Compassionate care grounded in scientific excellence.
Program Types Entry-to-practice Program StartWhether caring directly for patients, conducting valuable research, or engaging in public policy advocacy, nurses make a difference in the quality of people's lives. Dal's Nursing program will prepare you to apply current evidence and respond with professionalism to the health and illness needs of people in a variety of healthcare settings, like hospitals, homes, schools, businesses, clinics, and communities.
We offer two admissions options for Nursing:
To be considered for admission to this program, you must meet minimum academic criteria:
Admission to many Dalhousie programs is competitive. This means that meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee admission.
Owing to the limited enrollment and the large number of applicants, this program primarily serves permanent residents of Nova Scotia. However, each year a limited number of Semester 1 (directly from high school) and Semester 3 entry (for those with previous university experience) seats are also available for qualified residents of other Canadian provinces.
This program may employ a competitive average for admission purposes; meeting minimum posted requirements does not guarantee admission.
Due to residency restrictions and limited capacity, international students are not eligible for Direct Entry admission to this program.
This two-calendar-year (six-semester) continuous period of study is designed for students who have previously studied at university and have completed the following pre-requisite courses:
1. A minimum grade of C in each of:
2. Subject requirements:
In order to be eligible for Semester 3 entry admission, the 5 core pre-requisite courses (Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, English, and Statistics) cannot be more than 10 years old from the forecasted date of graduation from Dalhousie's Nursing program. Elective pre-requisite courses cannot be more than 15 years old.
3. A student with a .03 credit hour combined Anatomy and Physiology course will also be required to have .06 additional credit hours of Biological Sciences.
4. A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 based on overall post-secondary career or most recent year of studies (30 credit hours)
5. Meeting the minimum entrance GPA does not guarantee admission. As a result of the competitive admission process, applicants typically require a higher entrance GPA than the minimums listed in the admission requirements.
Additional information for Semester 3 applicants:
All newly admitted BScN students must be certified in CPR-Health Care Provider (CPR-HCP) level. Certification must be obtained in the year of entrance to the program. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that certification is renewed prior to expiration.
All applicants to Dalhousie's Bachelor of Science (Nursing) program are required to complete a 90-minute computer-based online assessment (CASPer Test), in addition to meeting academic requirements. Successful completion of CASPer is mandatory in order to maintain admission eligibility.
CASPer is an online test which assesses for non-cognitive skills and interpersonal characteristics that are important for successful students and graduates of the Nursing program. In implementing CASPer, we are trying to further enhance fairness and objectivitiy in our admission selection process.
Please note that the CASPer test can only be written once within an admission cycle. Multiple test attempts are not permitted. Additionally, CASPer test results are only valid for one admission cycle. Applicants who have already taken the test in previous years will therefore be expected to re-take it.
Please direct any inquiries on the test to CASPer provider, Altus.
A Dalhousie ID number (B00 number) is required to register for the CASPer test, and to have your results sent to Dalhousie. In order to receive a Dalhousie ID or Application number you must:
Once you receive your Dalhousie ID number you can use it along with a piece of government issued photo ID to register for a CASPer test date. Please note that CASPer is a separate organization that sets test dates for multiple Nursing programs across Canada. As such, the test dates may or may not align with the Dalhousie University application deadline for the Nursing program. Please plan accordingly so that you receive your Dalhousie ID number in time for the last CASPer test date registration.
CASPer test dates and times for September 2024 Nursing admission will be available at takealtus.com in early Fall 2023.
You will be provided with a limited number of testing dates and times. Please note that these are the only testing dates available for your CASPer test. There will be no additional tests scheduled.
Once test dates are posted, you can register for the CASPer test at takealtus.com using your Dalhousie ID number ('B00' number) and a piece of government-issued photo ID. Your Dalhousie ID number will be issued to you via email no later than one week after the submission of your Dalhousie Undergraduate Application. Please use an email address that you check regularly to ensure that you receive relevant updates to the test schedule.
There is an additional fee for applicants payable to CASPer for the CASPer test. CASPer fees consist of two components:
For more information on CASPer fees please visit takealtus.com
Once received by Dalhousie, your CASPer score will be used in combination with your academic performance for admission assessment.
The CASPer test is comprised of 12 sections of video and written scenarios. Following each scenario, you will be required to answer a set of probing questions under a time limit.
No studying is required for CASPer, although you may want to familiarize yourself with the test structure at takealtus.com/casper. You should also review the technical requirements below and ensure you have a quiet environment to take the test.
In order to take CASPer you will be responsible for securing access to a computer with audio capabilities, a webcam, and a reliable internet connection on your selected test date. CASPer can be taken practically anywhere that you can satisfy these technical requirements.
Please note that CASPer's policy is that no exceptions will be provided for applicants unable to take CASPer online due to being located at sites where internet is not dependable due to technical or political factors.