The Department of Classics is proud to be able to offer our MA and PhD students some of the best funding packages in the Faculty of Arts & Science (A&S). We put a great deal of effort into securing good funding for all our students, and for the past several years our average funding package has been roughly 30% higher than the minimum guaranteed by A&S. Our PhD students receive five years of guaranteed funding (four years if they have an MA degree from a university in the province of Ontario). Further funding for completing the PhD dissertation is available after the end of the period of guaranteed funding. Our MA students receive one year of guaranteed funding. Students in a two-year MA program receive considerable financial assistance in the other year.
How Graduate Funding Works in Arts and Science
Funding
The Funded Cohort consists of students enrolled in the following programs:
- A five-year direct entry PhD program. Five years of base funding is provided, as long as students are in good standing.
- A four-year PhD program, to which students with an MA degree in Classics (or a similar field) from the U of T or a comparable program are admitted. Four years of base funding is provided, as long as students are in good standing.
- A one-year MA program. One year of base funding is provided. This is a demanding program, for students follow the same program as students in the first year of the direct-entry PhD program. It is ideal for students with a strong Classics background who want the best training in Classics, but who do not want to commit themselves to a PhD program (at the U of T or elsewhere).
- Students in our two-year MA program enter the Funded Cohort in their second year if they have met the expectations in the first year. The Department makes every effort to support students enrolled in the two-year MA during their first year, but students are not members of the A&S funded cohort during that year.
The Faculty of Arts and Science offers guaranteed funding to students in the Funded Cohort. The current A&S base funding package covers tuition and incidental fees (health care, etc.) plus $18,000. The Department of Classics exceeds the A&S base funding amount by providing at least $24,000 beyond tuition and fees to all our students in the Funded Cohort. Most funding packages will exceed this base funding sum, often significantly. For several years now the average income above tuition for our students (both international and domestic) in the Funded Cohort has amounted to c. $27,000.
In order to maintain eligibility for the guaranteed funding package, students must maintain good academic standing and apply for external fellowships for which they are eligible. Part of a student’s guaranteed funding will come from teaching, either as a Teaching Assistant (TA; in early years) or as a Course Instructor (CI; later in their program). A smaller contribution to our funding packages is derived from Research Assistantships (RA). Only limited teaching assistantships are assigned to MA students and to PhD students in their first year, but they may form a larger part of the funding package offered to PhD students in the funded years following Year 1. If a TA assignment or an RA-ship forms part of the funding package for a student in a given year and the student declines the TA or RA offer, the funding guarantee for that year is reduced by the amount of the assignment offered.
A student’s funding package is thus derived from many sources:
- UTF (University of Toronto Fellowship), straight financial support from the Faculty of Arts and Science: this is the main source of support for most students
- income from working as a Teaching Assistant (starting in year 1)
- stipend as a Course Instructor (normally not before years 4 and 5 of a five-year PhD program)
- income from working as a Research Assistant for a professor
- departmental awards, including our new Diversity Award
- any external award the student may win (SSHRC, OGS, Connaught, or any other major grant)
The Department does its best to assist students in the first year of the two-year MA, so that financial considerations do not prevent qualified and talented students from enrolling. Many of our first-year MAs are supported by external fellowships: any domestic student can hold a Canada Graduate Scholarship at the Masters level (a CGS-M, value $17,500); and any Canadian student can apply for an Ontario Graduate Scholarship ($15,000). The Department has some funds it can distribute to such incoming students, so that at least tuition for domestic students in the first year of a two-year MA program is covered, usually with the help of a small amount of Teaching Assistant income.
The Department also provides assistance to PhD students in the years immediately following the years of guaranteed funding, provided their PhD research is progressing according to plan, through the Doctoral Completion Award offered through the School of Graduate Studies as well as Teaching Assistantships and Course Instructorships and departmental awards.
Fellowships & Awards
Domestic students (Canadian citizens or permanent residents) seeking admission to the Department’s graduate programs should submit applications for external graduate fellowships such as the CGS-Masters, the CGS-Doctoral and SSHRC Doctoral fellowships, and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS). Winning an award benefits the winner and the student body as a whole. Application deadlines for these fellowships are usually early in the autumn; please consult with the coordinator in your own department. The principal kinds of fellowship awarded by bodies outside the University are Ontario Graduate Scholarships, Government of Canada Masters and Doctoral fellowships and SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships.
- Students in both the MA and PhD programs, and also undergraduates in their final year who intend to enter a master’s program in the following September, are eligible for an Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS), whose value in 2022-2023 is $5,000 per academic session (maximum of three academic sessions). Students enrolled in the graduate program, whether Canadian or visa students, can apply. All those who intend to apply for entry to the program and who are eligible to do so, especially applicants at either level who are currently enrolled in another Ontario university, are strongly urged to apply.
- The Canada Graduate Scholarship (Masters), whose value in 2022-2023 is $17,500, may be held only by citizens or permanent residents of Canada. They may be held for one year only. Students in the first year of a two-year MA program may apply for funding for a second year; and current final-year undergraduates may apply for funding for a one-year MA.
- The Canada Graduate Scholarship (Doctoral) is a three-year award worth $35,000 per year for 36 months. Only students who are eligible for three years of funding are eligible for the CGS-D award. Applications are integrated with those for the SSHRC doctoral fellowships.
- The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) awards doctoral fellowships (whose value in 2022-2023 is $20,000 per year) to deserving candidates. Only Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada may apply. SSHRC Fellowships can be held for a total of four years.
Other major external awards can be discovered by consulting the School of Graduate Studies’ Scholarships & Awards information.
Outstanding international students will be nominated by the Department for special multi-year fellowships that are awarded during the admissions process by the University of Toronto. These are primarily the Connaught Fellowship and the Trillium Fellowship.
The Department is able to draw on several funds that have their origin in the generosity of our alumni and alumnae, former members of the Department, and other friends. These funds allow us to support and reward our students every year.
- Diversity Fellowship
- The J. P. Bickell Foundation Graduate Fellowship in Classics – We are grateful to the generosity of the J. P. Bickell Foundation for these awards.
- The Kathryn Bosher Memorial Graduate Award in Classics – This recently instituted fellowship, normally awarded to a talented female student, is named in memory of Dr. Kathryn Bosher (1974-2013), an alumna of the Department and Professor at Northwestern University at the time of her untimely passing.
- The Rene Efrain Memorial Scholarship in Roman History – Scholarships are awarded from two different funds.
- The C. B. Farrar Graduate Scholarship in Classics – Several scholarships are awarded each year from two funds named after the late C. B. Farrar, Professor at the University of Toronto and friend of the study of the Greco-Roman world.
- The Zbigniew Jarkiewicz Memorial Scholarship – This scholarship continues to support our graduate students in most years.
- The Emmet Robbins Memorial Graduate Award in Classics – This fund is named after the late Professor Emmett Robbins, an alumnus of the Department (1968), scholar of Greek poetry, and former Chair of the Department (1990-2001).
- The Sidney P. H. Robinson Graduate Scholarship in Ancient Philosophy – Doctoral students enrolled in the Collaborative Program in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy (CPAMP) are eligible for a Robinson Fellowship in ancient philosophy. The Department is grateful to the donor for his continued interest in the discipline and in the wellbeing of our students.
- The R. M. Smith Memorial Fellowships in Classics – Fellowships are awarded in memory of the late R. M. Smith, Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Toronto.
- The M. B. Wallace Memorial Graduate Award in Classics – Several awards from this fund are awarded annually in memory of the longtime member of the Department Malcolm B. Wallace, whose pedagogical and scholarly activity focused on Greek literature, society, and history.
- The Leonard Woodbury Fellowship – In memory of Professor Leonard Woodbury, who taught Greek Language and Literature in the University of Toronto for forty years, this fund was established by his children and donations from friends.
The Department endeavours to support students who travel to conferences to present papers, or who travel for research purposes. In past years we have been able to cover a substantial portion of the travel costs for at least one conference for each student who requested it, and many of our students shave spent time in Rome, Athens, or in Germany on a language course. Three particular fellowships for more substantial research travel abroad are normally advertised every year:
- The John Lundon Memorial Fellowship in Classics –The most recently established of our departmental awards, this fellowship was founded in 2019 by family and friends in memory of Dr. John Lundon, MA (Classics, University of Toronto) and Professor at the University of Turin, Italy.
- The Norwood Traveling Fellowship – This award was established in memory of the late Professor Gilbert Norwood of University College at the University of Toronto to help junior faculty and senior doctoral students to finance a period of research abroad. In most years this award is open to doctoral students whose research necessitates a longer stay away from Toronto.
- The Andrew and Stephanie Vorres Scholarship – This award provides substantial financial assistance for students in Greek studies to enable them to travel to Greece to pursue an academic program. Restricted to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Financial need may be considered. Application is made directly to the Departmental Chair.