What Are Societies?

A club or society is a student-led group who works and volunteers throughout the year to provide students with similar interests, ideologies, educations, and/or backgrounds the opportunity to network, build relationships, and have fun!

Clubs and Societies work with the DSU and other Dalhousie University officials to bring programming, services, supports and events to students at Dalhousie under their respective constituency/audience.

Society Types

The DSU recognizes 5 (FIVE) different “Society Types”.

A society’s structure, mandate, and operations are heavily affected by their typing. Understanding the different types will make it easier for you to figure out which societies speak to you!

  • At-A-Glance

    Traditionally houses groups pertaining to shared: interests, hobbies, sports, ideologies, cultures, etc.

    Policy Description

    Any Society that does not directly receive a fee or levy or any disbursements from a fee or levy.

    _____________

    Created Via: Ratification Application with the DSU

    Report to: Dalhousie Student Union

    Ratified by: VP Internal

    Audited by: Not Required

    Available Funding: No Levies

    Work Load: Low-Mid

    Type of Membership: As Dictated in Your Constitution

  • At-A-Glance

    Traditionally houses academic groups (i.e. majors and minors) falling under an umbrella Faculty.

    Policy Description

    Any Society that receives disbursements from a Faculty level Society. Also referred to as an umbrella society.

    _____________

    Created Via: Ratification Application with the DSU & Sanctioned by Umbrella-Faculty Society

    Report to: Dalhousie Student Union Umbrella-Faculty Society

    Ratified by: VP Internal & Umbrella-Faculty Society

    Audited by: Umbrella-Faculty Society

    Available Funding: Redistributed Levies Collected by Faculty Society

    Work Load: Low-Mid

    Type of Membership: As Dictated in Your Constitution

  • At-A-Glance

    These are dictated by Dalhousie University. There should be a society for each major Faculty on-campus.

    Policy Description

    Society of the DU that represents all the students in a particular faculty and collects a fee from those it represents.

    _____________

    Created Via: N/A (Dictated by Dalhousie University Referendum)

    Report to: Dalhousie Student Union

    Ratified by: Society Review Committee (SRC)

    Audited by: Dalhousie Student Union (DSU)

    Available Funding: Levies Collected via Student Fees

    Work Load: Mid-High

    Type of Membership: All Students Under Said Faculty

  • At-A-Glance

    These are dictated via referendum of the DSU. Traditionally, they offer services to students on-campus.

    Policy Description

    A society of the DU that collects a fee established by a referendum.

    _____________

    Created Via: N/A (Dictated by DSU Referendum)

    Report to: Dalhousie Student Union

    Ratified by: Society Review Committee (SRC)

    Audited by: Dalhousie Student Union (DSU)

    Available Funding: Levies Collected via Student Fees

    Work Load: High

    Type of Membership: All Students pay DSU fees

  • At-A-Glance

    These are dictated via referendum of the DU/Dal Residence Services. There should be a society for each major residence group on-campus.

    Policy Description

    Society of the DU that represents all students in a particular residence and collects a fee from those it represents.

    _____________

    Created Via: N/A (Dictated by Residence Referendum)

    Report to: DSU & Dal Residence Services

    Ratified by: Society Review Committee (SRC)

    Audited by: Dalhousie Student Union (DSU)

    Available Funding: Levies Collected via Residence Fees

    Work Load: Mid-High

    Type of Membership: All Students Under Said Residence

General Interest Societies

General Interest Societies are the most numerous and abundant type. These groups connect students with overlapping shared areas of interest(s): hobbies, sports, ideologies, cultures, religion, schools of thought, charities, etc.

EXAMPLE: Dal Knitting Club, Dalhousie Sailing Team, Dalhousie Socialist Fightback, Dalhousie Muslims Student Association

Sports Clubs

A sub-category of General Interest Societies are official “Sports Clubs”. These clubs can fall under either Tier 1 (Leisure Sports) or Tier 2 (Competitive Sports). For all questions pertaining to becoming an OFFICIAL "Sports Club", please email the Sports Clubs Manager, sportclubs@dal.ca

EXAMPLE: Dalhousie Women’s Lacrosse Team, Dalhousie Baseball Club, Dalhousie Curling Society, Dalhousie Ringette Club

Constituent Societies

Unlike other society types, Constituent Societies fall under and report to BOTH the DSU and their umbrella Faculty Society. By successfully ratifying (with the DSU) and auditing (with their umbrella Faculty Society), a Constituent Society is able to secure a portion of the collected disbursement that was provided to their Faculty Society.

Constituent Societies exist with the purpose of supporting and catering to specific demographics/sub-groups found within a Faculty Societies’ constituency (i.e. different majors/minors, status, sexual orientation, gender expression, etc.)

EXAMPLE: The Dalhousie Law Students’ Society (a Faculty Society representing law school student) has a wide range of Constituent Societies such as Dalhousie Black Law Students' Association (DBLSA) and Dalhousie Indigenous Law Students Association (DILSA)

Faculty Societies

Faculty Societies represent major schools of study at Dalhousie University, and by extension, the students who fall under them. These big-umbrella societies receive disbursements collected via student fees, facilitated by the DSU via successful auditing. Each Faculty Society is then responsible for using their received funds to run operations of their own, OR, to support smaller (Constituent) societies under them by providing them a fixed amount from the received fee.

EXAMPLE: Dalhousie Science Society is a Faculty Society. Some Constituent Societies who fall under them include Dalhousie Undergraduate Chemistry (DUUCS), Dalhousie Association of Biology Students (DABS) and Dalhousie Association of Marine Biology Students (DAMS). This is because all of those areas of study (majors) fall under the “umbrella” school of Science

Levy Societies

Similar to Faculty Societies, Levy Societies receive disbursements collected via student fees, facilitated by the DSU via successfully auditing. Instead of “schools of study”, the scope, mandate, and mission of Levy Societies is usually to ALL students; which means, they fully use their disbursements to run their own larger-scaled operations, services, and grants. Because of their larger operational funds and mission, Levy Societies usually facilitate some type of student-service at Dalhousie University.

EXAMPLE: Loaded Ladle facilitates FREE meals to fight food insecurity. Dalhousie Outdoors Society (DOS) provides gear rental at their Library. CKDU-FM is a radio station accessible by all students. The Dal/King’s Bike Society improves transportation and sustainability on-campus by facilitating bike rentals.

Residence Council Societies

Finally, Residence Council Societies represent and support the different Dalhousie Residence houses on-campus. They receive disbursements collected via student fees, facilitated by the DSU via successful auditing Their mandate and aim is improve Residence Life and programming opportunities within Residence by working together with Dal Residence Advisors and Ancillary Services.

  • Gerard Hall Residence Council

  • LeMarchant Place Residence Council

  • Howe Hall Residence Council

  • John Riley Hall Residence Council

  • Shrieff Hall Residence Council

  • Mini Res - Residence Council

With a proper basic understanding of DSU Societies, you can now proceed to ratify/create a society or to join an existing society! You should be able to find this information in the other tabs. The DSU also advises you to read the following supplementary material to get a full grasp of DSU Societies before proceeding!

If you have any questions about Societies, feel free to reach out to any of the following:
dsusocieties@dal.ca , dsuvpi@dal.ca, or dsuinternal@dal.ca

Contact

For society questions pertaining to:

Audits, Treasurer Training, Society Grants or the Grants and Sponsorship Committee (GSC)
Please reach out to dsuvpf@dal.ca and dsufincm@dal.ca

Ratification, Bank Letters, Society Emails, Society Offices, or the Society Review Committee (SRC)
Please reach out to dsuvpi@dal.ca and dsuinternal@dal.ca

For all other society-related inquiries
Please reach out to dsusocieties@dal.ca