Information for Newly Admitted Students

Congratulations, incoming students! We are delighted to welcome you as you begin your work in graduate studies with the Department of Computer Science. Below are some helpful resources that you can use as you prepare for courses to begin in September. As always, feel free to contact gradoffice@cs.toronto.edu (MSc and PhD students) or mscac@cs.toronto.edu (MScAC students) with any questions.

Check your offer of admission to see whether there are any conditions on your offer. Be sure to send the Grad Office (MSc/PhD students) or MScAC Program Office (MScAC students) any required outstanding documents. These may include official transcripts, proof of degree conferral, and submission of test scores.

MSc & PhD Students 

If you are considering deferring your offer to January, May, or September 2023, note that this requires approval from both your supervisor and the Associate Chair, Graduate Studies. To request a deferral, please submit your rationale for deferral, along with proof of your supervisor's approval (a forwarded email will be sufficient) to gradoffice@cs.toronto.edu before August 1, 2022.

MScAC Students 

If you are considering deferring your offer to September 2023, note that this requires approval from the Program Director. To request a deferral, please contact the MScAC Program Office at mscac@cs.toronto.edu. The deadline for deferrals is June 1, 2022.

Starting May 1st, you can make an appointment with TCard Services to activate your UTORid. Activating your UTORid allows you to gain access to student services, email, course enrollment (ACORN), library resources, and Quercus.

Visit tcard.utoronto.ca for step-by-step instructions.

Review your student handbook to understand your program requirements.

Registration Status 
Your registration status as an incoming student is Invited. Once you are officially registered as a student at U of T, your status will be displayed as Registered on your ACORN account. This status will appear after you either pay your fees or select the “Tuition Fee Deferral” option on ACORN, if applicable. Note that it can take a few days for tuition fees to clear, so please don’t panic if the change is not immediate. Registration will open in mid-July.

Course enrolment 
You enrol in courses through your ACORN account. You can enrol in courses even while you have an Invited status. However, if your registration status does not change to Registered by the deadline of early September, then you risk being removed from your courses.

If you are an MSc or PhD student, you will receive a detailed funding letter in September with the breakdown of your funding and how it will be released to you. You will be responsible for ensuring your fees are paid.

MScAC students do not receive departmental funding.

Fee deferral is allowed only if: 

• You are in the funded cohort (i.e., within your funding period) or have confirmed funding (OSAP, scholarships, or other awards) that exceeds the minimum required payment for the current session (Fall term tuition fee total for Fall–Winter session); and

• All your conditions have been cleared.

For further information regarding tuition fee deferral eligibility, please visit the Student Accounts website. 

For detailed information about everything you’ll need as an international student, please visit the SGS International portal.

The Graduate Office (MSc and PhD students) and MScAC Program Office (MScAC students) can issue you a letter of support to assist with entry into Canada if you require it. Please email your respective program office to request a letter before travel. In addition, we recommend that you carry all related study permit documentation and application materials with you on paper when travelling to Canada, so that you have these readily available if asked.

For further assistance with immigration issues, please review the informational videos provided by the Centre for International Experience (CIE) or book time with one of the CIE’s qualified immigration advisors.

Please ensure that you check all travel advisories close to your date of departure.

Note: All students coming to Canada must upload proof of their vaccination status to the ArriveCAN app before they board their flight to Canada.

You will receive an email in June with information about applying for TAships. To hold a TA assignment you must have received a Canadian social insurance number (SIN) by September.

You can find information about on- and off-campus housing options, resources and services via Student Life Housing. Graduate students can apply for on-campus housing at Graduate House or at Chestnut Residences. Availability is limited. 

The University of Toronto is pausing COVID-19 proof-of-vaccination requirements beginning May 1, 2022 and mask requirements beginning July 1, 2022. Please note that these measures can be reinstated on short notice and you are encouraged to check the links below for updates:

COVID-19 information for students: www.viceprovoststudents.utoronto.ca/covid-19/ U of T community updates on COVID-19: www.utoronto.ca/utogether/covid19-dashboard

Graduate Orientation

The Department of Computer Science will be hosting its CS Graduate Orientation event to welcome all new graduate students on Tuesday, September 6 and Wednesday, September 7, 2022.

This year our Orientation will be hosted in person at the Bahen Centre for Information Technology, following session 1 of the SGS orientation.