New Student Orientation

Welcome to NSCAD! We are thrilled to have you join our vibrant and creative community. Our orientation programming is designed to be your gateway to the diverse world of art and design, providing you with all the essential information, resources, and support you need to embark on an unforgettable academic journey. You’ll have the opportunity to meet current students, faculty, and staff who are here to support you, get familiar with our campuses and top-notch facilities that fuel your artistic passions, and learn all about the vibrant student life at NSCAD. Let your imagination run wild, and let the excitement begin!

New Student Pre-Arrival Checklist – Fall 2025

It’s just about time to start your academic journey with us here at NSCAD University, and we can’t wait to meet you! Before you arrive, it’s important to make sure you’ve taken care of some critical tasks. We’ve created a handy dandy check-list to help keep you on track! 

 

First things first!  

Don’t forget to follow @nscadstudentexperience on Instagram, which will be your one stop for all things Student Life on campus and important dates

  • If you’re having trouble accessing your NSCAD email account, please reach out to the Admissions Team at admissions@nscad.ca. This is the only email account that the university will use to communicate with you, so it’s critical that you are able to check it, and that you check it often!

 

1. New Student Registration

Registration for new students begins on Saturday, June 7 at 9:00am Atlantic Time. There are three ways to receive advice and instruction on how to register:

  • Download the Guide to Choosing your First-Year Courses and the How to Use Self-Serve info to set up your course plan with the courses you would like to take.
  • Attend a Virtual Information Sessions for New Students. We are offering two sessions that you can RSVP for using the links below. Both sessions will cover the same content, so please sign up for the session that’s most convenient for you:

 

Option 1 – Wednesday, June 4, 4:00pm (Atlantic Time)
REGISTER FOR WEDNESDAY JUNE 4 HERE!

 

Option 2 – Thursday, June 5, 6:00pm (Atlantic Time)
REGISTER FOR THURSDAY JUNE 5 HERE!

  • If you’d like to speak to an advisor one-on-one, book an Academic Advising Appointment. Our academic advisors use the Jane platform for advising appointments. Please click on a name below to book an appointment with one of the following academic advisors depending on your availability:

Norbert Caparica

Emily Shanahan

Crystal Bona

 

2. Submit your final High School or Post-Secondary Transcript!

Once your grades for your current studies are finalized, NSCAD needs to receive an updated version of your official transcript.  Once we receive these final transcripts, they will be evaluated for any transfer credits. Please also provide us with any IB or AP transcripts that you may have if you were an IB or AP student in high school.   

  • If you just graduated from a Nova Scotia public high school, NSCAD University will simply obtain a copy of your final transcripts through the Nova Scotia Department of Education. No further action is  
  • For everyone else, you will have to ask your last institution attended to send your final official transcripts to us via email or mail.  
    • Most post-secondary students should be able to send their transcript to us through the MyCreds Portal.
    • High schools and post-secondary schools can also send transcripts directly from the institution via email (admissions@nscad.ca) or mail to: 5163 Duke St. Halifax, NS, B3J 3J6.  
    • If you have already submitted your final transcripts, please move on to the next step!

 

3. Complete your WHMIS training through your Brightspace account!  

This is a MUST! Whether you’ve taken WHMIS training before or not, in the interest of safety, all NSCAD students must have Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System Training (WHMIS) certification to enter workshops and studios.   

The WHMIS course is offered online to all students free of charge through their personal Brightspace account. You will have access to Brightspace three (3) days before classes begin to login to complete the training.

Once you’ve completed this training, stop by the Office of Student Experience on the 2nd Floor of the Duke Building (5163 Duke Street) to pick up your WHMIS sticker for your ID card! Have your WHMIS completion confirmation email in hand to show us so we can issue the sticker. 

 

4. RSVP for Orientation

Watch your NSCAD email account for instructions on how to RSVP for New Student Orientation Day, which will be held on Wednesday, September 3.  

The RSVP form will ask for information we need from you in advance to arrange: 

  • your Student ID Card
  • your Building Access Card
  • your Library Barcode

For MDes, MAED, and MFA students: Keep an eye on your NSCAD email account for information specific to Graduate Student Orientation.

 

5. Update your new address and Emergency Contact Information

Once you know your local address in Halifax, you’ll need to login to Self-Service and complete your student profile by submitting your address and emergency contacts. We’ll need your most current Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) address. We will use this address should we need to contact you by post (which we don’t do very often, but still need to do from time to time!)

We also require contact information for two safe people we can connect with in case of an emergency: 

One contact should live in Nova Scotia – this can be a friend, roommate, coworker, residence staff, etc. 

One is a personal emergency contact – this can be anyone that you would like us to contact in case of emergency, within or outside of Canada.

 

6. Instructions for International Students

Review the International Student Pre-Arrival Guide for important information about arriving in Canada and at NSCAD! Please note that you should always reference the IRCC Website for the most up-to-date information on IRCC programs, policies and procedures.

For international students, IRCC sends compliance reports to the University each semester for updates on international student status. You must remain in full-time status to not violate your agreement with the Government of Canada.   

For all degree and certificate international students, you MUST bring your original study permit to ‘Registration’ on New Student Orientation Day (September 3) or to the Office of Student Experience (second floor at Fountain Campus, opposite the elevator) before September 30, 2025.   

For exchange students ONLY – please take your passport to the Office of Student Experience before September 30, 2025.

 

7. Have you found a place to live for the coming semester?

If not, we recommend you check out the NSCAD Housing Information Page. While NSCAD does not operate its own residence, we have some recommendations on where to start.

Next Steps

If you’ve submitted your commitment to NSCAD, you should have received an email from Admissions and Recruitment that contains instructions on your NSCAD username and password. The information on the NSCAD Navigator page gives you access to online resources necessary for your school year.

Now it’s time to get ready to meet your fellow students at Orientation Day and our Welcome Weeks events! Visit this page to see the full schedule of events we have planned.