Sociology

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

• The normal requirement is completion of the University of Toronto MA, with at least an A– standing. All students must demonstrate that their master's degree program included coursework equivalent to Classical Social Theory, Social Statistics, and Qualitative Methods I. Some students may be required to take prescribed additional courses.

• Admission decisions are based on grades and indications of superior qualifications such as letters of recommendation and a sample of the applicant's work.

• In addition to the School of Graduate Studies' online application form, applicants must submit:

  • Two letters of reference from instructors or research supervisors.

  • A paper which the student feels represents his or her best work.

  • A one-page, single-spaced typed statement of interest indicating research interests, research experience, and reasons for applying to study sociology at the University of Toronto.

  • Proficiency in the English language, demonstrated by all applicants educated outside Canada whose primary language is not English. See General Regulations section 4.3 English-Language Proficiency for minimum TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language and TWE (Test of Written English) scores required.

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.