Dalhousie University, privately endowed institution of higher learning located in Halifax, Canada. It was founded in 1818 as Dalhousie College by the 9th earl of Dalhousie, then lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, and became a university in 1863. The school developed rapidly after substantial benefactions in 1879 by George Monro and subsequent financial assistance from the Rockefeller and Carnegie foundations. The academic program is organized into the six faculties of arts and sciences, law, medicine, dentistry, health professions, and graduate studies.
Associated institutions are the University of King’s College, Mount St. Vincent University, and the Nova Scotia Technical College. Dalhousie is the only centre in the Atlantic provinces for professional training in medicine and dentistry.