Admissions Requirements & Procedures

We recognize that our students come from many different places and with a significant range of differing backgrounds. Hence there is no fixed and rigid list of prerequisites, and applicants are considered and often admitted even if their formal previous mathematical education is very different from the informal list of prerequisites provided. In general, we’d like to see some sort of overall mathematical maturity and experience, and we appreciate (though we do not require) evidence of in-depth concentration in one mathematical discipline or another.

Yet this List of Suggested Prerequisites provides a non-binding list of courses that are recommended to applicants from within the University of Toronto in order to be seriously considered for the doctoral stream and terminal stream master’s programs. Students coming from other institutions will have to make the appropriate substitutions.

Listed below are the minimum admission requirements set by the School of Graduate Studies.

1. Applicants to a Master's Program at the University of Toronto must hold an appropriate bachelor's degree, or its equivalent, with a final year average of at least mid-B from a recognized university. Applicants to the PhD program must have an appropriate University of Toronto master's degree, or its equivalent, with an average of at least A-, or demonstrated comparable research competence. (Direct entry from the bachelor's to the PhD is possible for some eminently qualified applicants - optional). All applicants must satisfy the admission requirements of the department, which will take into account the background and accomplishments of the student as well as their academic achievements.
    
2. If you are an international applicant, please review the International Degree Equivalency chart. This chart will help you determine if your international degree is considered equivalent. Qualifications from a number of educational systems around the world are listed and the academic standings indicated are normally accepted as equivalent to a University of Toronto mid-B grade average if the degree obtained has been awarded from an institution which is recognized by the School of Graduate Studies.
    
3. Official transcripts of your academic record from each university attended are required for admission: 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. Applicants who attended universities outside North America must provide notarized English translations to accompany all foreign documentation not written in English. If admitted, it is the applicant's responsibility to arrange for transcript(s) to be sent directly from their institution to the graduate department. Academic records must be enclosed in an envelope provided by the institution(s) concerned and sealed or signed across the back of the envelope. Do not open. Note that faxed records are not considered official and that documents submitted will not be returned to the student.

   If academic records are interim pending completion of studies in progress, official final academic records indicating that the degree has been conferred must be submitted to the graduate department as soon as possible and before admission can be finalized. The School of Graduate Studies includes instructions about clearing these conditions on the Offer of Admission.
    

4. At least THREE supporting letters of reference are required. Referees are automatically contacted via e-mail when you submit their name and contact info on the on-line application form. Letters of reference will be part of the official student academic record; they are confidential and applicants/students will not have access to them. Please note there are no reference forms and that your referee's email must be an official institutional email address (personal email addresses not accepted).
    
5. A letter of intent or personal statement to be up-loaded on the online application form.
    
6. A curriculum vitae to be uploaded on the on-line application form.
    
7. It is essential that all incoming graduate students have a good command of English. Facility in the English language must be demonstrated by all applicants educated outside Canada whose primary language is not English. This requirement is a condition of admission and should be met before application. If English is not the sole language of instruction at your current university, proof of English proficiency is required as part of your application. For more detailed information, please visit the School of Graduate Studies English-Language Proficiency page.

Applications to the Department of Mathematics must be submitted to the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) using an online application which is housed on a secure server at the University of Toronto.

The online application allows applicants to manage and submit biographical and educational information as well as a Statement of Intent immediately to the University. Applicants can edit an in-progress application and check the status of all documents submitted using a secure password and Userid.

A valid email account is needed to complete the online application, as the University will correspond with applicants using e-mail.

Applications are considered complete and can be reviewed only after payment and all documentation is received by the Department of Mathematics (this includes letters of reference submitted online by referees and scanned transcripts). All documentation must be received at the Mathematics Department by the document deadline.

Register or log in to the School of Graduate Studies Online Admissions Application. 

• If you are a first-time applicant, click the link to Create an Account to begin your application. You will receive a verification code via email as part of the account creation process. After entering your verification code, you will create a password for your account.
• You may save and return to the application at any point in the process.

Provide the biographical and education information requested.

Submit your payment (online payment is preferred but mail-in payment is available).

• You can upload application materials, including unofficial transcripts, statements of intent, writing samples, and more, through your applicant status portal after submitting your application.

You will be required to enter contact information for at least three referees. Be sure to inform your referees that you are doing this and that the University of Toronto, School of Graduate Studies will be contacting them by email.

• Your referees will automatically receive a notification email that they have been requested to complete a reference for your application, along with instructions to submit their reference letter in the application system.
• If you need to change your referees, please get in touch with the graduate department.
• If you need to send a reminder email to your existing referees, you can do so through your applicant portal after submitting your application.

Submit your Statement of Intent on the online application.

Arrange to upload one electronic or scanned transcript from each post-secondary institution attended. Scanned copies must be up-to-date and must include the transcript "legend" which is usually printed on the back of the paper transcript. The admissions committee will make its decision about your application based on this scanned transcript. Please ensure that the file is complete and readable before submitting.

• The following option applies to transcripts from Canadian universities only: In lieu of a scanned copy of a paper transcript, applicants may upload a .PDF file of their academic history from their university's student web service. Printing to pdf directly from your web browser is ideal; if this is not possible you may copy and paste the information into a word processing program and print to pdf from there. Some universities do not include the same information on the student web service as they do on a transcript (e.g., class size or average). If the admissions committee determines that the file is incomplete you may be asked to submit a copy of the transcript instead.

Arrange for proof of English facility, if applicable, to be sent to the University of Toronto. (The ETS institution code for the University of Toronto is 0982.) Photocopies of official TOEFL score sheets are acceptable and should be mailed to the Graduate Office of the Department of Mathematics, or emailed to gradinfo@math.toronto.edu.

Be aware of the deadline dates for application and documents.

To view the status of your application, including outstanding requirements, please log in to your account to view your applicant status portal.

Application Form and Payment Deadline: Dec. 8, 2023

Document Deadline: Dec. 15, 2023