torontonian27

Funded in 2A, with a score of 15.58/18. Last funded score was 14.06. Wrapping up the PhD now, had one article and one book chapter both forthcoming, and one article submitted, and that's about it! I have held the Joseph-Bombardier SSHRC and multiple OGS before this.

🙋‍♂️Yep! I keep checking my email every few minutes... nothing to see yet.

Hello: what you end up with honestly depends on how much you are willing to pay. For what it's worth, I have colleagues who spend anywhere between $650 (room w/ shared washroom) to to $900 (also a room w/ shared washroom). For a separate washroom, you are looking at a 2 bed, 2 washroom place. These can range anywhere between $1000-$1500 per room- check out Bunz Home Zone and the U of T off campus housing groups on Facebook for most recent estimates. My advice would be to find a place downtown, eliminate commuting costs, and have lots of home cooked meals. Alternatively, make sure that if you are living some distance away from the core, then there are good commuting options with respect to regularity of bus service etc. TA'ship and RA'ship income is taxed. If your department gives you an award or something (like an entrance scholarship etc.), that will not be taxed.

Hi NyarkoSan, Here are some thoughts on your post: 1. It's great to see you already think about this as a junior. This means you have more than a year to work on your application material already, and to have it reviewed by faculty you have taken classes with. The grant will separate you from many applicants, so be sure to emphasize that in your applications (and to continue seeking out other funding opportunities). 2. I will echo Pierre's comment above regarding submitting papers-- are these to a journal or to a conference? If the former, my advice would be to not worry about this at all, but to continue reading and refining your essay. If the latter, then there are undergraduate conferences for students in religion (Syracuse had one, and I think maybe Vanderbilt tool, but I am not so certain). Regardless, these happen so I would definitely encourage you to find one accessible to you and to submit a paper. When you apply to graduate school, your conference presentation will speak to your early forays into intellectual conversations rather than be perceived as a 'wide' interest. Once you start graduate school, a lot of your reading and writing will be extremely focused anyways. Where you are currently, you have the opportunity to read widely, so make use of that! 3. Think more about what a 'structuralist' approach to Islam means, and why it appeals to you. Is there particular scholarship you wish to engage with? Particular scholars? Particular archives? Particular departments? This will help with thinking about both why you want to do a PhD and what might be good places to target. 4. Your languages are great considering you are junior. Are you doing Classical Arabic or Modern Standard Arabic? If possible, continue these throughout the rest of your undergrad because it will save a lot of time and energy in your doctoral program! German is good- is there scholarship in German you would like to converse with? What about French? Or Persian? Are those possible where you are? 5. Do not worry about your institution, graduate schools will look first at your coursework, the rigor of your proposal, and the strengths of your references. These are all areas you can work on over the next year, and you already have a good GPA so keep at it! Can you tailor senior courses to explore different faces of the same topic, a topic you might be interested in pursuing further at the doctoral level? Can you begin to incorporate your knowledge of Arabic to engage primary sources in your essays? Can you begin to speak authoritatively to small areas in your field of study? These would be some guidelines to keep in mind!

Anywhere between 25-40 minutes, depending on where you are getting off. For example, 25-30 minutes usually to get to St. George station (which I would consider the first 'downtown' station if traveling southbound) and 35-40 to get to Union station (south most station). Travel time is also impacted by rush hour etc., but I think that's quite a universal phenomenon!

Toronto also has a strong Sanskrit culture, especially in terms of its archival resources. You might want to consider the Department for the Study of Religion at U of T as a potential place to pursue a MA.

My department is having a meet and greet weekend in March, so will pop by for some free lunch.

Haha, where are you from? I have been in Toronto for a decade, and at UofT for most of it so I feel right at home. That being said, Toronto (in general) is quite welcoming and I am sure you will fit right in! The MI is a great program, and highly rated by some of the librarians I've worked with (as a student assistant) so there's that! I'm sure that the open house will have some faculty interaction, so that might be a good opportunity to interact and mingle

Congrats, Muse! What stream did you apply to?

Hi @BooksUponBooks, Congrats on your acceptance! I'll be starting at the Department for the Study of Religion as a doctoral student so pretty excited about that! Does your faculty have a visit weekend coming up in Feb/March?

Just submitted my application to the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto! Here's to waiting until February...

Hi all, I will be an incoming graduate student at the Department for the Study of Religion. I am from Toronto, so if anyone of you is already here and wants to grab a drink (preferably beer), let me know!

So... I took up road biking as well. I've applied for Grad House residence, and was wondering what option (if any) you ended up going with to store your road bike? My back up is to leave it at my friend's apartment near campus, but I would obviously prefer not to both him every morning at 5:30am. Any word of mouth stories about how safe the Grad House bike room is (from your time there)?

Depends on where in Toronto you'd like to live! Usually, rents (for rooms) in the downtown core are in excess of $750+ (will ofc necessitate transit expenses) whereas you'd be able to find a room in the Village (near York U) for around $550+. As a single person, I usually budget $300 for food per month and am able to stick to it by cooking at home, snagging deals, buying in bulk etc. If you have specific questions, let me know!

@8bdk477 It's honestly been great. I am an 'older' student so more appreciative of the strength of the department in terms of faculty, research area, and the like. It's a tightly knit community, inclusive, and available when you need it to be! For sure, let me know how long you are in town for next weekend's event for admitted students. I can definitely do beer either Thursday evening or Friday evening. Happy to talk about rent advice, general Toronto questions etc. as well.