“We are fortunate to attract a very diverse student body.”

A graduate program is what brought me to Canada in 1970! My husband and I originally intended to stay for two years but came to love the city, the people, and Canadian culture. I found work as a research assistant for a faculty member at OISE, and once it was determined I was not going back to the UK, I did my MA and PhD at OISE.

Part of the graduate student experience flows from interactions with fellow students. We are fortunate to attract a very diverse student body. Our Institutional Statement on Equity, Diversity and Excellence notes, “Our teaching, scholarship and other activities take place in the context of a highly diverse society. Reflecting this diversity in our own community is uniquely valuable to the University as it contributes to the diversification of ideas and perspectives and thereby enriches our scholarship, teaching and other activities.” Graduate students at this institution have multiple opportunities to take advantage of this institutional diversity.

Our three campuses are attractive in quite different ways. As a former Brit, it will likely come as no surprise that I gravitate more to the “historic” aspects of the St. George campus; I love the way the University blends seamlessly into the city. But I also love the green spaces of UTM [University of Toronto Mississauga] and the openness of UTSC [University of Toronto Scarborough].

Toronto is a wonderful city. It is safe, incredibly diverse, with live music, theatre, dining, marathons, parades…you name it, we have it! We are a major economic engine for the country; this is reflected in the range of large and small, national and international companies located here.

Over the years I have seen an increasing focus on interdisciplinary opportunities, significant growth in graduate programs that focus on social justice issues, and strong financial commitments to graduate students. Graduate programs at the University of Toronto were excellent back in 1970 — and they are even better today.