The Department seeks to admit students with the training, dedication, and passion to succeed in an MA or PhD program in Classics. Successful applicants, in addition to meeting the minimum admissions requirements outlined above, will be able to articulate why they want to study Classics at the University of Toronto. We are committed to fostering an intellectual environment where diversity of perspectives may thrive. To that end, we particularly welcome applicants from groups traditionally under-represented in Classics.
We accept applications in the Autumn and Winter for admission to degree programs beginning the following September. The application deadline is December 15, 2023 for admission to programs beginning in September 2024. If exceptional circumstances prevent you from applying by the deadline, please contact the Graduate Coordinator at grad.classics@utoronto.ca.
Applications to the Graduate Department of Classics must be submitted to the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) through the online admissions application. The Department can consider your application only after you have entered your personal and academic information in the online application, submitted the application fee and completed the full application (as described below). Once you access the SGS online admissions application and enter your contact information an applicant identification number and a password will be sent to you by email. You can leave and return to your application at any point until you move to the payment stage. After that point you can return to check on the status of your application; this includes submitting your supporting documents and verifying that we have received those documents.
Once you have entered your information, paid for the application, and received your SGS applicant ID number, you can submit your entire application online.
The online application consists of:
- Online application form
- Outline of research interests
- List of Greek and Latin texts read in the original language
- Writing sample
- Two letters of reference
- Curriculum Vitae (optional)
Note that as part of your online application you will be asked to submit a scanned version of an academic transcript from every post-secondary institution which you have attended. You will not be required to submit official paper copies of your transcripts until after the admissions committee makes its decision. If admitted, you will be required to submit an official transcript. Verification of your paper transcript will be a condition that must be met prior to registration.
Your outline of research interests should tell us where within the field of Classics your academic interests lie, what you have worked on in the past and what you would like to work on in the future. We also ask you to submit a list of Greek and Latin texts that you have read in the original language in an academic context. Please indicate only substantial portions read (i.e. at least a page, not small extracts). You can list texts read on your own (i.e. not within a classroom setting), but please mark them as such. This information helps us to gauge your level of preparation in the ancient languages. Your writing sample should be a piece of polished scholarly writing, such as a paper written for a course or part of an undergraduate thesis, usually no more than 20 pages in length, exclusive of bibliography.
You should solicit letters of recommendation from two people who know you well in an academic context and can attest to your scholarly strengths, achievements, and potential. Your recommenders can submit their letters online or, if they would prefer, e-mail them directly to the Graduate Administrator at k.gavrilovic@utoronto.ca by mid December. We ask that they too respect the deadline. Finally, you may submit a curriculum vitae listing your scholarly and other accomplishments, if you wish, but this is not required as part of the application.
Students who wish to be considered for the Diversity Fellowship should indicate this in their outline of research interests. They should also explain in a few sentences in what sense they consider themselves to belong to a group under-represented in the department or the field (e.g. on the basis of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, etc.). Applications for the Fellowship will be considered by the Admissions Committee and the successful applicant informed in their letter of admission. Application for the Fellowship will not be a factor in admission decisions.
The Department of Classics does not use GMAT or GRE scores.
Applicants educated outside Canada whose primary language is not English and whose post-secondary education has not been conducted in English must arrange to take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or another of the tests accepted by the School of Graduate Studies, and must arrange to have the results sent to the University of Toronto. Further information about required minimum scores is available on the SGS English-language Proficiency Testing page. Please note that we must have official notification of these scores before we can make an offer of admission.
If you have trouble downloading the forms or any other problems with the application process, please contact:
Ms. Coral Gavrilovic, Graduate Administrator
(416) 978-5513
(416) 978-7307, fax
k.gavrilovic@utoronto.ca
Should you need to mail any documents to the department in hard copy you should send them to:
Graduate Applications
Department of Classics
125 Queen’s Park
University of Toronto
Toronto, ON M5S 2C7
Canada
Please note that while the pandemic continues email is the best means of communicating with the Graduate Coordinator or Graduate Administrator.