University of Toronto

The University of Toronto (U of T or UToronto) is a public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the grounds surrounding Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada. Originally controlled by the Church of England, the university adopted its present name in 1850 upon becoming a secular institution. As a collegiate university, it comprises 11 colleges, each with substantial autonomy over financial and institutional affairs, along with significant differences in character and history. The university has three campuses, with the oldest being St. George, located in downtown Toronto. The other two satellite campuses are in Scarborough and Mississauga.

The University of Toronto offers over 700 undergraduate and 200 graduate programs. It receives the most annual scientific research funding and endowment of any Canadian university. It is also one of only two members of the Association of American Universities outside the United States, alongside McGill University. Academically, the University of Toronto is known for its influential movements and curricula in literary criticism and communication theory, collectively referred to as the Toronto School.

The university was the birthplace of insulin, stem cell research, the first artificial cardiac pacemaker, and the site of the first successful lung and nerve transplants. It was also home to the first electron microscope, the development of deep learning, neural networks, and multi-touch technology, the identification of the first black hole, Cygnus X-1, and the development of the theory of NP-completeness. The University of Toronto is the recipient of both the single largest philanthropic gift in Canadian history—a $250 million donation from James and Louise Temerty in 2020—and the largest-ever research grant in Canada, a $200 million grant from the Government of Canada in 2023.

Programs Offered