic transcripts for each post-secondary institution you have attended. Please include degree certificates if degree conferral is not stated on your transcripts.
  • If you are accepted for admission, your final and official transcripts will be required within 90 days of the start of your program.
  • Email your unofficial transcripts to the department you are applying to. Transcripts should include your first and last name, degree, program type and name of degree issuing university. 

Transcript submission for newly accepted students

If you have been accepted to Dalhousie University, please send your final and official transcripts, stating degree completion, to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in any of the following ways within 90 days of the start of your program:

  • Electronic file-transfers from the issuing institution and from services such as Parchment, National Student Clearinghouse, eScript-Safe, TranscriptsNetwork or MyCreds. Electronic transcripts are to be sent to graduate.studies@dal.ca.  
  • PDFs sent by email directly from the issuing institution. These emailed transcripts are to be sent to graduate.studies@dal.ca.   
  • If you are unable to have your official transcripts sent from the issuing institution, you may email an unofficial copy of your transcripts to graduate.studies@dal.ca from your official Dalhousie email account. You may be required to provide proof of the inability for the issuing institution to send documents directly.
  • While official e-copies of your transcripts are preferred, official paper copies can be mailed to:
        Faculty of Graduate Studies
        Room 314, Henry Hicks Academic Administration Building
        6299 South Street
        PO Box 15000
        Halifax, NS, Canada B3H 4R2

Transcripts must include your first and last name, degree, program type, name of degree issuing university and date of degree completion. Degree and graduation certificates must be included if your transcript do not indicate the type of degree and date granted.

Additional important information:

  • Transcripts in languages other than English or French must be accompanied by an English translation provided by the institution issuing the transcript.

  • Notarized copies of transcripts are not permitted.

  • Degree and graduation certificates must be included if the transcript does not indicate the type of degree and date granted. 

  • Transcripts submitted with applications become the property of Dalhousie University, are subject to verification, are not available for copying and will not be returned to the applicant.

  • Official transcripts are not required for any courses or degrees you have completed at Dalhousie University.

Reference letters

Two letters of reference are required for admission into a graduate degree. These letters are normally required to be from academics familiar with your work but may be replaced with relevant professional references for some course-based professional master's programs. If accepted, professional references can be submitted according to the following schedule:

  1. For applicants who completed their undergraduate (or related graduate) degree within the past three years: Two academic references.
  2. For applicants who completed their undergraduate (or related graduate) degree three to five years ago: a) one academic reference and one relevant professional reference, or b) two academic references.
  3. For applicants who completed their undergraduate (or related graduate) degree more than five years ago: a) two relevant professional references, or b) one academic reference and one relevant professional reference, or c) two academic references.

If you are using a professional reference for your application and are unable to use the graduate online e-reference system, please contact the program you are applying to, as they may have a preferred method for reference delivery.

Reference letters are provided in confidence to Dalhousie University for the purposes of determining your suitability for admission to an academic program, receipt of an honour or award, or evaluating your research projects and materials and will be kept confidential. This confidential reference may be used internally by Dalhousie University for the purposes of considering you for institutional, provincial and federal awards or scholarships.

Reference letters can be submitted through the electronic reference system in the online application. You may also submit a paper reference letter in a sealed, stamped envelope which is endorsed across the back seal by the referee and mailed to the address indicated on the confidential reference form [PDF - 160kb]. To assist your reference, you may consider providing a stamped envelope, addressed to the department to which you are applying, and have them mail the letter directly. If the reference letter is given to you directly, do not open the envelope.

E-reference submission

If using the e-reference system, make sure to have the email addresses of your referees ready to list when completing the online application. Dalhousie University will only accept university, teaching hospital, and government email addresses (i.e. not personal email addresses, such as Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, or business addresses). Please allow five business days for your referee(s) to be contacted by our system. If you made an error in the submission of an email address, please contact eref@dal.ca.

English language proficiency test results

If you speak English as an additional language, results to verify your English proficiency must be provided to the Faculty of Graduate Studies before you start your program. You will not be able to register for classes until your ESL scores are verified. To do this:

  • Send your verifiable ESL test results as PDF documents to graduate.studies@dal.ca.
  • Request your testing centre make your results accessible to Dalhousie University.
  • FGS will verify your results through the site of your testing centre.

Other supporting documentation

Additional tests or documentation may be necessary for admission into your program of choice. Please review your program’s requirements before completing this step. Examples of supplementary documentation include:  

  • GMAT
  • GRE
  • CV
  • Statement of intent
  • Statement of research interests
  • Portfolio