How to Apply

To apply for our MA program, you will need to have completed, or be about to complete, a 4-year undergraduate degree in linguistics with at least a B+ average in your final year. You do not need to have a specialist degree in linguistics, but you should have completed the following coursework:

• Introductory-level phonetics, phonology, syntax, and semantics (equivalent to our LIN228H1, LIN229H1, LIN232H1, and LIN241H1);
• Upper-year phonology and syntax (equivalent to our LIN322H1 and LIN331H1);
• Several other linguistics courses at the advanced level.

In exceptional cases, a student may be allowed to take one of these required courses during the one-year MA, provided that they do not plan to write a Forum paper in this area.If you have at least introductory-level phonetics, phonology, syntax, and semantics, you may ask to be considered for admission to our two-year MA program. There is no separate application, but you may wish to indicate in your MA application that you are specifically interested in the two-year program. We offer the two-year MA to very exceptional students from universities whose programs we are familiar with, but who lack a strong background in linguistics due to a lack of courses at their home university. More often, however, we recommend that such a student take the courses required for admission to the one-year MA as a special student, either at the University of Toronto or elsewhere. Please note that a student in the first year of a two-year MA does not qualify for University of Toronto graduate funding.

Students with a bachelor's degree, with a minimum A– average, may be admitted to the Direct-Entry PhD program. Admission to this program requires a strong background in linguistics with at least courses in introductory phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax and a demonstration of capacity for original research. Students wishing to be considered for the Direct-Entry PhD Program should indicate their interest in the program in their personal statement, and include all supplementary documents indicated in the online application. 

To apply for our PhD program, you will need to have completed, or be about to complete, a Master's degree in linguistics from a recognized university with an overall average of at least A-. Our PhD program is primarily intended for people interested in teaching linguistics and conducting advanced research. Your application needs to show the admissions committee that you are capable of independent, high-level linguistics research.

We welcome applications from international students, though we have a limited number of places in our MA and PhD programs to offer to international applicants (that is to say, students who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents).

The School of Graduate Studies sets minimum admission requirements for all graduate students. If you are unsure how your own educational background aligns with the SGS requirements, you can check the International Degree Equivalencies Tool. As part of your admission requirements, you may be expected to provide proof of English-language proficiency.

We have one application cycle per year, for admission in the following September. The online application system opens on October 7. The application and document submission deadline is in December The first round of admission decisions will be sent out in early February, and continue until all places are filled. You should expect a response by early May.

There is a non-refundable application fee of $125 CAD, which can be paid by credit card. Payment of your application fee must be received by the School of Graduate Studies before we can consider your application.

The Department of Linguistics has a limited number of application fee waivers to offer to eligible applicants who self-identify as any of the following, including international applicants.

• Indigenous, Black, and Persons of Colour (BIPOC)
• Living with disability
• LGBTQ2S+
• Annual household income of less than $15,000 CAD

Only applicants who meet at least the minimum requirements and whose research interests are consistent with our Department's areas of focus will be considered for the Application Fee waiver.

NOTE: The application fee waiver is not an indication or promise of admission to the graduate program you are applying for. The admissions process is conducted separately.

Timeline and procedures:

1. Complete this form by October 22nd 2024 (23:59 EST) and send the following supporting documents to linguistics.grad.chair@utoronto.ca in pdf format.

• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Unofficial transcripts for all university programs you have enrolled in or completed
• If your highest degree in Linguistics is from a university outside of Canada and the US, please provide an additional document listing all the Linguistics courses you have taken and the textbook (or material) used in the course. Please be sure to make clear which courses these correspond to in the transcripts (e.g., correct course code and title).
• Only complete applications will be considered.

2. You will receive notification whether you will receive a fee waiver or not by approximately the first week of November 2024.

3. Upon notification, you will receive further instructions about how and when to apply to the program. NOTE: Fee waivers can only be awarded in advance of application to the program; we cannot reimburse application fees if they have already been paid.

If you have any questions please contact linguistics.grad.chair@utoronto.ca.

Interested applicants are invited to an information session on applying to graduate school in the Department of Linguistics.

Thursday October 24, 2024 4:00-5:00PM 

Please complete this form to Register

Zoom meeting access information will be sent out to all registered participants on October 23rd

When completing the online application form, please be sure to tell us your area of study! (e.g., syntax, phonology, sociolinguistics...)

Your application consists of the following documents, all uploaded to your online application:

• Transcripts from each university you have attended, complete to the time of application. These can be unofficial transcripts. If they are in a language other than English or French, please include a translation into English.
• Three letters of reference from linguistics instructors, who can speak specifically to your skills as a student linguist. The link to our reference form and instructions will be sent directly to your referees, and the form should be uploaded to the application site.
• Your statement of interest, of approximately two pages, outlining your research interests. In this document, please describe any competitions, events or achievements that you have taken part in, or received, that would help us understand your capabilities as a scholar and why you would be successful in our program. If you are interested in working with a specific faculty member, please let us know in your statement of interest.*
• Optional: Your curriculum vitae (CV).*
• Optional: One sample of your recent written work in linguistics, in English or French, of no more than 20 pages. This can be a term paper. It should provide evidence of your ability to conduct linguistics research.*
• English-language proficiency test results, if you are an applicant whose primary language is not English. More information about recognized English-language proficiency tests can be found on the School of Graduate Studies' website, including the list of exemption conditions. Please note that students admitted to our MA and PhD programs generally have scores that exceed the SGS minimum requirements.
• Required: If your highest degree in Linguistics is from a university outside of Canada, please provide an additional document listing all the Linguistics courses you have taken and the textbook (or material) used in the course.* Please make it clear for each entry which course it corresponds to on your transcipts (include university, course code, course title, year)
  • Example: University Name - LIN101H1 F - Introduction to Linguistics; William O’Grady and John Archibald (eds.). Contemporary Linguistic Analysis: An Introduction. Eighth Edition. Toronto: Pearson Canada, 2016. ISBN: 978-0-321-83615-1

*For more information on how to submit your supplement documents, please view the page on "How to Submit Supplemental Documents" on the sidebar (https://www.linguistics.utoronto.ca/node/928)

When completing the online application form, please be sure to tell us your area of study! (e.g., syntax, phonology, sociolinguistics...)

Your application consists of the following documents, all uploaded to your online application:

• Transcripts from each university you have attended, complete to the time of application. These can be unofficial transcripts. If they are in a language other than English or French, please include a translation into English.
• Three letters of reference from linguistics instructors, who can speak specifically to your skills as a student linguist. The link to our reference form and instructions will be sent directly to your referees, and the form should be uploaded to the application site.
• Your curriculum vitae (CV).*
• Your statement of interest of two single-spaced pages max. outlining your academic background and research interests. This is an opportunity to tell the admissions committee what you have done as a University student (your academic background), what you intend to do in your MA/PhD studies (your research goals) and why University of Toronto Linguistics is the best place for you to pursue these research goals. If you are interested in working with a specific faculty member, please let us know in your statement of interest. (Note: In this document, you may also discuss any academic honours or achievements you may have earned or any competitions (e.g. university entrance examinations) you may have taken part in that would help us understand better your capabilities as a student and why you would be successful in our program.)*
• One sample of your recent written work in linguistics, in English or French, of no more than 20 pages. This can be a term paper. It should provide evidence of your ability to conduct linguistics research.*
• English-language proficiency test results, if you are an applicant whose primary language is not English. More information about recognized English-language proficiency tests can be found on the School of Graduate Studies' website, including the list of exemption conditions. Please note that students admitted to our graduate programs generally have scores that exceed the SGS minimum requirements.
• Required: If your highest degree in Linguistics is from a university outside of Canada, please provide an additional document listing all the Linguistics courses you have taken and the textbook (or material) used in the course.* Please make it clear for each entry which course it corresponds to on your transcipts (include university, course code, course title, year)
  • Example: University Name - LIN101H1 F - Introduction to Linguistics; William O’Grady and John Archibald (eds.). Contemporary Linguistic Analysis: An Introduction. Eighth Edition. Toronto: Pearson Canada, 2016. ISBN: 978-0-321-83615-1

*For more information on how to submit your supplement documents, please view the page on "How to Submit Supplemental Documents" on the sidebar (https://www.linguistics.utoronto.ca/node/928)

When completing the online application form, please be sure to tell us your area of study! (e.g., syntax, phonology, sociolinguistics...)

Your application consists of the following documents, all uploaded to your online application:

• Transcripts from each university you have attended, complete to the time of application. These can be unofficial transcripts. If they are in a language other than English or French, please include a translation into English.
• Three letters of reference from linguistics instructors, who can speak specifically to your skills as a student linguist. The link to our reference form and instructions will be sent directly to your referees, and the form should be uploaded to the application site.
• Your curriculum vitae (CV).*
• Your statement of interest of two single-spaced pages max. outlining your academic background and research interests. This is an opportunity to tell the admissions committee what you have done as a University student (your academic background), what you intend to do in your MA/PhD studies (your research goals) and why University of Toronto Linguistics is the best place for you to pursue these research goals. If you are interested in working with a specific faculty member, please let us know in your statement of interest. (Note: In this document, you may also discuss any academic honours or achievements you may have earned or any competitions (e.g. university entrance examinations) you may have taken part in that would help us understand better your capabilities as a student and why you would be successful in our program.)*
• One sample of your recent written work in linguistics, in English or French, of no more than 20 pages. This can be a term paper. It should provide evidence of your ability to conduct linguistics research at an advanced level.*
• English-language proficiency test results, if you are an applicant whose primary language is not English. More information about recognized English-language proficiency tests can be found on the School of Graduate Studies' website, including the list of exemption conditions. Please note that students admitted to our MA and PhD programs generally have scores that exceed the SGS minimum requirements.
• Required: If your highest degree in Linguistics is from a university outside of Canada, please provide an additional document listing all the Linguistics courses you have taken and the textbook (or material) used in the course.* Please make it clear for each entry which course it corresponds to on your transcipts (include university, course code, course title, year)
  • Example: University Name - LIN101H1 F - Introduction to Linguistics; William O’Grady and John Archibald (eds.). Contemporary Linguistic Analysis: An Introduction. Eighth Edition. Toronto: Pearson Canada, 2016. ISBN: 978-0-321-83615-1

*For more information on how to submit your supplement documents, please view the page on "How to Submit Supplemental Documents" on the sidebar (https://www.linguistics.utoronto.ca/node/928)

We do not require the following:

• Paper copies of your application documents, unless we specifically request them. Regulations do not allow us to return any documents (and official transcripts are expensive!).
• Graduate Records Examination (GRE) scores.