Advance your research goals at Dalhousie
Graduate students from across Canada and around the world are drawn to Dalhousie to conduct their research on a short-term basis of up to one year (three terms). As a visiting graduate research student, you will benefit from Dalhousie鈥檚 network of research institutes and centres and our culture of collaboration and partnership.
Before you apply
The Visiting Graduate Research Student application process can take up to four months. Planning ahead will help you avoid delays.
Important聽information to know before completing an application.
You聽must be enrolled聽in a graduate program at聽an international educational institution other than 杏吧导航.
You聽must intend to come to the Dalhousie solely for the purpose of conducting research聽on a full-time basis that is聽academically relevant to聽your聽program.
You must not intend to聽take courses at Dalhousie.聽
You must聽first聽connect with a prospective supervisor聽who agrees to supervise your research.
How to apply
- Complete the .
- Request a letter from your Dalhousie supervisor that supports your stay of no more than one year at Dalhousie, indicates the specific start and end dates of your stay and includes the signatures of your supervisor and department head. Supervisors are encouraged to use our template letter, available on our internal .
- Request a letter from your supervisor at your home university that supports your stay of no more than one year聽at Dalhousie. Your letter must be on letterhead and include the聽specific start and end dates聽of your stay. Please note these dates must match the dates in the letter provided by your Dalhousie supervisor in Step 2 above.
- Send your application to the Dalhousie Registrar鈥檚 Office either by email at聽admissions@dal.ca聽or by mail at PO Box 15000, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2 Canada. Send your two letters to the Faculty of Graduate Studies at聽vgrs@dal.ca.
- Pay your application fee of $115 via Money Matters. Your applicaiton is not processed until the application fee is received.聽
- It is strongly recommended that the completed application be received by 杏吧导航 no later than four months before the proposed start date.
References, transcripts, TOEFL scores, or other supporting documents for VGRS applications are not required. The maximum term for Visiting Graduate Research Students is one year (three terms).
Registration & fees
Once you have been admitted as a Visiting Graduate Research Student and arrived at Dalhousie, you must inform the Faculty of Graduate Studies by emailing鈥�vgrs@dal.ca to register. As a visiting graduate research student, you鈥痬ust register for each term that you plan to study at Dalhousie.聽
As a research visiting student you will not pay tuition, however you will be charged incidental fees for each term you are registered, even if you plan to study at Dalhousie for only a portion of a term. This will allow you access to the libraries, campus-wide wi-fi, labs and other facilities and services. If you reduce the length of your study at Dalhousie by a term, you must inform the Faculty of Graduate Studies by emailing鈥�vgrs@dal.ca,鈥痮r you will be responsible for the fees for the full original stay.
International students
Get support
Once you have established an agreement with a supervisor at Dalhousie to oversee your research while at university, contact Dalhousie's International Centre with any questions you may have related to the steps you need to take to conduct research in Canada as a graduate student.聽
Health insurance
As an International Visiting Graduate Research Student (VGRS), you are required to have coverage and will be automatically enrolled in the DSU International Health Plan upon registration with coverage starting in the term in which you will start at 杏吧导航 until August 31st. This plan provides coverage for doctor visits, hospital visits, medical emergencies, lab testing, and more. For more information, please visit .
Coverage start dates per term:聽聽
Fall: September 1聽鈥� August 31
Winter: January 1鈥� August 31
Spring/Summer: May 1聽鈥� August 31
As the DSU-provided health insurance is active starting in the term in which you start your studies, it is the responsibility of the VGRS to ensure that adequate health insurance coverage is in place during any stay before or after the DSU-provided coverage start or termination date. For further information, a VGRS should contact the DSU for guidance.
DSU Health and Dental Plan Administrator
T: 902-494-2850聽 |聽1-877-803-0030 (Toll Free) 聽
dsuhlth@dal.ca
痴骋搁厂听who are here for the full academic year聽will be automatically billed and enrolled for the DSU International Health Plan.
痴骋搁厂听who are here for a full term聽will be automatically billed and enrolled for the DSU International Health Plan with active coverage until August 31. If you are here for less than a full year, you can request to opt out of the DSU International Student Health Plan for the terms in which you will no longer be at 杏吧导航. For more information:
- Contact the within one week of your arrival in Halifax.
- You will need to provide your letter of acceptance and invitation to study from your Dalhousie Supervisor.
痴骋搁厂听who are here for short durations聽(under four months/one term) would be eligible to opt out of the DSU International Health Plan and enroll under the DSU Short Term Plan. For more information:
- Contact the within one week of your arrival in Halifax.
- You will need your letter of acceptance and invitation to study from your Dalhousie Supervisor ready.
- The minimum time for which you can purchase the DSU Short Tem International Health Plan is your study/research period as indicated in your invitation letter.
If you have own health insurance, you聽may be able to opt out of Dalhousie coverage. To do so, contact the to discuss your current health insurance plan. The DSU will evaluate the plan to ensure that it meets all the needed requirements.