The University of Toronto does not admit you as one university. You apply to a named program on a named campus, and Computer Science at St. George, Mississauga and Scarborough are three separate admission categories with their own codes and grade bands. Tick the wrong box and you can be refused by an institution that would have taken you a few kilometres west. The scale behind the quirk: 103140 students in Fall 2025-26, 27897 of them international from 176 countries, across more than 700 undergraduate and 300 graduate programs[1].
Location
Toronto, Canada
Establishment year
1827
Students
81,015
International students
29,760
Female students
57%
Place in ratings
There's not enough data to display the dynamics of this rating.
By subject
Subject
Place in QS 2024
Arts & Humanities
10
Anatomy & Physiology
11
Social Sciences & Management
12
Life Sciences & Medicine
13
Accounting & Finance
15
Engineering & Technology
17
Natural Sciences
19
Studying abroad doesn’t break the bank anymore
Universities for any budget
Scholarship options
Installment plans up to 2 years
U of T: fast facts for international applicants
Inside Arts & Science at St. George, seven colleges supply residence and advising: you rank up to three, but placement arrives with the offer and need not match[2].
Mid-January in recent cycles; 2027 dates unpublished
Work rights
24 hours/week off campus in session; permit of up to 3 years afterwards
What U of T does well, and where it does not
The trade-off: subject depth and paid work terms against price and grade filters.
The case for U of T
🎓 Subject standing is the real argument, not the overall rank
QS by Subject 2026 placed U of T in the top 17 globally in all five broad fields and the top 50 in 48 subjects[8]. Check your subject, not the QS world table.
💰 Doctoral students pay the domestic rate: 4,538 USD
Aligned to the domestic rate since 2018-19, with 4,624 USD planned for 2027-28[5]. A research doctorate is by far the cheapest way in.
💼 Paid work terms are built into the degree, not bolted on
Engineering's Professional Experience Year runs 12 to 16 months, and Arts & Science, UTM and UTSC have their own co-op streams[9] — a year of Canadian employment history before the post-study permit.
🧪 A research record you can point at, not just describe
Insulin was isolated here in 1921-22, winning the 1923 Nobel Prize[10]; the blood-forming stem cell followed in the early 1960s[11].
The case against U of T
📉 No longer Canada's top-ranked university, whatever old brochures say
QS 2027 places U of T 32nd worldwide and second nationally, behind McGill University[12]; THE 2026 puts it 21st[13]. The "number one in Canada" line is out of date.
🎯 Popular programs are grade filters with no published cutoff
The guideline is low 90s for Computer Science at St. George and mid-to-high 80s for Rotman Commerce, drawn from last year's cohort[9]. Meeting it is not an offer.
🏘️ Toronto rent breaks more budgets than tuition does
St. George residence runs 6,452-24,350 USD/year depending on college and meal plan, and a place is not guaranteed for every year[14].
Campus Type
Urban
Library
Yes
Environmental Studies & Earth Sciences
Environmental Chemistry
Study mode
On campus
Study form
Full-time
Duration
48 months
Study field
Natural Sciences & Mathematics
Environmental Studies & Earth Sciences
Physical Sciences
Geology
Study mode
On campus
Study form
Full-time
Duration
48 months
Study field
Environmental Studies & Earth Sciences
Physical Sciences
Life Sciences
Study mode
On campus
Study form
Full-time
Duration
48 months
Study field
Natural Sciences & Mathematics
Environmental Studies & Earth Sciences
Medicine
Physical Sciences
Law
Criminology and Sociolegal Studies
Study mode
On campus
Study form
Full-time
Duration
48 months
Study field
Law
Social Sciences & Management
Ethics, Society and Law
Study mode
On campus
Study form
Full-time
Duration
48 months
Study field
Law
Social Sciences & Management
Applied Sciences & Professions
Diaspora and Transnational Studies (Honours)
Study mode
On campus
Study form
Full-time
Duration
48 months
Study field
Arts & Humanities
Applied Sciences & Professions
Social Sciences & Management
Health and Disease
Study mode
On campus
Study form
Full-time
Duration
48 months
Study field
Social Sciences & Management
Medicine
Applied Sciences & Professions
Natural Sciences & Mathematics
Biochemistry (Honours)
Study mode
On campus
Study form
Full-time
Duration
48 months
Study field
Natural Sciences & Mathematics
Medicine
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Specialist
One schedule covers all three campuses: your faculty, not your campus, sets the price.
Program
2026-27
2027-28, planned
Arts & Science, year 1
47,396 USD
49,289 USD
Computer Science, upper years
49,489 USD
51,963 USD
Rotman Commerce, upper years
53,877 USD
56,035 USD
Applied Science & Engineering
52,235 USD
54,321 USD
Doctor of Medicine
71,886 USD
74,044 USD
Fees rose 4.1% for international undergraduates in 2026-27, and the 2027-28 column is a planning figure still awaiting approval[5]. Both columns are tuition alone. Add compulsory health cover — 542 USD in the 2025-26 policy year, repriced each 1 September[9] — a non-refundable 3,585 USD deposit on acceptance[15], and the permit: 108 USD plus 61 USD biometrics.
Academic calendar
Semesters
Scholarships
Yes
Bachelor
Local4,373USD/year
Foreign13,064USD/year
Master
Local4,452USD/year
Foreign5,375USD/year
Doctorate
4,452USD/year
Program-level admission through OUAC
Two offices, two calendars: undergraduates apply through OUAC, graduates through the School of Graduate Studies.
First-year entry, from program code to permit
Check how your school system is read: CBSE and CISCE directly, state boards individually; WAEC needs B2 in Engineering prerequisites; British systems need five O-Levels plus three A-Levels; the full IB Diploma is required[9].
Pick your route: OUAC 105 if you are also applying elsewhere in Ontario, otherwise the direct international application[7].
Prove your English: IELTS 6.5, Duolingo 120, PTE 65 or CAEL 70. TOEFL iBT from 21 January 2026 is scored on the new ETS scale — 4.5 overall, not 89[3].
Add any supplementary component: a Supplemental Application for Computer Science and Rotman Commerce, "One Idea" for Architecture, an audition for Music.
Send documents by your division's document deadline, accept with the deposit, then apply for the study permit.
Graduate entry through the School of Graduate Studies
Identify the program and, for research degrees, a supervisor whose work you can describe in a paragraph.
Read the department's own deadline, not the graduate school's general page — many close in December for September entry.
Apply through the School of Graduate Studies system and pay the application fee plus any program supplement.
Confirm funding, then apply for the permit — master's and doctoral applicants at public institutions are outside the attestation-letter requirement for 2026.
Fixed Pearson dates, and an undergraduate pattern
Fall 2027 undergraduate dates were unpublished as of August 2026, so the last row is a pattern, not a promise. The Pearson dates are confirmed[16][9].
Aid concentrates in a few named awards; a general scholarship search will miss them.
The Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship is the only full ride: tuition, books, fees and residence for four years, roughly 37 scholars a year. You cannot apply — each verified school worldwide nominates one candidate, who then completes a scholarship file[16]. Open that conversation a year out.
International Scholars awards are divisional, funded by earmarking 6% of international undergraduate tuition revenue; with the Pearson they draw on a pool of 88 million CAD[5]. The U of T Scholars Program makes about 700 automatic awards of 7,169 USD, and President's Scholars of Excellence gives roughly 150 entrants 10,754 USD[9].
24 hours a week, then the PGWP
The cap is federal, not institutional: on campus a valid study permit is enough, off campus 24 hours a week while classes run and no limit during breaks of seven days or more. U of T's own bulletin still mentions a six-month wait before off-campus work — wording that predates the current federal rule.
Afterwards, degree graduates may apply for a work permit of up to three years, with no field-of-study restriction but one language condition: CLB 7 in English or NCLC 7 in French. The Career Exploration & Education Centre runs advising and a destinations tool by field[17].
U of T reads you in your own school system rather than converting grades, so send the record as issued — CBSE or ISC marks statements, WAEC results, a Philippine Senior High School or US transcript, a full IB or A-Level statement — with a certified translation where the original is not in English. Book the English test early enough for a retake: one band below 6.0 fails the undergraduate requirement even when the overall score passes. The exemption is narrow: English as a first language, or four years of full-time study where English was the sole language of instruction in a country where English is dominant. Canada's proof-of-funds threshold outside Quebec is 16,414 USD/year for applications from 1 September 2025, on top of tuition, and resets each September; undergraduates also need a Provincial Attestation Letter.
Questions about campuses and colleges
Does U of T publish an acceptance rate I can plan against?
No. The closest official indicator: almost two-thirds of new students arrive with a 90%+ school average[5].
Is a degree from Mississauga or Scarborough worth less than one from St. George?
No — the standing is the same. What differs is the program menu and the setting.
Do I need SAT or ACT scores if I study a US curriculum?
No — U of T is test-optional for US-curriculum applicants, though you must disclose every sitting if you do submit[9]. AP or Grade 12 Calculus is still needed where calculus is a prerequisite.
Does U of T publish graduate employment outcomes?
Not as one figure. The graduate school runs periodic career-outcome studies on doctoral graduates and postdocs[18]. Check the date on any percentage.
Is anything changing specifically for 2027 entrants?
Yes: the Bachelor of Information becomes a four-year direct-entry degree from Fall 2027, the PharmD moved to three years from the Fall 2025 intake, and a Master of Management launched[5].
Choose it when the subject tables put your field in the global top 25; when you want a co-op term and a route into the Canadian labour market; or when you are targeting a funded doctorate at domestic-rate tuition.
Look elsewhere when your budget cannot absorb roughly 50,185 USD of tuition plus Toronto rent and you are not a realistic Pearson nominee; when you want small-group teaching from first year; or when your grades sit below the program's guideline band.
Pre-application checklist
Confirm the exact program code and campus, not just the subject name.
Check for a supplemental application, portfolio or audition, and note its separate deadline.
Re-verify the health premium, proof-of-funds figure and 2027-28 fees before you commit.
Professional assistance in applying to a foreign university
