Hi! I’m Yasmin, a third year Marine Biology student who recently got the opportunity to spend a semester abroad at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada. Here I will share my experience studying at Dal as well as some tips for any students looking to study there as well. Enjoy!
Applying and Arriving.
The application process was simple, with most of the paperwork being on the Southampton side rather than Dal. Once accepted, the process of getting the student ID was easy but pretty long – so make sure to start it early!
I opted to stay in halls which was very convenient. All halls at Dal (and I think Canada more generally as well) are catered halls, but there are small kitchens on every floor of the accommodation. I stayed in Shirreff Hall which I would really recommend as it has the nicest dining hall, is the closest to the gym, and has its own library. Many rooms at Dal are double rooms where you share with a room mate, but I applied for a single room and got one easily. All halls come with the bus pass and gym membership included.
The international orientation week was very well crafted and is where I met most of my friends from the semester. There were many activities, some compulsory, some optional which really worked on bonding people and starting conversations. In addition, the international society hosted social events in the orientation week, such as bingo, pub and music events.
Course and Campus.
I enjoyed my Marine Biology course at Dal a lot. There were a lot of good modules to choose from BUT the spaces fill up rapidly, so make sure to hop on the application process quickly! You might have to email the professors in order to get prerequisite overrides as well. I took deep sea biology, hacking the blue planet, fisheries ecology and evolution, and aquaculture modelling. These were taught well, with engaging lecturers and a focus on scientific reading, writing, and discussion.
SIDE NOTE: In Canada they don’t have integrated masters courses. When applying to courses make sure to fully explain that you are an undergraduate student. Otherwise the professors will hear masters and assume you’ve already graduated with a bachelors.
The campus was well laid out, with everything in walking distance from each other. The town was only a 20 minute walk away through a pretty botanical garden. In the other direction there is a beach with good access to the sea, where people would always be seen swimming and hanging out. The sports complex had a huge gym, with lots of space and good equipment. It also included a bouldering gym, squash courts, swimming pool, and a wide range of classes. There is also a free ice rink in the winter, as well as a huge astro for field sports during the year.
Canadian Culture
The best thing about the night life in Halifax was the live music; almost every bar or pub had a band most nights. And there were a lottt of pubs – perfect for a range of socials, a crawl, or even pub golf. On top of this, many pubs would host events as well, with really good musicians and DJs of all types of vibes on rotation. The waterfront was also a really nice place to go out in the summer, with live salsa music and free classes. Halloween was MASSIVE, with good music and people getting really into their costumes.
The people conformed to the stereotype and were incredibly friendly throughout the city and university. Cars would always stop for you to cross the road, and I never felt unsafe, even late at night.
The weather was beautiful when I arrived. I expected Canada to be really cold and snowy all the time, however their seasons are slightly offset from ours meaning their summer extended until October, where it was still around 15 degrees (the UV was pretty high though), and their winter didn’t kick in until January.
THINGS TO KNOW
While the experience was amazing and I loved it, there were a few things which surprised me when I got there. The following is a list of things I would have liked to know before I went:
- The drinking age (and smoking) age is 19. This is fine, but what I didn’t realise was that most of the people in halls were 17 so couldn’t go out. (therefore I mainly had older friends or other internationals)
- It is illegal to drink outside. Also fine, but there were no beer gardens even when the weather was beautiful 🙁
- The cheese is basically plastic.
- The clubbing scene doesn’t really exist. If you want something similar there is the Basement of the Shoe, and the Dome. Other than that it tends to be pubs with a dancefloor instead of your typical club.
- Because of the drinking age societies don’t throw socials, the society is for the society activity only.
Some tips for you if you made it this far through:
- Go to the Local on a Wednesday night! Trust me.
- Talk to the lecturers, they are all so friendly and really helpful.
- If you get bored of Killum Library (which you will) try the library in the law building
- Make friends with someone with a car! Halifax is surrounded by a beautiful area with amazing hikes and swimming spots that become so much more accessible once you have access to a car.
- If you like the outdoors, the Dal Outdoors society hosts a whole range of events such as snorkelling, hiking, caving, climbing, camping etc. And the people are lovely.
- Say yes as much as possible. I managed to go on manyyyyy trips, weekends and weeks away through the university and my friends.