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Dalhousie University Admissions & Deadlines
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Core application items, supplements, deadlines, and proof. This focused guide keeps the detailed tables, official sources, and practical next steps in one manageable reading path.
The short answer
- Dalhousie applications for Fall 2027 open October 1, 2026, through apply.dal.ca, with a $70 CAD fee.
- The 2027–2028 General Entrance Award application opens October 1, 2026, and closes February 15, 2027.
- Dalhousie sets a minimum average per program, not one university-wide cut-off.
- The average uses five Grade 12 courses, and Academic English 12 is required for every program.
- Program-specific Fall 2027 deadlines are not yet published; the February 15 and March 1 dates are last cycle's pattern.
Reviewed October 8, 2026 · Official university sources · How we review guides
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Fall 2027 admissions planning
Dalhousie University admission requirements by program
Dalhousie does not have one cut-off for the whole university. It publishes a minimum average for each program. This average is calculated on five academic Grade 12 courses. Academic English 12 is required for every program. The published minimums run from 70% in Arts, Management, Engineering, and Nursing to 75% in Commerce and Science and 80% in Medical Sciences. Dalhousie states in its own words that meeting the minimum average does not guarantee admission.
Average formula
Five Grade 12 courses
Calculated using the five courses required for the program applied for, always including Academic English 12.
Fall 2027 opens
October 1, 2026
Dalhousie's own undergraduate admissions page confirms this. It is a real cycle date, not a pattern that repeats.
Application route
apply.dal.ca
Dalhousie is not an OUAC (Ontario's university application site) school. But Ontario applicants can give an OUAC number. Then grades transfer automatically.
Official-source conflict
Dalhousie's own pages disagree about which cycle is live
Two first-party pages already show the next cycle. The undergraduate admissions page states that applications for Fall 2027 open on October 1. The awards page names the 2027–2028 General Entrance Award program opening October 1, 2026 and closing February 15, 2027. The central dates-and-deadlines page still publishes only the September 2026 entry sequence. Use the two confirmed 2027 dates. Treat every program-specific deadline below as last cycle's pattern until Dalhousie relabels it.
Published minimum averages and required courses
| Program | Published minimum | Required Grade 12 | Planning note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arts (BA) | 70% | Academic English 12 plus four additional academic Grade 12 subjects; no mathematics required | In Ontario this means ENG4U, ETS4U, or NBE4U plus four more 4U/4M academic credits. |
| Health Promotion / Therapeutic Recreation | 70% | Academic English 12 plus four additional academic subjects; no mathematics required | Health Sciences routes carry separate non-academic requirements on top of the average. |
| Management (BMgmt) | 70% | Academic English 12, Academic Math 12, plus three additional | Ontario mathematics can be MDM4U, MHF4U, or MCV4U on Dalhousie's own equivalency chart. |
| Applied Computer Science | 70% | Academic English 12 at 65%, Academic Math 12 at 65%, plus three additional university-prep courses at 60% | The general table omits individual marks; the Applied Computer Science program page gives 65% in English and math and 60% in the other three courses. Confirm the program-specific requirements with Dalhousie. |
| Computer Science | 70% | Academic English 12 at 65%, Academic Math 12 at 70% or Pre-calculus Math 12 at 65%, plus three additional university-prep courses at 60% | The mathematics grade floor is separate from, and on top of, the 70% overall minimum. |
| Community Design | 70% | Academic English 12, Academic Math 12, one science, plus two additional | Community Design sits in Architecture and Planning; Architecture itself is a separate later-entry route. |
| Engineering (BEng) | 70% | Academic English 12, Pre-calculus Math 12, Academic Chemistry 12, Academic Physics 12, plus one additional | Use Dalhousie's Ontario equivalency chart for pre-calculus. English, mathematics, chemistry and physics are required subjects, not four science courses. |
| Nursing (BScN, Semester 1) | 70% | Academic English 12, Academic Math 12, Academic Biology 12 and Academic Chemistry 12, each at 70% on the Nursing program page, plus one additional academic subject | The general requirements table lists these courses without individual marks; the Nursing program page explicitly requires 70% in each. Confirm with Dalhousie. The 70% overall minimum is not a guaranteed competitive average. |
| Commerce (BComm) | 75% | Academic English 12, Academic Math 12, plus three additional | Commerce is the co-op-integrated Management degree and sits 5 points above the Management minimum. |
| Kinesiology | 75% | Academic English 12, Academic Math 12, plus three additional | Dalhousie says this program may use a competitive average, so 75% is a floor and not a prediction. |
| Recreation Management | 70% | Academic English 12, Academic Math 12, plus three additional | Recreation (Therapeutic) uses the 70% no-math pattern, so confirm which recreation route you mean. |
| Music (BMus) | 70% | Academic English 12 plus four additional academic subjects | Applicants must also show proficiency as an instrumental or vocal performer in an audition or interview. |
| Science (BSc) | 75% | Academic English 12, Pre-calculus Math 12, plus three additional | Pre-calculus is the Science requirement, not data management. Ontario applicants should present MHF4U or MCV4U. |
| Health Sciences technologies | 75% | Academic English 12 at a minimum 70% plus discipline-specific sciences at 70%: Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound (math, physics, biology), Nuclear Medicine (math, physics, chemistry), Radiological Technology (math, physics, plus biology or chemistry), Respiratory Therapy (math, chemistry, plus biology or physics) | These four technologies share a 75% overall minimum but each names a different science trio at 70%. |
| Medical Sciences (BSc) | 80% | Academic English 12 and Pre-calculus Math 12 at 80%, Chemistry 12 and Biology 12 or Physics 12 at 75%, plus one additional academic subject | The general table omits individual marks; the Medical Sciences program page gives the 80% English/math and 75% science floors. Confirm with Dalhousie. Its 80% overall minimum is the highest on the general table. |
| Agriculture / Pre-Veterinary Medicine / Bioveterinary Science | 75% | Academic English 12, Pre-calculus Math 12, plus three additional | Delivered on the Agricultural Campus in Truro, roughly an hour from Halifax. |
| Agricultural Campus diplomas | 60% to 70% | Business Management and Plant Science Technology use a 60% minimum with Grade 11 math; Veterinary Technology uses 60% with Academic Math 12 and Academic Biology 12; Landscape Horticulture uses 70% | The diploma routes are the lowest published entry thresholds at Dalhousie. They are technology-level credentials, not degree-level. |
Watch the course-level grade floors, not just the average
Several Dalhousie programs set a per-course minimum that sits above the overall average. Computer Science needs Academic Math 12 at 70% or Pre-calculus Math 12 at 65%. Nursing needs English, math, biology, and chemistry each at 70% on top of the 70% overall. The four health technologies need Academic English 12 at a minimum 70% plus their own named science trio at 70%. A 78% overall average with a 65% in chemistry can fail a program whose stated minimum is 70%.
Current application and award schedule
| Checkpoint | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2027 application opens | October 1, 2026 | Confirmed. Dalhousie's undergraduate admissions page states that applications for Fall 2027 open on October 1. |
| 2027–2028 General Entrance Award application | Opens October 1, 2026; closes February 15, 2027 | Confirmed. The awards page names the 2027–2028 program explicitly with both dates. |
| Fall 2027 program-specific application deadlines | Not yet published | The dates-and-deadlines page still shows only September 2026 entry. So the February 15 Nursing/Health Sciences/Medical Sciences/Social Work date and the March 1 Architecture date are last cycle's pattern. They are not confirmed 2027 dates. |
| Guaranteed residence application | May 1 (2026 cycle label) | The residence guarantee is stated without a year on the apply-for-residence page; the dated May 1, 2026 version appears on the deadlines page. Treat May 1, 2027 as the working date and verify. |
| Early entrance award acceptance | January 31 (2026 cycle label) | Early award offers must be accepted by paying the admission deposit by January 31; the deadlines page labels this Jan. 31, 2026. |
| Offer and General Entrance Award acceptance | May 15 (2026 cycle label) | Published as May 15, 2026 for the current cycle; the 2027 equivalent has not been posted. |
Application checklist
- 1.Pick the exact program before choosing Grade 12 courses — the average is calculated on the five courses that program requires, and pre-calculus versus data management is a real fork.
- 2.Apply through apply.dal.ca and pay the $70 CAD application fee; required documentation appears in the portal once the application is submitted.
- 3.Have your school send transcripts directly to admissions.documents@dal.ca, or supply an OUAC number (Ontario) or provincial student ID (Nova Scotia) so grades transfer automatically.
- 4.Complete the General Entrance Award application in the same portal — the 2027–2028 program closes February 15, 2027 and decisions use Grade 12 first-semester final grades only.
- 5.Apply for residence by May 1 to hold the direct-from-high-school guarantee, and budget the $50 non-refundable residence application fee separately.
Current English-test minimums
IELTS
6.5 overall; 6.0 in each band
TOEFL
You need 90 overall on the 1–120 scale, with 20 in each band. Or you need 4.5 overall on the 1–6 scale, with 4.5 in Listening and 4.0 in Reading, Speaking, and Writing.
Duolingo English Test
120 overall
CAEL
70
PTE Academic
61 overall; 50 in each communicative skill
Cambridge English
180 overall
Oxford ELLT
7 overall; no component below 6
MELAB
55
What Dalhousie actually publishes right now
Each card below is a single fact checked against one first-party dal.ca page or fee-schedule PDF. It shows the cycle it belongs to and its verification status. Anything Dalhousie has not published for Fall 2027 is marked pending rather than guessed. Where two of its own pages disagree, the card says so.
Fall 2027 cycle status
Fall 2027 · Published for this period
Dalhousie confirmed this and gave the date. The undergraduate admissions page says applications for Fall 2027 open on October 1. The future-student awards page names the 2027–2028 General Entrance Award program. That program opens October 1, 2026 and has a February 15, 2027 deadline.
Applies to: All applicants
Dalhousie University: Undergraduate admissions: application steps and cycle status · Verified August 16, 2026
Two first-party pages disagree about which cycle is live
Official-source conflict · Fall 2027 versus September 2026 entry
The undergraduate admissions page and the awards page both carry Fall 2027 and 2027–2028 dates, but the central dates-and-deadlines page still publishes only the September 2026 entry sequence — Feb. 15, 2026 program deadlines, Mar. 1, 2026 Architecture, May 1, 2026 guaranteed residence, May 15, 2026 offer acceptance. The two pages have not been reconciled.
Treat the October 1, 2026 opening and the February 15, 2027 award deadline as confirmed. Treat every program-specific date on the deadlines page as last cycle's pattern. Keep doing this until Dalhousie relabels it.
Applies to: All applicants
Dalhousie University: Dates and deadlines (admissions, awards, residence) · Verified August 16, 2026
Application route and fee
Current process · Published for this period
Dalhousie takes applications through its own portal at apply.dal.ca. There are three steps. Complete and submit the application. Pay the application fee. Submit official documentation. The awards page states a $70 CAD admissions application fee. Ontario applicants may supply an OUAC number. Nova Scotia applicants may supply a provincial student ID. Either one can replace a transcript, so Dalhousie receives grades automatically.
Dalhousie is not an OUAC institution; the OUAC number is only used as a grade-transfer shortcut.
Applies to: All applicants
Dalhousie University: Future undergraduate student awards and the General Entrance Award · Verified August 16, 2026
Size and academic structure
University-published counts · Published for this period
Dalhousie publishes 21,000 students from across the country and more than 115 countries, 13 faculties, 300+ programs, 155,000+ alumni around the world, and more than $270 million in research funding each year. It was founded in Halifax in 1818.
These are Dalhousie's own marketing counts; treat them as directional rather than audited enrolment data.
Applies to: All applicants
Dalhousie University: Facts, figures and rankings · Verified August 16, 2026
Research positioning
Current positioning · Published for this period
Dalhousie calls itself Nova Scotia's leading research-intensive university. It calls itself one of Canada's top 15 research-intensive universities. Its facts page says it is a Top 12 Canadian university. That page also says it is a Top university in Atlantic Canada. It says it has a Gold Rating in Sustainability.
The Top 12 and Top 15 claims appear on Dalhousie's own pages without a named ranking body on the pages reviewed.
Applies to: All applicants
Dalhousie University: About Dalhousie: founding, scale, and campuses · Verified August 16, 2026
Campuses
Current campuses · Published for this period
Dalhousie operates campuses in Halifax and Truro, Nova Scotia. It also has locations in Saint John, New Brunswick and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. The Halifax teaching campuses are Studley, Carleton, and Sexton. This matters because incidental fees differ between Studley/Carleton and Sexton.
Applies to: All applicants
Dalhousie University: About Dalhousie: founding, scale, and campuses · Verified August 16, 2026
Acceptance rate
2027 pending · Fall 2027
We reviewed first-party Dalhousie pages for this guide. None of them publishes a university-wide undergraduate acceptance percentage. Dalhousie publishes a minimum average per program instead. It repeats that admission to many programs is competitive. It also repeats that meeting minimum posted requirements does not guarantee admission.
Any Dalhousie acceptance rate you find is third-party modelling, not a Dalhousie publication. Plan against the published minimum and the competitive-average warning.
Applies to: All applicants
Dalhousie University: Undergraduate admission requirements by program · Verified August 16, 2026
How the admission average is calculated
Current requirements · Published for this period
Dalhousie calculates the admission average on five academic Grade 12 courses. It states that the average uses the five courses required for the program you applied for. Academic English 12, or its provincial equivalent, is required for every program. You also need a qualifying final grade in Grade 12 academic English and any other required subject.
Applies to: All applicants, Ontario high school, Other Canadian
Dalhousie University: Canadian high-school applicants: minimum averages and courses · Verified August 16, 2026
Programs with a 70% published minimum
Current requirements · Published for this period
Arts, Management, Applied Computer Science, and Computer Science all publish a 70% minimum average. So do Community Design, Health Promotion, and Recreation (Therapeutic). Recreation Management, Engineering, and Nursing (Semester 1) publish it too. Music and the Landscape Horticulture diploma also publish a 70% minimum average.
The requirements table lists Recreation Management at 70%. It lists a 75% Kinesiology line alongside it. Confirm the exact recreation route with Admissions.
Applies to: All applicants
Dalhousie University: Undergraduate admission requirements by program · Verified August 16, 2026
Programs with a 75% published minimum
Current requirements · Published for this period
These programs publish a 75% minimum average. They are Commerce, Kinesiology, Science, International Food Business, Agriculture/Pre-Veterinary Medicine, and Bioveterinary Science. The four health technologies also publish 75%. They are Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound Technology, Nuclear Medicine Technology, Radiological Technology, and Respiratory Therapy.
Applies to: All applicants
Dalhousie University: Undergraduate admission requirements by program · Verified August 16, 2026
The highest published direct-entry minimum
Current requirements · Published for this period
Medical Sciences publishes an 80% minimum average. It requires Academic English 12, Pre-calculus Math 12, Chemistry 12, and Biology 12 or Physics 12. This is the highest published minimum on Dalhousie's own undergraduate requirements table.
Medical Sciences is a Bachelor of Science degree, not admission to medical school.
Applies to: All applicants
Dalhousie University: Undergraduate admission requirements by program · Verified August 16, 2026
Competitive admission language
Current policy · Published for this period
Dalhousie states that many programs are competitive for admission. Meeting the minimum average does not guarantee you a place. Individual program entries add more. The program may use a competitive average to admit students. Meeting minimum posted requirements does not guarantee admission.
Applies to: All applicants
Dalhousie University: Undergraduate admission requirements by program · Verified August 16, 2026
Published competitive averages by program
2027 pending · Fall 2027
Dalhousie warns that competitive averages exist. But it does not publish the numeric competitive average for any undergraduate program on the sources reviewed. Only the minimum thresholds are published.
Do not treat the 70%, 75%, or 80% minimums as prediction of the mark a competitive program will actually take.
Applies to: All applicants
Dalhousie University: Undergraduate admission requirements by program · Verified August 16, 2026
Course-level grade floors above the overall minimum
Current requirements · Published for this period
Several programs set a per-course grade floor that sits above the overall minimum. Computer Science requires Academic Math 12 at 70% or Pre-calculus Math 12 at 65%. Nursing requires Academic English 12, Academic Math 12, Academic Biology 12, and Academic Chemistry 12 each at 70%. The four health technologies require Academic English 12 at a minimum 70% plus their named sciences at 70%.
Applies to: All applicants
Dalhousie University: Undergraduate admission requirements by program · Verified August 16, 2026
Ontario course equivalencies
Current requirements · Published for this period
Dalhousie's provincial chart accepts English (ENG4U), Studies in Literature (ETS4U), or Contemporary Aboriginal Voices (NBE4U) for the English requirement. It accepts Data Management (MDM4U), Advanced Functions (MHF4U), or Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U) for the mathematics requirement.
Programs that specify Pre-calculus Math 12 — Science, Engineering, Medical Sciences, Agriculture, Bioveterinary Science — should be read as MHF4U or MCV4U rather than MDM4U.
Applies to: Ontario high school
Dalhousie University: Specific Grade 12 course requirements by province · Verified August 16, 2026
Engineering prerequisite set
Current requirements · Published for this period
Engineering requires a 70% minimum with Academic English 12, Pre-calculus Math 12, Academic Chemistry 12, and Academic Physics 12, plus one additional academic subject. All four are required subjects, not recommendations.
Applies to: All applicants
Dalhousie University: Engineering (BEng) program structure and disciplines · Verified August 16, 2026
Nursing Semester 3 advanced standing
Current requirements · Published for this period
Advanced standing requires a 2.5 GPA (grade point average). This is based on the overall post-secondary career or the most recent year of studies (30 credit hours). Core prerequisites are anatomy, physiology, statistics, microbiology, and English writing, at a minimum grade of C. Core prerequisites cannot exceed 10 years old from graduation date. Electives cannot exceed 15 years old. Dalhousie notes that applicants typically need higher GPAs than the stated minimum. All newly admitted students must obtain CPR-Health Care Provider (CPR-HCP) level certification in their entrance year.
Applies to: Transfer, Mature
Dalhousie University: Nursing (BScN) admission requirements and FAQs · Verified August 16, 2026
English language requirements
Current requirements · Published for this period
IELTS 6.5 overall with 6.0 bands. TOEFL 90 overall with 20 bands on the 1–120 scale. Or TOEFL 4.5 overall with 4.5 Listening and 4.0 Reading, Speaking and Writing on the 1–6 scale. Duolingo 120 overall. CAEL 70. PTE 61 overall with communicative skills scores of 50. Cambridge English 180 overall. Oxford ELLT 7 overall with no component below 6. MELAB 55.
Applies to: International
Dalhousie University: Undergraduate English language requirements · Verified August 16, 2026
English proficiency exemptions
Current requirements · Published for this period
Applicants are considered to have met the requirement if they attended a recognized English-based institution for three years at the secondary level. One year at the post-secondary level also counts. International high-school programs also qualify with specified minimum grades. These are IB (the International Baccalaureate diploma), AP (Advanced Placement courses and exams), or GCE. Approved English language pathway programs through Dalhousie or partner institutions also qualify.
Applies to: International
Dalhousie University: Undergraduate English language requirements · Verified August 16, 2026
Program-specific Fall 2027 application deadlines
2027 pending · Fall 2027
Not yet published. The dates-and-deadlines page still carries the September 2026 entry sequence: Feb. 15, 2026 for Nursing, Health Sciences, Medical Sciences and Social Work; Mar. 1, 2026 for the Bachelor of Environmental Design Studies (Architecture); June 15, 2026 for post-diploma Health Sciences.
The February 15 and March 1 pattern recurs annually. So use it as a working plan. But the Fall 2027 versions are not confirmed. The Architecture route is on its own earlier calendar.
Applies to: All applicants
Dalhousie University: Dates and deadlines (admissions, awards, residence) · Verified August 16, 2026
Offer, deposit, and award acceptance dates
September 2026 entry, latest published · Latest published information; newer cycle not yet confirmed
These dates are for the published September 2026 entry cycle. You accept early entrance awards by Jan. 31, 2026. You do this by paying the admission deposit. Feb. 15, 2026 is for entrance scholarship consideration. Entrance scholarship offers are sent out in March 2026. May 1, 2026 is the guaranteed residence application deadline. May 15, 2026 is to accept the admission offer and General Entrance Awards. First-year course registration opens in June 2026.
The February 15 award date has already been confirmed for 2027 on the awards page; the other dates have not.
Applies to: All applicants
Dalhousie University: Dates and deadlines (admissions, awards, residence) · Verified August 16, 2026
Document submission
Current process · Published for this period
The application portal notes required documentation once you submit. Documents go by email to admissions.documents@dal.ca. A transcript is only official if the school or issuing institution sends it directly. Applications with self-reported grades alone will not be considered. This rule is for the General Entrance Award program.
Applies to: All applicants
Dalhousie University: Undergraduate admissions: application steps and cycle status · Verified August 16, 2026
Official Dalhousie admissions sources
- Undergraduate admission requirements by program
- Canadian high-school applicants
- How to apply: undergraduate admissions
- Dates and deadlines
- Specific Grade 12 course requirements by province
- English language requirements
- Nursing (BScN) requirements and FAQs
- Applied Computer Science program-specific requirements
- Computer Science program-specific requirements
- Medical Sciences program-specific requirements
Official Sources and Next Steps
Stellar keeps this guide structured for comparison, but official university pages remain the source of truth for program requirements, tuition, residence, scholarships, deadlines, and policy changes.
Prepared by Stellar Advisers Editorial Team · Reviewed October 8, 2026 · Editorial, corrections, and source methodology