Collaborative Research
Local advantage. Regional leadership. Global impact.
Our membership in the U15 distinguishes us as one of Canada’s leading research-intensive universities, attracting more than $194 million in research funding each year. Many of our researchers are nationally and internationally recognized for their work, whether it’s groundbreaking, thought-provoking or solving real-world issues.
Dalhousie's five-star rating from QS Stars reflects the high quality of research that takes place across our university.
Canada Research Chairs
We're home to 56 Canada Research Chairs, more than any other university in the region. Chairholders advance the frontiers of knowledge in their fields, not only through their own work, but also by teaching and supervising students and coordinating the work of other researchers.
”I think it’s really a chance to start something new, but with the benefit of knowing that the capability exists to do something special.”
– Doug Wallace, Doug Wallace, Canada Research Chair in Ocean Science and Technology
Research areas
Our research efforts focus on five Signature Research Clusters, which are informed by two cross-cutting themes: Big Data and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Signature Research Clusters:
- Sustainable Ocean
- Healthy People, Healthy Communities, Healthy Populations
- Clean Tech, Energy, the Environment
- Culture, Society, Community Development
- Food Security
For more on research taking place at Dalhousie, visit the Research website.
- Graduate research
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Our professors mentor more than 3,900 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in a multidisciplinary, research-intensive setting by bringing their research to the classroom and offering opportunities for students at all levels to be engaged.
Access to opportunity
We have been particularly successful in attracting graduate student funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program. These awards recognize and support Dalhousie’s leadership in developing innovative new ways of training the next generation of scientists and knowledge-based workers.
“Our lab is successful because it’s collaborative and it’s a teaching lab. I will teach undergraduate students about my research and help them with theirs, and I’m helped out by PhD students and post-doctoral fellows who have more expertise."
– Corey Filiaggi, master's student in Pathology
- Undergraduate research
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We also offer undergraduate students hands-on research opportunities with world-renowned experts.
For example, seven undergraduate students from various disciplines presented a research project at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition held annually in Boston, Massachusetts. The team was able to work with the Langille Lab at Dalhousie University, led by Dr. Morgan Langille who specializes in microbiome research. Their hard work paid off — expert judges rated the research at a bronze-level and provided constructive feedback for building on the project. Read more.