East Asian Studies

The Department of East Asian Studies has a long, rich history at the University of Toronto as a centre for research and teaching on the humanities of East Asia, past and present. Faculty members specialize in social and cultural history, literature, philosophy, religion, language, art, film and visual culture. They are committed to the innovative pursuit of knowledge across regional, temporal and disciplinary divides. Many hold joint appointments with various departments, centres and collaborative specializations throughout the university.

• Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants must also satisfy the Department of East Asian Studies' additional admission requirements stated below.

• Normally, completion of the MA program in the Department of East Asian Studies, or its equivalent from a recognized university, with an average grade of at least A–.

• Statement of approximately 500 words (two pages) setting out the student's main fields of interest and proposed course of study.

• Three letters of recommendation from scholars who have knowledge of previous academic work.

• Programs are based on the study of original texts. This presupposes knowledge of the relevant languages.

• A 10- to 15-page sample of the applicant's academic writing in English.

• Applicants educated outside Canada whose primary language is not English, and who graduated from a university where the language of instruction and examination was not English, must provide results of an English-language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of their application. Applicants taking the Internet-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) must achieve a minimum score of 100/120 and 22/30 on the writing and speaking sections. Comparable scores on similar tests are also acceptable.

Duolingo English Test:Tests completed on or after July 1, 2024: Overall score of 120 with a score of 120 in production.

Tests completed before July 1, 2024: Overall score of 120, with no subscore below 100.

International Baccalaureate English:A minimum score of at least 4 (predicted or final) in Higher Level or Standard Level English A: Literature or English A: Language and Literature. English B Higher Level is not acceptable. Learn more about IB English.

International English Language Testing System (IELTS):The minimum requirement is an overall band of 6.5, with no band below 6.0. Results from IELTS (Academic) for UKVI test sittings are accepted. Learn more about IELTS.

Note: We do not accept the IELTS Indicator test or results from the IELTS One Skill Retake. Applicants must achieve the scores listed above on a single date.

Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic:The minimum requirement is an overall score of 65 with no part below 60. Results from PTE (Academic) UKVI test sittings are accepted. Learn more about PTE.

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL):Tests completed before January 21, 2026:

- The minimum requirement is a total score of 89 with 22 in each of Speaking and Writing
- Applicants must achieve the scores listed above on a single date. TOEFL MyBest (super-scored) results will not be used.

Effective January 21, 2026 there will be a new TOEFL scoring format. Admission requirements for the new scale are under review and will be posted once finalized.

Paper based test: Tests will be reviewed on an individual basis. Learn more about TOEFL

We do not accept TOEFL Essentials, TOEFL ITP or TOEFL ITP Plus for China for admission purposes.