International tuition rises by over 6% for fourth straight year

Incoming international students at Dalhousie University are expected to see tuition rise by at least six per cent for the fourth consecutive year.

“It is very expensive, nobody can deny that,” said Gustavo Fontenelle, an international master’s student who also completed his undergraduate degree at Dalhousie.

While tuition was a significant investment for his family, he said international students are well aware of the high cost when deciding to go abroad, and the increase is expected.

The university released its proposed operating budget for 2026-27, including projections through the 2028-29 academic year, on Jan. 29.

While most undergraduate international students currently enrolled are part of guaranteed international student tuition rates — which ensures a fixed tuition price each year of their degree — international students in other programs will see an average increase in tuition of 6.9 per cent.

Tuition for incoming international students starting programs covered under the guarantee is also expected to rise by six per cent.

“When setting the guaranteed tuition rates, the university has to consider incremental costs, such as inflation, that will occur during the term of the student’s degree,” said Mike Fleury, Dalhousie’s senior manager of strategic communications and media relations, in a statement to the Dalhousie Gazette.

“Across Canada, universities and colleges continue to grapple with the impacts of a changing enrolment mix against the backdrop of rising costs outpacing government funding.”

Undergraduate tuition rates for students from Nova Scotia are frozen under universities’ bilateral agreements with the province, which Dalhousie extends to all domestic students.

Domestic graduate and professional program tuition will increase by two per cent in 2026-27.

The budget report projected a $13.1 million deficit for Dalhousie’s operating budget, anticipating the university would return to a balanced budget by the 2028-29 academic year, a year later than its previous target of 2027-28.

Related: Dalhousie projects $13.1 million deficit for 2026-27 academic year

Approximately 43.7 per cent of Dalhousie’s operating revenue in 2025-26 came from tuition. The proposed budget projects that number will increase to 49.3 per cent.

In January 2024, the federal government capped the number of international student permit applications it issued, reducing the number of incoming international students by 40 per cent in its first year.

The federal government decreased the number of permits by an additional 10 per cent in January 2025. A statement posted to the federal government’s website said the cap was introduced to strengthen Canada’s international student program and reduce strain on the housing market.

Before the cap’s implementation in December 2023, there were 4,481 international students enrolled at Dalhousie. The university reported just 2,928 enrolled international students in December 2025, a 34.7 per cent decrease.

Related: International enrolment continues to decline, putting financial strain on Dalhousie

The report also indicated that 74 per cent of international students consider cost as a key factor when selecting a university, according to the 2025 Canadian University Survey Consortium first-year students survey.

“The bottom line is every student wants to study in a well-reputed university,” said Sreehari Challa, a principal agent at Canada Education Connect, one of Dalhousie’s authorized agents to help recruit international students abroad.

He says that while budget is the main concern for international students applying to university, most students consider several factors when selecting a school, including academic reputation.

“We’re all here because we want to build a better life and a future for ourselves, because we can’t get that work back home,” says Maya Ezzeddine, a third-year international undergraduate student studying microbiology and immunology.

“It would be nice for us to be able to pay similar amounts as the domestic students … it is a really big difference.”