Graduate Funding & Awards

Graduate students in the Department of English draw on a number of sources to fund their studies.

  • MA and MA in English in the Field of Creative Writing (MA CRW) students are eligible to hold a SSHRC Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Master's (CGRS M) or an Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS).
  • PhD and PhD U students receive a guaranteed minimum financial support package (see below) for five years; all eligible students, domestic and international, are required to apply for the SSHRC Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Doctoral (CGRS D) and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS); in addition, all students 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 (Years 6 and 7 for the PhD U).
  • MA, MA CRW, PhD, and PhD U students are also considered for a range of admissions and in-program English Department graduate awards.
  • MA CRW, PhD, and PhD U students hold Teaching Assistantships.

If you are considering applying to any of our programs -- MA, MA CRW, or PhD/PhD U -- please also be certain to apply for SSHRC and OGS support. This is important for all students but particularly for students hoping to enter the MA Program.

PhD and PhD U students in the program, including students in their first year, who will not otherwise have an external award are required to apply for external funding (SSHRC CGRS D and OGS) 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 offers a number of graduate awards. All applicants and current students in the MA, MA CRW, and PhD/PhD U programs will automatically be considered for suitable awards.

Detailed information about the major sources of internal and external funding is provided below.

Graduate units in the Faculty of Arts & Science provide a minimum level of financial support (also known as "the base funding package") to all graduate students in the funded cohort. Students are eligible for financial support for up to five years of funding at a level which is equal to or exceeds the A&S minimum financial support package. (Students in the first five years of the program are thus referred to as "in the funded cohort.")

Beginning in fall 2025, the base funding package for PhD students increased to $40,000 ($31,552 net of tuition and fees). Funding begins in the first session of registration in the funded program. (See terms and conditions.)

Please see the School of Graduate Studies' Graduate Funding page to learn more about this increase and to find answers to frequently asked question, and for further information see How Graduate Funding Works in A&S.

Note: In 2024–25, prior to the increase in fall 2025, the A&S base funding package for PhD students was $30,102 (approximately $21,750 net of tuition and fees) at the St. George campus rate for domestic graduate students.

The A&S minimum financial support package for students without "high-value awards" (see below) consists of TA income (maximum $7,200, subject to availability and acceptance by the student; see below), RA income, and sufficient University of Toronto Fellowship (UTF) funds to meet the minimum amount.

Many of our PhD students, however, win "high-value awards," typically the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Doctoral (CGRS D) or the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS). (See below for information about these awards.)

For all students (domestic and international) without a high-value award, the minimum financial support package includes the maximum Teaching Assistantship income ($7,200 / approximately 136 hours) that can be counted by the University as part of the funding package. In order to receive the full package, in other words, students without a high-value award are required to take on a TAship assignment of at least $7,200 (approximately 136 hours); that amount will be part of, not in addition to, the amount of the stipend, with any TAship income above that amount earned on top of the stipend.

For all students (domestic and international) with a high-value award, the award replaces all or part of the base funding package, and any Teaching Assistantship income is on top of, not included in, the funding package: for such students, the funding package depends on the specific award that the student has received (see below under the individual awards for more detailed descriptions of how these awards work in practice at the University of Toronto).

Deadline – Monday, December 1, 2025 (see below – we strongly suggest that you submit earlier than the deadline)

Applications for the SSHRC CGRS M must be completed online via the Tri-Agency Research Portal, which opens in early September.

SSHRC has confirmed that both of our MA programs are CGRS M eligible.

You may and should apply for the CGRS M if you are a: 

  • domestic (Canadian citizen or permanent resident) graduate student in the first year of the MA CRW program
  • domestic undergraduate student applying to the one-year MA program, the two-year MA in English in the Field of Creative Writing (MA CRW) program, or the "direct-entry" PhD U program
  • domestic U of T MA student applying to the U of T PhD program (note: U of T MA students can hold the CGRS M in the first year of the U of T PhD program but not in other PhD programs)

To be eligible to apply for the CGRS M 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 level. If you intend to apply for admission to a graduate program at the doctoral level, you are only eligible to apply for the CGRS M if you do not have a master's degree and are applying for "direct entry" from your BA to the PhD U program. (If you have a master's degree and are applying to the regular PhD program, you should apply for the CGRS D; see below.) 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 and then contact the Graduate Assistant with any remaining questions.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Before you begin the application, please CAREFULLY consult the Applying for External Awards Primer (available from the Graduate Assistant upon request) and the following:

NSERC Canada Graduate Research Scholarships — Master’s program

NSERC Instructions for completing an application

SGS Canada Graduate Research Scholarships-Master’s (CGRS-M) Program

Department of English SSHRC CGRS M Supplementary Information Sheet

Scholarships in the amount of $27,000 are awarded for a 12-month period and are non-renewable.

Explanation of Funding: Tuition and fees ($8,448) are deducted from the amount of the award ($27,000), the remainder of which ($18,552) is received by the student.

Please note:

  • Deadline – Absolute application deadline (date by which the complete application must be submitted by the applicant): Monday, December 1, 2025, by 8:00 pm (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 pm (ET). Due to the volume of traffic, the CGRS M website has crashed in the past on the days prior to the deadline on December 1. THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH THEREFORE STRONGLY RECOMMENDS STUDENTS PLAN TO SUBMIT A DAY OR TWO EARLIER THAN THE DEADLINE.
  • SSHRC Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master’s (CGRS M): apply via the Research Portal
  • Government Funded Awards (School of Graduate Studies)
  • The APPLYING FOR EXTERNAL AWARDS PRIMER is available to current U of T English students upon request. Please contact the Graduate Assistant.

Department of English Deadline – Wednesday, September 24, 2025 (by 11:59 pm)

The 2025 SSHRC CGRS D application for the 2026-27 competition IS NOW CLOSED via the SSHRC Online System.

You are required to apply for the SSHRC CGRS D if you are a:

  • current eligible domestic or international PhD / PhD U student who will not otherwise hold an external award in 2026-27

You are strongly encouraged to apply for the SSHRC CGRS D if you are a:

  • current domestic (Canadian citizen or permanent resident) MA student at an institution other than U of T applying to the PhD program for September 2026 admission (domestic U of T MA students applying to the U of T PhD should apply for the CGRS M, as above)

All eligible domestic and international PhD / PhD U students are required to apply for the SSHRC CGRS D. If you are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada, you must be enrolled in your doctoral program of study at an eligible Canadian institution at the time of application.

To be eligible to apply for a CGRS D, you must:

  • have completed a bachelor's degree (if you are applying to a direct entry PhD program) at a Canadian university, have completed or be about to complete a master's degree in the humanities or social sciences at a Canadian university, or be already pursuing a PhD or equivalent or a combined MA/PhD at a Canadian university
  • have completed no more than 36 months of full-time study in the doctoral program by December 31 of the calendar year of application
  • not have already received the maximum of six years of external funding from OGS and SSHRC combined throughout your MA and PhD years combined

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Before you begin the application, please CAREFULLY consult the Applying for External Awards Primer (available from the Graduate Assistant upon request) and the following:

NSERC Canada Graduate Research Scholarships - Doctoral (CGRS D) 

SSHRC Applicant Instructions

SGS Canada Graduate Research Scholarships-Doctoral (CGRS-D) Program

Department of English SSHRC CGRS D Supplementary Information Sheet

Applications go through a rigorous ranking process both at a department level and at the School of Graduate Studies before selected applications are forwarded to SSHRC in Ottawa, where the final decisions are made. Visit the CGRS D website for more information about the selection process.

The CGRS D is valued at $40,000 per annum for a duration of 3 years. 

Explanation of Funding: Tuition and fees ($8,448) are deducted from the amount of the award ($40,000), which replaces the minimum financial support package. The student receives the remainder ($31,552) plus a $3,000 top up (**) for each year in which the award is held, bringing the annual stipend up to $34,552, but any Teaching Assistantship income is on top of that amount, so should you choose to take on a typical TA assignment (usually in the range of 160-180 hours), your full stipend (with a 170-hour / $9,365 assignment) would be $43,917. (Please note that you can also request TA assignments with fewer hours, typically 90 hours over one term.)

** Top up to be confirmed on a yearly basis subject to availability.

Please note:

Deadline – Friday, January 16, 2026 (by 5:00 pm EST)

The 2025 OGS application for the 2026-27 competition is available through the School of Graduate Studies website. (If you are applying to graduate programs, you submit an OGS application to each university to which you are applying.)

All prospective and current graduate students, domestic and international, are eligible (but see below -- a very limited number of awards are available to international students).

You are required to apply for the OGS if you are a:

  • current eligible domestic or international PhD / PhD U student who will not otherwise hold an external award in 2026-27

The University of Toronto is 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. 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 not transferrable from one university to another.

Master's students: The OGS is a one-year award, and MA students may receive it up to two times. 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.

Doctoral students: The OGS is a one-year award, and PhD students may receive it up to four times. In addition, OGS guidelines restrict students to a lifetime maximum of six 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 international (visa) students. Applicants who hold a valid study permit 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.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Before you begin the application, please CAREFULLY consult the Applying for External Awards Primer (available from the Graduate Assistant upon request) and the following:

SGS Ontario Graduate Scholarship

SGS Ontario Scholarship Application Instructions

Department of English OGS Supplementary Information Sheet

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

OGS awards are currently valued at $15,000 and are awarded to successful applicants as $5,000 per term for three consecutive terms.

Explanation of Funding for MA Students

Tuition and fees ($8,448) are deducted from the amount of the award ($15,000), the remainder of which ($6,552) is received by the student.

Explanation of Funding for PhD Students

Beginning in fall 2025, the base funding package for PhD students increased to $40,000 ($31,552 net of tuition and fees). The OGS award ($15,000) becomes part of that package but comes with a $1,500 top up (**), which brings the minimum net stipend up to $33,052, but all Teaching Assistantship income is on top of that amount, so should you choose to take on a typical TA assignment (usually in the range of 160-180 hours), your full stipend (with a 170-hour / $9,365 assignment) would be $42,417. (Please note that you can also request TA assignments with fewer hours, typically 90 hours over one term.)

** Top up to be confirmed on a yearly basis subject to availability.

Please note:

During the admissions process, the department may nominate a limited number of admitted international applicants for this prestigious award. There is no need to contact the department: applications are assembled and submitted entirely by the department.

The Connaught International Scholarship is provided as a $10,000 top-up, in addition to the program’s normal funding package (base amount + tuition and fees), for five years, resulting (as of 2025) in a combined total of no less than $50,000 annually.

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 160-180 hours per academic year, but the number of hours may vary below or above these figures. Students must apply for these appointments. 

Dates for TA rates to follow dates listed in collective agreement:

  • Fall 2024 TA rate per hour: $51.93
  • Winter and Fall 2025 TA rate per hour: $52.97
  • Winter and Fall 2026 TA rate per hour: $53.92
  • Vacation pay: 4% (or 6% for a sixth or subsequent appointment)

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

The Graduate Student Conference and Research Grants are partially supported by the Marguerite Perry Memorial Graduate Student Travel Fund.

The Department of English accepts applications for support for conference presentations (MA and PhD) and research expenses (PhD only).

Priority is given to applications for conference presentations (in-person or virtual). To be eligible for conference funding, you must be delivering a paper.

Once or twice a year, a call for applications (including a link to the online application form) will announce these opportunities.

Each year’s conference and research budget will support activities conducted between the preceding May 1 and the coming April 30.

Conference Presentation Support

MA students: up to $300 (virtual) or $500 (in person)
PhD students: up to $300 (virtual), $750 (domestic in person), or $1,000 (international in person)

Research Support

PhD students: up to $750 (for travel to domestic archives or forms of research other than travel) or $1,000 (for travel to international archives)

Important: please note the availability of the SGS Conference Grant, which gives preference to applications from PhD students "in the early stages of their graduate studies," and the SGS Research Travel Grant, for PhD students beyond Year 1 who are conducting research that is necessary for the completion of their thesis.

The department requires that you apply for the SGS Conference Grant or Research Travel Grant either before or at the same time as you seek departmental support, unless you have already received the maximum number of SGS grants allowed (see below). The SGS grant may not cover your full budget, so you may wish to apply for both for the same conference, in which case, should you receive the SGS grant, depending on availability of funds the department would provide up to the maximum departmental allowance in order to cover as much of the difference as possible between the SGS grant and your full budget.

For the SGS Conference Grant application, MA students and Year 1 PhD students can list the Director of Graduate Studies as supervisor.

Here is the SGS policy regarding the maximum number of SGS Conference Grants: Graduate students are eligible to collect one (1) SGS Conference Grant to support an in-person conference during their registration in a graduate degree program, and two (2) virtual conferences per graduate degree program. Exception: direct-entry or “fast-track” doctoral students are eligible to collect one (1) additional in-person SGS Conference Grants during their degree program for a maximum of two (2) in-person conferences per degree.

Additionally, the Camilla (Cavanagh) O’Connor Doctoral Conference/Research Travel Bursary, generously established by Professor John O’Connor with funds from his mother’s estate (and in her honour), continues to support candidates who are enrolled in the PhD Program and have completed at least three TAships, including the leading of tutorials. This bursary may be held either independently of or in conjunction with the departmental grant and may be used to defray travel expenses for the delivery of a paper at a conference or for essential research in the preparation of a thesis.

The Summer Thesis Fellowship (STF) 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 STF may be held in conjunction with an RAship so long as the total number of RA hours averages 5 or fewer per week.

The yearly amount of fellowship pool funds will be divided among eligible applications and will vary from year to year. The STF is received in addition to the year's UTF amounts, external scholarships, and any previously committed internal awards.

Eligibility:

  • PhD Year 4 (or PhD U Year 5).
  • Students must have achieved candidacy in Year 3 (PhD U Year 4), be in good standing, and be compliant with the FAS Terms and Agreement for fellowship support.
  • By March of Year 4 (Year 5 for PhD U), students must have completed a thesis chapter, attested by the supervisor to be a competent draft chapter. Your supervisor will send an email to the Director of Graduate Studies attesting that the draft chapter is competent. Students and supervisors please note: a full-length introduction, or combined writings that the supervisor deems to be the equivalent of a chapter in terms of significance for the dissertation, may be considered a "chapter" for this purpose. If in doubt about your eligibility, please be sure to consult with the Director of Graduate Studies.

Application:

  • In January (date TBA in the email that will go out in Nov-Dec), attach a one-page plan of thesis work to be completed during the term of the Fellowship to an email attesting that you meet all the eligibility criteria except for the completed chapter (see below). Send the email with the attached plan to the DGS, cc’d to your supervisor and Tanuja Persaud. 
  • In March (date TBA in the email that will go out in Nov-Dec), submit a completed thesis chapter or the equivalent thereof that your supervisor will attest to be a competent draft (see above, under eligibility) by email to the DGS, cc’d to your supervisor and Tanuja Persaud. Ask your supervisor to send an email to the DGS, cc'd to you and Tanuja Persaud attesting that the chapter you submitted qualifies as a competent draft (again, see above, under eligibility).

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

Fellowship holders will submit a final report in September on thesis work completed over the previous summer.

The Doctoral Completion Award (DCA) is available for doctoral students in the first year beyond the funded cohort.

PhD students may apply for a DCA for Year 6. PhD U students may apply for a DCA in Years 6 and 7.

Both domestic and international students are eligible to apply and should submit their application to the Graduate Administrator by the deadline in early June (precise deadline to be 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:

  • Be a full-time registered PhD student exiting the funded cohort (entering Year 6) or a full-time registered PhD U student entering Years 6 or 7; all students must be registered for the full session during which the DCA instalment is paid out
  • Be ABD with all requirements completed except the dissertation
  • Be in good standing as defined by the Department of English and SGS
  • Have a "progress is satisfactory" report on file from your supervisory committee for the current academic year (between July 1 and June 30)
  • For PhD students entering Year 6: Have completed two chapters (or the equivalent) of the dissertation; these chapters must be submitted as part of the DCA application; one of these two chapters may be the same chapter that you submitted for the Summer Thesis Fellowship and the other must be new since then
  • For PhD U students entering Year 6 and applying for the first time: Have completed one chapter (or the equivalent) of the dissertation; this chapter must be submitted as part of the DCA application; this may be the same chapter that you submitted for the Summer Thesis Fellowship
  • For PhD U students entering Year 7 and applying for the second time: Have completed a new chapter (or the equivalent) of the dissertation since the first application; this new chapter must submitted as part of the DCA application
  • Not hold a major internal or external award/funding (exceeding $10,000) for the year in which the DCA would be held
  • For International PhD students: 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 (for PhD U students applying for the first time, one chapter [or the equivalent]). These chapters are to be submitted as email attachments to BOTH the Graduate Administrator AND the DGS 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 that 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 ProQuest in a given session (i.e. Fall, from 1 September to 31 December; Winter, from 1 January to 30 April; or Summer, from 1 May to 31 August) are ineligible to receive the proportion of the DCA for that session or for any remaining session(s) thereafter. (The award is paid out in two instalments, in Sept and Jan, so if you defend during the Summer Session, you will have to pay back 1/3 of the total amount of the award.)

When students upload their final, approved dissertations to SGS ProQuest, their registration is financially cancelled (FINCA) and they are no longer registered students.

APPLYING

The PDF iconDCA APPLICATION FORM should be completed, signed, and submitted digitally, along with the required chapter(s) (see ELIGIBILITY above), to Tanuja Persaud, Graduate Administrator, by the deadline in early June (precise deadline to be announced on the student gradlist). Please feel free to contact the DGS or Tanuja Persaud with any questions about your application.