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Graduate Programs

Standard funding

PhD program

Every admitted PhD student is offered a base funding package of $21,750 plus tuition and incidental fees (including UHIP expenses for international students) in each of their first five years. For a student without an external scholarship, this funding consists of $7,500 of Teaching Assistantships, $0 of Research Assistantships, and a University of Toronto Fellowship covering the rest. For a student with a major external scholarship (like an Ontario Graduate Scholarship or a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Scholarship), base funding consists of the scholarship, a University of Toronto Fellowship, and possibly Teaching Assistantships depending on the value of the scholarship. (Students without external scholarships who do not wish to work as Teaching Assistants and/or Research Assistants will give up those portions of the funding.) Students may lose their funding if they fail to maintain good standing in the program.

All students in the Economics department are offered additional financial support beyond base funding. In most cases, the bulk of this support comes from Fall, Winter and Summer TAships, in the range of 170 to 240 additional hours. Together with base funding, this additional support brings total funding for most students in the first five years of their program to roughly $35,006 - $36,915 plus tuition and incidental fees.

The Teaching Assistantships offered are for courses either on the St. George campus or on the University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) campus. (For Teaching Assistantships at UTM, an intercampus bus shuttle is provided and the cost of bus tickets is reimbursed by UTM.)

Research assistantships are generally available during the summer months, though they may also be available during the fall and winter terms. Students are matched with faculty members according to the students' and faculty members' preferences.

For further information on how funding works at the University of Toronto see the SGS website section on graduate funding, including funding data details which provides recent data on the average graduate income for PhD students in the Economics department, as well as more general funding facts (FAQ).

MA program

Students in the MA program are not eligible for base funding. However, most admitted MA students are offered some funding, with the amount determined on a competitive/merit basis. Funding offered to MA students comes from multiple sources and might include: Teaching Assistantships, admission scholarships, or other awards. The funding package offered to a student may change if the student receives a major external scholarship (like an OGS or SSHRC scholarship). Students may lose their funding if they fail to maintain good standing in the program.

The Teaching Assistantships we offer are for courses either on the St. George campus or on the University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) campus. (For Teaching Assistantships at UTM, an intercampus bus shuttle is provided and the cost of bus tickets is reimbursed by UTM.)

Additional funding

Another page describes additional sources of financial support.