Application Information

Email us with any questions regarding graduate admissions.

The Centre for Medieval Studies admits students only in September. Applications must be submitted to the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) using the SGS online application and are considered complete and can be reviewed only after all documentation is received by the set deadlines. This includes the applicant's online materials, letters of reference submitted online by referees, official transcripts, CV, and writing sample. To avoid any disappointment, we recommend that you submit all documents well in advance.

The Centre for Medieval Studies does not use GRE scores.

Application Deadline: January 5, 2024, for admission in Fall 2024. Please complete all parts of the online application, as well as upload the required documentation by this date. Reference letters from referees follow the same deadline. It is your responsibility to monitor the status of your documents in the online application and to follow up with your referees as required.

A candidate for the MA must have completed, with at least B+ standing, a four-year BA (or equivalent), in which course work in the medieval period formed a portion of the program. Applicants are also required to have completed at least one full year introductory Latin course with a mark of B+ (or equivalent) or above. Once admitted and before starting the MA Program, applicants can attend the appropriate level of our Summer Latin Program courses for free.

Admission Requirements

As a minimum, students must meet the admission standards of the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) and have the equivalent of a Toronto Master’s degree completed by the time of registration for the PhD program. The Admissions Committee of the Centre however, considers its applicants with more stringent requirements in mind: a student’s competence in languages, academic abilities, and performance in Latin are all very important, and a possible supervisor and committee must be available. PhD students are offered admission on condition that they pass the Level One Latin examination on-site in Toronto, once admitted to the program.

Students admitted to the PhD program and those on the waiting list are strongly encouraged to attempt the April Level One Latin examination, without a fee.  If unsuccessful in the exam, they are urged to attend our Summer Level One Latin class, free of charge, to prepare for the September exam. Since the Level One Latin examination is not offered again until the following April, students who fail it in September must either enrol in the centre’s MA program or pursue their studies elsewhere; there are no exceptions to this rule. A Level One Latin Exam pass typically is equivalent to 2 semesters of introductory CMS Latin. Admission to the PhD program cannot be deferred to the following year. PhD students must be full-time.

Admission from the Centre's MA Program to the PhD Program

Students currently registered in the CMS MA program who wish to apply for the PhD program must submit a new application, including reference letters, transcripts, etc., and pay the application fee. They should be aware that their applications are considered on the same terms as those of external applicants. Admission to our PhD program is selective and limited: the program cannot accommodate all our MA candidates.

  • Register and log into the SGS online application site after 1 October.
  • You may save and return to the application at any point in the process.
  • You will be required to answer several questions in lieu of submitting a personal statement:
  1. How many semesters of formal Latin language instruction have you had? Please indicate textbook(s) used. 
  2. List authors and texts you have read in non-simplified Latin, giving as much detail as possible (e.g. Virgil, Aeneid Book 1; Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica, Book 3, sections 1-6, etc.)
  3. Please list any modern languages you have studied beyond your secondary education, indicating how many semesters of study for each. 
  4. Some students want to pursue research where knowledge of medieval languages in addition to Latin is needed. Please list any primary source languages you have studied, indicating how many semesters of study for each (e.g. Old English, Old Norse, etc.)
  5. Please indicate what your possible major field might be: (choose only ONE option): Art History, History, Languages and Literatures, Manuscript Studies and Textual Cultures, Philosophy, Religious Studies and Theology.
  6. Please indicate which other fields are related to your research interests: (choose one or more): Art History, History, Languages and Literatures, Manuscript Studies and Textual Cultures, Philosophy, Religious Studies and Theology.
  7. Why do you want to pursue a PhD at an interdisciplinary centre? 
  8. Please provide a brief outline of your possible research for the dissertation (500 words max). 
  9. Please list any faculty members at the Centre with whom you would like to study. 
  10. Which skills, methods, or knowledge areas do you expect to acquire during the PhD program? In other words, tell us what you know that you don't know yet. 
  11. What are your career goals after the PhD? The Centre accepts and supports applicants who seek careers in Information Sciences, Museum Studies, Archives and Curation, Higher Education, and Publishing, to name but a few. 
  • Applicants are required to enter information for two academic referees. Please be sure to contact your referees in advance to obtain an email address (preferably from a university domain) and inform them that they will be contacted at that address by the University of Toronto, School of Graduate Studies. Your referees will automatically receive a notification email with a request to complete a reference for your application, along with submission instructions
  • If you need to change your referees, please contact the Graduate Administrator. Please note it is only possible to change referees if both have not yet submitted.
  • To send a reminder email to your existing referees, you can do so through your applicant portal after submitting your application.
  • To view the status of your application, including outstanding requirements, please log in to your account to view your applicant status portal. 
  • You can upload application materials, including unofficial transcripts, writing samples, and more, through your applicant status portal after submitting your application.
  • Please upload only one writing sample (in English) between 10 and 20 pages.
  • Upload your academic CV.
  • Applicants whose previous study was in a language other than English must submit an official TOEFL score (minimum 580 written, 93 Internet) and TWE score of 5.

Transcripts

All applicants are required to upload one electronic or scanned official transcript from each post-secondary institution attended. Scanned copies of transcripts must be up to date and include the transcript “legend,” usually printed on the back of the paper transcript. Students currently studying in the Fall should also send Fall grades via e-mail to gradadm.medieval@utoronto.ca by January 15. A notarized English translation must accompany all non-English documentation. You will not be required to submit official paper copies of your transcripts until after the Admissions Committee’s admission decision. If admitted, you will be required to submit official transcripts, and verification of your paper transcripts will be a condition that must be met prior to registration.

November/December: CGS Applications

CGS scholarships are available for both master’s and doctoral students. The master's application is entirely online, and applicants must complete and submit the online application using the Research Portal. MA applicants should refer to the master's application instructions. Additionally the Canadian Common CV (CCV) must be completed and uploaded. The deadline for master's applications is 1 December. Doctoral students submit their applications through their home universities and should review the doctoral instructions well in advance of the institutional deadline in November.

31 March: OGS Applications

All applicants for our MA and PhD program are encouraged to apply for an Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS). Applicants must submit an OGS application using the U of T School of Graduate Studies centralized online OGS application.