Awards
Scholarships and Fellowships
General Disciplines
Each department has a limited number of scholarships available for students pursuing a degree program on a full-time basis. Scholarships are not offered to anyone on leave from a job with salary continuation. Those wishing to be considered for scholarship assistance are advised to contact the Graduate Coordinator in the department to which they are applying for details on eligibility and deadlines (NOT the Faculty of Graduate Studies). Graduate Coordinator contact information can be found at dalgrad.dal.ca/programs/.
In general, Faculty of Graduate Studies Scholarships will be paid to the student in regular monthly payments on the 27th of each month, after University tuition and fees have been deducted. Payments are made by automatic bank deposit. Deposit advice statements are available on DalOnline. Where warranted, with permission of the Dean of Graduate Studies, a student may receive scholarship funding for a maximum of 12 months while pursuing research off-campus.
Very well qualified scholars who receive awards from federal agencies may also receive Dalhousie supplements within the limits set down by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and/or agencies offering the awards.
There are no appeals on decisions on scholarships, grants or bursaries.
External Scholarships
There are numerous scholarships available from external funding agencies that can be held by students pursuing graduate studies at Dalhousie (and other Universities). A database containing information about these scholarships is available at dalgrad.dal.ca/currentstudents/funding/external.
Bursaries
General Information about Bursaries
Canada Student Loans (with or without provincial bursaries and/or loans) are expected, by provincial authorities, to meet the financial deficiencies of the students. Bursaries subsequently awarded by the University must be reported and are liable to be deducted (in part or in whole) from the amounts originally allocated under the Canada Student Loan Plan or provincial aid program.
Government Notification
Holders of Dalhousie University bursaries should note that the University is required, upon written request, to report its award winners to the respective Provincial Student Aid Authority.
Faculty of Graduate Studies Emergency Bursaries
Students may apply to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for university bursaries made available through Dalhousie’s Student Assistance Program. Bursary awards are based on eligibility and need. They are normally meant to help students overcome temporary financial emergencies such as medical costs or other unforeseen expenses. In exceptional circumstances a Faculty of Graduate Studies Bursary may be awarded for a chronic shortfall in the student’s annual budget, and then only for students beyond their first year of graduate study at Dalhousie University who do not receive full scholarship support as defined by Faculty of Graduate Studies for Master’s or PhD programs.
Students must be registered full-time in order to receive a bursary. Students eligible for government loans must have applied for such loans and provide evidence of the assessment before a bursary application can be considered.
Bursary applications are considered monthly throughout the year by the Faculty of Graduate Studies Graduate Bursary Committee (section II.4.5.7). Awards are for a maximum of $1,000, lower amounts may be awarded. Normally students cannot receive more than one bursary award in an academic year. Decisions of the Bursary Committee are not subject to appeal.
The total available for bursaries in a given year depends on the amount available through the Student Assistance Program of the office of the Vice-President Student Services.
Research and Travel Grants
Research Grants
Research grants to assist thesis research are available for PhD graduate students in disciplines where such funding would not be available through the research grant(s) of their supervisor or through external grants or awards to the student. In most cases this will be for minor research expenses in disciplines covered by the mandate of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Students in other disciplines may also apply to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for research grants but in all cases Faculty of Graduate Studies grants can be awarded only when the student has not secured external funding, the supervisor does not have research grant support and no funding is available from the department.
Guidelines and application forms are available on the Faculty of Graduate Studies website at dalgrad.dal.ca/currentstudents/funding/grants. If applicable, students must secure Ethics approval for their research. Further information is available from the Office of Research Ethics Administration Website at http://researchservices.dal.ca/research_7776.html. Students may simultaneously apply for a research grant and ethics approval; however, funds will not be approved until Ethics Approval has been received. Research grants will be established under their supervisor’s signing authority.
Conference Travel Grants
Conference travel grants can be awarded to graduate students in thesis programs. In order to be eligible, students must be presenting a poster or paper based on their current program thesis research at a scholarly meeting or conference.
A letter of acceptance from the conference organizers, or a copy of the conference program must accompany the application. The letter of acceptance or conference program must include the name of the applicant, the title of the poster or paper to be presented, and the dates and location of the conference. Department approval must be given to applications.
Travel costs can be claimed only for travel from Halifax to and from the location of the conference, and must be based on the lowest available fares. For conferences held in Nova Scotia only registration costs can be claimed, travel costs and per diem costs are not eligible.
Applications must be received in the Faculty of Graduate Studies office a minimum of one month in advance of the conference. Applications will not be accepted retroactively or for a conference that occurs in the term following the completion of their degree requirements.
Students are eligible to apply for one travel grant during the period of their graduate degree program at Dalhousie.
Guidelines and application forms are available on the Faculty of Graduate Studies website at dalgrad.dal.ca/currentstudents/funding/grants.
Killam Postdoctoral Fellowships
Killam funds provide for postdoctoral fellowships in many fields of study. The annual stipend is $45,000 including certain benefits plus travel and research grants. There are no restrictions regarding nationality of applicants, but non-Canadian candidates must meet all Canadian Immigration requirements. Qualifying applicants should have recently completed a PhD degree at a recognized university and should not hold a permanent academic position to which they will return. Since these Fellowships are intended to attract new scholars to Dalhousie, scholars already at Dalhousie are not eligible to apply, including Dalhousie PhDs, Dalhousie or King’s employees, and researchers in residence at Dalhousie or King’s with external sources of funding. These awards may be taken up between May 1st and January 15th. Fellows may engage in limited teaching duties in the University. Completed applications and supporting documents must be submitted to the Department in which the applicant wishes to work, no later than December 15th. The results of the competition are usually announced in mid-February, and all applicants nominated by their department are notified of the results.
Awards on Graduate Transcripts
A select number of scholarships and awards are recorded on the official Dalhousie transcript for graduate students. The list of such scholarships and awards is available from the Faculty of Graduate Studies.