Tuition for new international students nearly $40k after another increase

New international undergraduate students at Dalhousie University will pay an average of nearly $40,000 in annual tuition as their rates increase for the fifth straight year.

In 2026-27, new international students’ guaranteed tuition plan increased six per cent from last year, while other international tuition fees will increase by just under seven per cent. Students on a guaranteed plan will have the same rate for every year of their degree.

This marks the fifth consecutive year international tuition has increased at least 6 per cent, and makes international undergrad tuition now more than double its pre-pandemic rates.

New international graduate students will also have their international tuition rates — which they pay on top of the domestic tuition price of their program — increase by 10 per cent, or $2,200.

These students will now pay over $24,000 on top of domestic tuition for all programs other than PhDs and thesis-based master’s.

Bhargav Kowlagi, a second-year graduate student in Dal’s electrical engineering department, is in a research-based program and isn’t taking any classes at the university. For him, the constant tuition increases aren’t reflecting what students in these types of programs are receiving.

“We are giving more to the university than what we are getting from the university,” says Kowlagi. “The fees keep increasing [making it] tough to manage your expenses.”

Arunima Banerjee, a first-year master’s student of digital innovation, has studied in Canada before and says expensive tuition is expected. But for her, Dal is on the pricier side.

“As long as I can see that benefit through resources on campus … to an extent, I can overlook it,” she says. “But if I don’t feel like I’m using the resources, it does feel like why are we increasing?… Where is the money going to?”

New international undergrads at Dal are paying close to $10,000 more than the provincial average, but a similar amount to the national average for international undergrad tuition. At Dal, they pay around 2.5 times what domestic students pay.

The highest international tuition is for the faculty of management at $42,000, and the lowest is $38,000, for both the faculty of science and faculty of arts and social sciences.

Domestic tuition did not increase this year for undergraduate students as the Nova Scotia government has frozen in-province tuition, which Dal has kept tuition for non-Nova Scotian students equal to. Domestic students in graduate or professional programs saw a two per cent increase.

International enrolment is down almost 750 students from last year, meaning they earned $20 million less in international tuition revenue . It contributes to Dal’s new deficit of $14.1 million in the 2026-27 operating budget, bringing the total deficit to more than $34 million.

Dal expects to lose around another 430 international students by 2028-29, according to this year’s budget.

Next door to Dal, full-time international undergraduate students enrolled at the University of King’s College receive a $12,000 International Mobility Award to help cover tuition costs.

While an incoming undergraduate international student in Dal’s arts and social sciences program pays nearly $38,000, a King’s student sitting next to them pays $26,000 — even if they are only taking classes at Dal. This is possible through a century-long deal between the two universities.