This page provides brief descriptions of various fellowships, scholarships, bursaries, and awards available to graduate students in the Department. This is not an exhaustive list, but we will do our best to update it as new forms of funding come to our attention. Please note that not all students may be eligible for every award listed below; be sure to read each award’s page in detail to confirm your eligibility.

Government Fellowships

These fellowships, funded by the federal or provincial government, offer a substantial financial award spread across one or more years of your program. You may already be very familiar with them — application is mandatory for domestic PhD students in the Department — but if not, here are links to the Department’s info pages on each, including eligibility and application instructions.

The federal Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) administers the following fellowships, open to MA and PhD applicants, respectively:

The Ontario government, meanwhile, administers the Ontario Graduate Scholarships, open to both MA and PhD applicants.

Detailed information about these awards, including the application processes, will be circulated over the Department mailing list in the late summer and fall. The GEA also hosts workshops for applicants, information about which will be circulated via our communication channels and made available on our Event Calendar.

School of Graduate Studies Awards

This is a master list of awards for graduate students across the University; note that this list includes many awards limited to specific programs, research fields, etc., for which you may not be eligible. You can also use the University of Toronto Award Explorer to search for awards based on your faculty/department.

Faculty of Arts & Science Graduate Scholarships

The Faculty offers a number of scholarships for graduate students in affiliated graduate units (including the English Department). Some are limited to students in particular programs, disciplines, or research fields; some evaluate applicants based on academic excellence, contribution to the community, and financial need. Take a look through the list and consider applying!

Department Awards

The English Department offers a number of awards, primarily (but not exclusively) directed toward PhD students. Brief descriptions of these awards (and links to further information where applicable) are included below.

Incoming Awards
All graduate applicants are automatically considered for a number of internal awards; no additional application is required. The recipient of these awards will be notified alongside their letter of offer. Of particular note is the newly-created Professor Linda Munk Graduate Futures Scholarship, awarded each year to an incoming MA student on the basis of “exceptional academic merit.”

Adam Penn Gilders Prize
Awarded each year to a first-year MA CRW student at the annual Creative Writing Gala, the Adam Penn Gilders Prize recognizes exceptional talent and dedication to craft.

Summer Thesis Fellowship
The Summer Thesis Fellowship is awarded to PhD candidates in the fourth year of their degree (and direct-entry PhDU students in their fifth year) and is intended to support the candidate’s progress on their dissertation over the following summer. To be eligible, candidates must be in good standing and have completed at least one chapter of their dissertation (minimum 30pp double-spaced or 9,000 words, attested by their supervisory committee to be a competent draft chapter).

Doctoral Completion Award (DCA)
The DCA is awarded to PhD candidates exiting the funded cohort (i.e., entering the sixth year of their degree) and, as the name suggests, is intended to support the candidate’s completion of their dissertation and degree. To be eligible, candidates must be in good standing and have completed at least two chapters (or equivalent; only one chapter required for direct-entry PhDU candidates) of their dissertation, which must be submitted to the Department in order to verify their eligibility.