MA in English

The MA in English at the University of Toronto is a one-year coursework-only program (there is no thesis option).

U of T English MAs follow a variety of exciting career paths! Some go on to complete a PhD in English and pursue an academic career, while others enter the fields of education, publishing, journalism, communication, business, social work, and public policy, among many others.

Program Description and Requirements

At the University of Toronto, the acronym FCE stands for “Full Course Equivalent.” A “full course” is weighted 1.0 FCE and usually meets for the full year (i.e., two terms or semesters). Almost all of our graduate courses in English, however, run for a single term and are thus called “half courses,” which are weighted 0.5 FCE. (“3.0 FCEs,” in other words, in practice means 6 single-term courses.) For a detailed explanation of coursework terminology, please see the Graduate Course Enrolment FAQ page.

The MA program typically takes 12 months.

Students must successfully complete a total of 4.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs) as follows:

  • ENG6999YF Critical Topographies: Theory and Practice of Contemporary Literary Studies in English (1.0 FCE) [please note that students in the MA in Creative Writing program are not required to take this course]
  • 3.0 graduate FCEs in English (6 one-term courses)

Students must attain a B- standing in each graduate course.

MA students may take up to 1.0 FCE of coursework outside of the Graduate Program in English, regardless of whether or not the courses outside of English are in fulfillment of the requirements for a Collaborative Specialization.

If you are not enrolled in a Collaborative Specialization, you must receive approval from the Associate Director, MA before you can take a course outside of English. If you wish to take a course outside of English, please email the following to the Associate Director, MA and Tanuja Persaud for each such course: course code, full title, course description, and brief rationale for why the course is necessary for your research.

Collaborative Specializations provide structure to extra-departmental or inter-departmental work, so if you are enrolled in a Collaborative Specialization, you may go ahead and take courses outside of English that are required for that program without receiving approval from the Associate Director, MA, but please note that such courses will count towards the maximum 1.0 FCE that you may take outside of English. (If your Collaborative Specialization requires any elective courses that would put you over the 1.0 FCE maximum outside of English, those elective courses should be selected from among the English course offerings that have been approved by the Collaborative Specialization as fulfilling its elective requirements. Please consult with Tanuja Persaud if you have any questions.)

IMPORTANT EXCEPTION: cross-listed courses. Courses in other units taught by English faculty are considered to be cross-listed and are equivalent to English courses: they may be taken without receiving approval from the Associate Director, MA and will not count toward the maximum of 1.0 FCE that you may take outside of English.

Entry Requirements

Please see the Application Information page (under “Programs”) for further information.

Admission to the MA program is based upon the applicant's undergraduate record, references, writing sample, and statement.

Minimum qualifications for entry into the MA program include:

  • A minimum of 7 full-year undergraduate courses in English or the equivalent in half-year courses (i.e., 14), or any combination of full-and half-year courses that add up to the equivalent of 7 full-year courses
  • An appropriate bachelor's degree (i.e., a four-year undergraduate degree), or its equivalent (preferably in English), with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.3 / B+ and evidence of first-class work in English. The department favours a broad training in the major genres and all periods of English literary history
  • Recommendations from two referees
  • A statement of purpose
  • A writing sample consisting of 12 to 15 pages

Admission to the program is highly selective: These are minimum requirements only.

In considering applications, the Department favours a broad training in the major genres and periods of English literature. While historical coverage is especially important, a strong grounding in the major literary genres is also an asset, as is study of the range of literary writing in English across national cultures and ethnic/racialized, gendered, and sexually diverse communities. 

Fees & Financial Assistance

Although we do not offer teaching assistantships to students in the MA program, we regularly make significant financial awards to our top MA applicants. In addition, many of our incoming MA students are supported by prestigious external awards, including Ontario Graduate Scholarships and Canada Graduate Scholarships. The department also offers unrivalled help to MA students applying for fellowships for further graduate study.

Deadlines for applications for external awards often precede the program application deadline, so your first step should be to consider applying for financial support. For more information, see  Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council: Canada Graduate Research Scholarships - Masters (SSHRC CGRS-M) and Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS).

Please see the Department's Graduate Funding & Awards page.

Tuition fees for full-time domestic and international students are posted on Student Accounts site.

Further Information

School of Graduate Studies

Ready to Apply?