Finances & Awards

Graduate students in the Department of English draw on a number of sources to finance their studies. MA and MA in English in the Field of Creative Writing students are eligible for SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarships - Masters as well as Ontario Graduate Scholarships. MA in English in the Field of Creative Writing, PhD, and PhD U students hold Teaching Assistantships. PhD and PhD U students are eligible for SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarships - Doctoral as well as SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships; in addition, they may apply for a Summer Thesis Fellowship in Year 4 (Year 5 for the PhD U) and, if needed, a Doctoral Completion Award in Year 6. (Note that only citizens or permanent residents of Canada may apply for SSHRC scholarships and fellowships.)

If you are considering applying to our MA, MA in English in the Field of Creative Writing, or PhD/PhD U Program, please also be certain to apply for SSHRC or OGS support. This is important for all students but particularly for students hoping to enter the MA Program.

PhD and PhD U students already in the program are required to apply for external funding each year. Historically, our students have been very successful with their applications. We provide workshops in grant writing as well as one-on-one clinics with faculty, both aimed at helping students put together the strongest applications possible.

The Department of English also awards a number of internal scholarships to its graduate students. Among these, we are delighted to announce the new Professor Linda Munk Graduate Futures Scholarship, worth $20,000 for one year, which honors the late Linda Munk, Professor of English Literature at the University of Toronto. Professor Munk was widely recognized for her passion for literature, especially American poetry of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, for her teaching and her outstanding research. All applicants to the MA and PhD programs will automatically be considered for the Linda Munk Scholarship as well as other internal awards.

Detailed information about internal and external funding is provided below. Start with the "Overview" or go directly to the topic that interests you.

The University of Toronto is the first Canadian University to offer a base funding package for graduate students pursuing doctoral degrees. It is the policy of the Graduate Department of English that all PhD students receive a base funding package of at least $19,000 (in 2022-23) plus tuition and incidental fees (including UHIP for international students) through five years of study in the PhD program, conditional on the student making satisfactory progress towards the degree.

For a student without a major academic award, their base funding consists of the maximum Teaching Assistantships income that can be counted towards the funding package and a University of Toronto Fellowship. Students who do not wish to work as Teaching Assistants will give up those portions of the funding.

Teaching Assistantships income is not counted toward the funding package for domestic students with major academic awards.

  • For a domestic student with a major academic award (e.g. the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Scholarship (SSHRC) or The Faculty of Arts & Science Top (FAST) Doctoral Fellowship), their base funding consists of the scholarship and a University of Toronto Fellowship (unless the award covers the whole funding package [e.g. the CGS D]). Teaching Assistantships income are above the funding package.

Teaching Assistantships income is counted toward the funding package for international students with major awards, unless the award covers the whole package.

  • For an international student with a major academic award [e.g. the Ontario Graduate Scholarship or the Mary H. Beatty Fellowship], their base funding consists of the scholarship, the maximum Teaching Assistantships income that can be counted towards the funding package and a University of Toronto Fellowship. Students who do not wish to work as Teaching Assistants will give up those portions of the funding.
  • For an international student with a Vanier, their scholarship covers the base funding package. Teaching Assistantships income are above the funding package.

Please visit the websites below for further information on how funding works at the University of Toronto:

The Faculty of Arts & Science - How Graduate Funding Works in Arts & Science

The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) - How funding Works: Research-Stream Programs

IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY

Students applying to the one-year MA program OR to the two-year MA in English in the Field of Creative Writing OR entering the second year of the MA CRW program, may apply for SSHRC CGS-Master’s awards.  SSHRC has confirmed that both our MA programs are SSHRC CGS M–eligible. See the Supplemental Information below, and contact the Graduate Program office with any questions regarding program eligibility.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Since fall 2013, applicants for SSHRC GCS M funding must complete their entire application on-line using the new “tri-agency” application portal shared by three academic funding agencies.

The tentative date that the on-line application will be available to students is early September. To apply for a CGS- Master’s you must be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, have completed or be about to complete a bachelor’s degree, or be enrolled in, or intend to apply for full-time admission to an eligible graduate program at the master's or doctoral level at a Canadian university with a CGS M allocation.

You must be applying for full-time admission to an MA program in the humanities or social sciences in Canada, or be continuing full-time in such a program. You must have a first-class average (e.g. for U of T undergraduates, A minus or 3.7 GPA) in your last two years of completed study (full-time or the equivalent). You cannot have held previous CGS M funding. See the SSHRC website for further eligibility information.

Scholarships in the amount of $17,500 are awarded for a 12-month period and are non-renewable. Visit the SSHRC website for information and for the on-line application. Consult the Supplemental Information below for hints for understanding this new application system.

  • Deadline - Application deadline (date by which the complete application must be submitted by the applicant): December 1, 2022, before 8:00 p.m. (EST). Applications must be submitted by the deadline using the Research Portal. If the deadline falls on a weekend, applications must be submitted by the following business day before 8:00 p.m. (ET). Due to volumn, the CGS M website has crashed in the past on the days prior to the deadline on Docember 1. The DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH THEREFORE STRONGLY RECOMMENDS STUDENTS PLAN TO SUBMIT A DAY OR TWO EARLIER THAN THE DEADLINE.

  • Government Funded Awards (School of Graduate Studies)
  • SSHRC Talent Program
  • Tri-Agency Application
  • PDF iconSupplemental SSHRC/CGSM Instructions.pdf
  • The APPLYING FOR EXTERNAL FELLOWSHIPS PRIMER is available to current U of T English students upon request.  Contact the Graduate Assistant, Marguerite Perry

NB: Students applying for the SSHRC CGS M will also need to upload scanned pdf copies of OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS to their CGS M application. These students may contact Marguerite Perry directly for assistance and more information.

The 2023-2024 Ontario GRADUATE Scholarship (OGS) online application is not yet open. Please note that this is a revised on-line application, available through the School of Graduate Studies website.  A direct link will be posted to the SGS website when it is open.

Before you begin the application, please READ THROUGH THE INFORMATION PAGE FOR OGS, and the REVISED INSTRUCTIONS VERY CAREFULLY.

As of the 2013-2014 academic year, the University of Toronto has been responsible for the adjudication of the OGS awards held at U of T and has a centralized online application available via the School of Graduate Studies website (link below). If you are a current student, your OGS application is made via this School of Graduate Studies website. If you are a student seeking admission, you submit an OGS application to each university for which you are seeking admission. OGS awards are no longer transferrable from one university to another.

Master's students are allowed to receive the Ontario Graduate Scholarship for a maximum of two years.  The award is available during either one or both of the first two academic years (12-month periods) of a master’s degree program, but not after the second year. OGS awards are subject to a lifetime maximum of six years per student. In addition, OGS guidelines restrict students to a lifetime maximum of six (6) years of government-funded awards and prohibit students from holding an OGS and another government-funded award concurrently.

Doctoral students may receive the scholarship for a maximum of four years, and are subject to a lifetime maximum of six years per student. In addition, OGS guidelines restrict students to a lifetime maximum of six (6) years of government-funded awards and prohibit students from holding an OGS and another government-funded award concurrently.

Applications for awards at the provincial level are primarily for citizens or permanent residents of Canada residing in Ontario, who are either already enrolled in, or are about to enter, a graduate degree program full-time, and who study or plan to study at a university in Ontario.

However, a small number of awards are available to visa students. Applicants holding or who will be holding a student visa are eligible to apply following the same application process and internal deadlines set by their current or proposed graduate unit. Graduate units will select and forward a limited number of applications to the School of Graduate Studies to compete in a centralized adjudication of visa-student applications.

Applicants are usually notified about the result of their application by mid-April.

OGS awards are worth $15,000 and are distributed as $5000 per term for three consecutive terms.  Renewals are not automatic; reapplication is required.

 

NB: Students applying for the Doctoral SSHRC/CGS-D will also need to upload scanned pdf copies of OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS to their OGS application. These students may contact Marguerite Perry directly for assistance and more information.

THE DOCTORAL SSHRC CGS D APPLICATION for 2023-2024 IS NOW ONLINE AND OPEN.

Through its Doctoral Awards funding opportunity, SSHRC offers two types of funding for doctoral students:

  • SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships; and
  • Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) Doctoral Scholarships.

Applicants apply for both awards by completing one application form. If you are eligible for both awards, SSHRC will automatically consider you for both.

Applications for doctoral awards at the federal level are open only to Canadian citizens and permanent residents who are either already enrolled in, or about to enter, a graduate degree program.  Applications must be completed online, verified, and submitted online by the Department deadline, which is much earlier than the date posted on the SSHRC website. Applications go through a rigorous ranking process both at a department level and at the School of Graduate Studies before selected applications are digitally forwarded to Ottawa, where the final decisions are made. Visit the website the SSHRC website for more information about the adjudication process.

To apply for a SSHRC Doctoral Scholarship or Canada Graduate Scholarship, you must be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, have completed a bachelor's degree (if you are applying to a direct entry PhD program), or be about to complete a master's degree in the humanities or social sciences, or be already pursuing a PhD or equivalent or a combined MA/PhD at a Canadian university.

A SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship is currently valued at $20,000 per annum and is awarded for 1 – 4 years.
CGS - Doctoral scholarships, in the amount of $35,000 per annum, are awarded for a period of 3 years.
Visit the SSHRC website for more information (link below).

Use the link below for Supplemental Instructions specific to the Graduate Program in English.

 

NB: Students applying for the Doctoral SSHRC/CGS-D will also need to upload scanned pdf copies of OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS to their SSHRC application. These students may contact Marguerite Perry directly for assistance and more information.

PhD and MA in English in the Field of Creative Writing students entering or currently registered in the graduate program are eligible for Teaching Assistantships. A substantial number of assistantships are appointed each year. Most appointments are for 170-190 hours per academic year, but the number of hours may vary below or above these figures. Students must apply for these appointments.

Notices announcing positions to be filled will be posted outside rooms JHB 603 and JHB 719, on the Central HR & Equity Job postings website, and on the Department of English website.

Because TAships are dependent on undergraduate enrolment, they cannot be finalized until late summer or early fall. For more information on the Departmental TA hiring policies, please see the PDF iconTA HANDBOOK.pdf

 

The Summer Thesis Fellowship, Department of English

The Department of English is pleased to confirm the continuation of the Summer Thesis Fellowship (PhD Year 4 and PhD U Year 5). This fellowship, which was awarded for the first time in 2018, is enabled by an FAS program-level fellowship pool. It was developed based on a multi-stage consultation process with graduate students, graduate faculty, and graduate staff conducted through meetings with the Graduate English Association executive, the Graduate English Council, and an "open house" discussion for all graduate students and faculty, with email feedback also solicited and received.

The Summer Thesis Fellowship is available by application to PhD Year 4 students (and PhD U Year 5 students) to support a concentrated focus on dissertation progress during May through August of that year. Creating a "Milestone" on the path towards degree completion, it provides a positive incentive to encourage timely completion of the doctoral dissertation. Applicants must be in good standing and have already completed at least one thesis chapter. Fellowship recipients are encouraged not to accept summer teaching as a TA or Course Instructor in May to August of PhD Year 4 (PhD U Year 5), so they can focus on their thesis. The yearly amount of program-level fellowship pool funds will be divided among eligible applications and will vary from year to year. The Fellowship is in addition to the year's UTF amounts, external scholarships, and any previously committed internal awards.

Eligibility and application requirements:
PhD Year 4 (or PhD U Year 5): by application in January; supporting documents by March.
Students must have achieved candidacy in Year 3 (PhD U Year 4), be in good standing, and compliant with the FAS Terms and Agreement for fellowship support.
By the time of application, students must have completed a thesis chapter (minimum 30 ds pp, or 9,000 words, attested by the thesis committee to be a competent draft chapter).

The application requires a one-page plan of thesis work, including proposed writing, to be undertaken during the fellowship period.

Fellowship holders are encouraged not to hold summer teaching during May to August of that year so they can focus on their thesis.

Fellows will submit a final report in September on thesis work completed at the end of their fellowships.

Priorities addressed and benefits anticipated:
(1) PhD "Milestone": The Summer Thesis Fellowship - with its focus on continued dissertation progress - will reinforce the PhD program's expectations of time to completion.
(2) Added funding: PhD Year 4 (PhD U 5) students holding these fellowships will receive a boost in funding at a time when average income tends to fall slightly (due to greater availability of external grants and recruitment funds in early PhD years). It will preclude the need for summer teaching.
(3) Availability of summer teaching appears to be falling in the Department, resulting in disappointed applicants. With fourth years holding Summer Thesis Fellowships, it may enhance available summer-teaching opportunities for other students seeking them.
(4) RAship: the Summer Thesis Fellowship may be held in conjunction with an RAship as long as the total number of RA hours averages 5 or fewer per week.

More information on the fellowship is available on the Arts & Science Graduate Program Fellowships page.

 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPLYING FOR THE DOCTORAL COMPLETION AWARD

The DCA is available for doctoral students in the first year beyond the funded cohort.  

Both domestic and international students are eligible to apply and should submit their application to the Graduate Administrator by the appropriate deadline (as announced on the student gradlist).  The value of the award is determined by available funds each year.

ELIGIBILITY

In order to apply for the DCA you must:

  1. Be a full-time registered PhD student exiting the funded cohort (entering year 6) [i.e. be registered for the full session during which the DCA instalment is paid out]
  2. Be ABD with all requirements completed except the dissertation
  3. Be in good standing as defined by the Department of English and SGS
  4. Have a "progress is satisfactory" report on file from your supervisory committee for the current academic year (between 1 July to June 30)
  5. Not hold a major internal or external award/funding (exceeding $10 000) for the year which the DCA applies

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS WITH A JACKMAN JUNIOR FELLOWSHIP IN YEAR 6

If the value of the DCA in the relevant year exceeds the value of a Jackman Junior Fellowship (JJF) held by an international PhD candidate, the student will receive the difference.

Students may apply only ONCE for the DCA in the first year beyond the funded cohort (i.e entering Year 6) with the following exception:

  • If you are a PhD U student, you may apply a second time.

Note: PhD U students applying a second time must submit ONE NEW chapter with their second application. 

In order to take up the award in the fall you must have completed two chapters (or the equivalent) of the dissertation or, for PhD U students applying for the first time, one chapter (or the equivalent). These chapters (single spaced and double sided) are to be submitted digitally via email to BOTH the Graduate Administrator tanuja.persaud@utoronto.ca AND to the DGS english.graddirector@utoronto.ca by 1 August (or the next business day if 1 August falls on a weekend or a statutory holiday).  This is a hard deadline so your award payment can be processed in a timely manner for the September awards cheque run.

NOTE: Students who defend and submit their final dissertation to SGS T-Space in a given session (i.e. Fall: 1 September to 31 December; Winter: 1 January to 30 April; Summer: 1 May to 31 August), are ineligible to receive the DCA instalment for that session.
When students upload their final, approved dissertations to the thesis repository, their registration is FINCA (financially cancelled) and they are no longer registered students.

APPLYING

The DCA APPLICATION FORM should be completed, signed, and submitted digitally to Tanuja Persaud, Graduate Administrator, tanuja.persaud@utoronto.ca, by the appropriate deadline. Please feel free to contact the DGS or Tanuja Persaud with any questions about your application. 

PDF iconDCA-English-2023-24 (Mar 2023).pdf