University of Toronto iSchool Fall 2019

[health3]

Hi guys! I heard back from Andrea and she told me that my application has been reviewed and I'm presently wait-listed. Anybody else who is wait-listed?

[Chhaviar]

Hello Guys! 

I have a query! When I try to login to ACORN, it doesn't show the program I have applied to! 

And SGS website shows Under review. 

Can someone please help!

 

Thanks a lot!

[Guest najo]

55 minutes ago, Chhaviar said:

Hello Guys! 

I have a query! When I try to login to ACORN, it doesn't show the program I have applied to! 

And SGS website shows Under review. 

Can someone please help!

 

Thanks a lot!

Pretty sure ACORN won't say until you're invited to the program, if you're referring to the section about degree registration. Mine was blank until I got my acceptance. Don't sweat it. 

[Chhaviar]

Ohh!! That's good to know! I am so nervous. Panicking on when the results would come! Phew! 

[Chhaviar]

I heard somewhere that U of T rolls out the acceptance letters first and sends out the rejection ones in April. I am freaking out each day as March is coming to an end. Does anyone have any clue on this? ?

[Guest najo]

16 hours ago, Chhaviar said:

I heard somewhere that U of T rolls out the acceptance letters first and sends out the rejection ones in April. I am freaking out each day as March is coming to an end. Does anyone have any clue on this? ?

Best to send an email to admissions. Maybe Andrea can tell you your current status, like she told health3. Possible you're just waitlisted and not rejected, or they've yet to make a decision still. Since the program has rolling admissions, it's hard to say. Regular admission without funding applications aren't due until the end of this month, with supporting documents due mid April, so I don't think April is a fixed reject-all month at all for this program.

 

[Reza2019]

Has anyone gotten any update regarding scholarships for this program? I've gotten into a few other great programs with funding so I have to do a cost/benefit analysis.

I also noticed that the average salary for iSchool graduates is around $63,000. Does that seem low for a degree that includes specializations like Data Science and UXD.. two of the hottest tech areas? Thoughts?

[Chhaviar]

Oh! Thanks a lot for the info. 

I had emailed on admissions.sgs@utoronto.ca yesterday. Hoping to see some response. 

 

[health3]

30 minutes ago, Chhaviar said:

Oh! Thanks a lot for the info. 

I had emailed on admissions.sgs@utoronto.ca yesterday. Hoping to see some response. 

 

Speaking from experience, it's likely that a student will respond to your query if you use the above email. I'd recommend you contact Andrea directly: andrea.dibiase@utoronto.ca. Good luck!

Edited March 24, 2019 by health3

[Guest najo]

8 hours ago, Reza2019 said:

Has anyone gotten any update regarding scholarships for this program? I've gotten into a few other great programs with funding so I have to do a cost/benefit analysis.

I also noticed that the average salary for iSchool graduates is around $63,000. Does that seem low for a degree that includes specializations like Data Science and UXD.. two of the hottest tech areas? Thoughts? 

I sent in an email to admissions about funding, so I'll let everyone here know what they say in response come tomorrow!

The Human Centred Data Science concentration is new to the program, so they don't have any graduates in it, so we're basically working off UXD #s here. I feel that survey of theirs isn't all that comprehensive. It needs to take into account what jobs iSchool graduates are taking on, whether it was a position that required a graduate degree or not, if it's entry level, etc. Are they going to Silicon Valley, Seattle, Austin, or staying in the city (either at the school, or in public service?) The latter would just pay less in general due to the cost of living here. I've mostly taken it with a grain of salt.

[Chhaviar]

8 hours ago, health3 said:

Speaking from experience, it's likely that a student will respond to your query if you use the above email. I'd recommend you contact Andrea directly: andrea.dibiase@utoronto.ca. Good luck!

Thanks a lot for the advice!

[Reza2019]

5 hours ago, najo said:

I sent in an email to admissions about funding, so I'll let everyone here know what they say in response come tomorrow!

The Human Centred Data Science concentration is new to the program, so they don't have any graduates in it, so we're basically working off UXD #s here. I feel that survey of theirs isn't all that comprehensive. It needs to take into account what jobs iSchool graduates are taking on, whether it was a position that required a graduate degree or not, if it's entry level, etc. Are they going to Silicon Valley, Seattle, Austin, or staying in the city (either at the school, or in public service?) The latter would just pay less in general due to the cost of living here. I've mostly taken it with a grain of salt.

I like your analytical approach! The 2018 alumni report had a 80% response rate and an avg salary of CAD 65K with 80% of respondents saying they are working in Toronto. As a Canadian PR, I also expect to end up in GTA even though I'd love a great offer from Silicon Valley.. But the numbers indicate that that is rare. 

Now I'm inclined to believe the remaining 20% who did not respond are probably even worse off. If they had six figure jobs at Google HQ, I'm guessing they would have mention them. 

Are these impressive stats for a UXD program that regularly gets cited as one of the top programs outside the US? 

Edited March 25, 2019 by Reza2019

[Guest najo]

9 hours ago, Reza2019 said:

I like your analytical approach! The 2018 alumni report had a 80% response rate and an avg salary of CAD 65K with 80% of respondents saying they are working in Toronto. As a Canadian PR, I also expect to end up in GTA even though I'd love a great offer from Silicon Valley.. But the numbers indicate that that is rare. 

Now I'm inclined to believe the remaining 20% who did not respond are probably even worse off. If they had six figure jobs at Google HQ, I'm guessing they would have mention them. 

Are these impressive stats for a UXD program that regularly gets cited as one of the top programs outside the US? 

I'm not so sure about whether it's impressive or not, but for comparisons sake I'll share other school stats in the field, particularly North American ones ranked top 10 within the iSchool's general field (library and information management). If they have multiple programs that fit into data science or UXD, I'll try and share stats for both where possible, but I'll mostly be focusing on the programs most similar to UofT's MI.

#1 for 2019 is UBC. They don't share income breakdown based on specialization, and they only have one person in their last graduate class that had a sub specialty in HCI. Most everyone works within BC or other Canadian provinces, with the majority of grads (23/40 respondents) making between 50k-75k, and only 2 making more than that.

#4 UIUC  - No salary reports for MLIS, honestly. The MSIM, which is more relevant to data science, doesn't seem to have any career information up whatsoever. 

#5 UNC Chapel Hill (MSIS) - 21/21 respondents for this one, class of 2017. No salary reports. 95% of graduates either went on to full time work or further graduate studies.

#6 Syracuse - Can't seem to find any report on what job titles graduates have taken, or how much they earn, only what places they've gone. Generally in libraries and schools, or school districts. Seems their data science and applied data science programs are new, and there's no career outlook PDF for them just yet. Class 2015-2017 can all be found here.

#7 UW - Nothing in their iSchool reports outside of job titles taken on by MLIS and MSIM students. However, UW does have a few UXD oriented degrees, such as the HCDE, and the MHCI-D. Majority of the graduates in the latter case earn more than most MI students, and the employers seem to be relatively big in the tech sector. Helps they're on the west coast.

#8 IU Bloomington - In their actual HCI/d degree, the average salary for MS students (across the Informatics department, which includes an MS in Informatics) is USD$85k. LIS department doesn't specify, unfortunately.

#10 UC Berkeley (MIMS) - USD$115k median salary across graduates, with some big name employers under their belt according to their Class of 2017 and Class of 2016 reports. They don't report on how many of their graduates actually responded to their career outcomes survey, or share stats on the specific salary ranges people from that graduating class fall into. I'm willing to assume most remain in California and make a handsome amount due to the state's COL.

For the sake of a more thorough picture, based on reputation alone, let's add some other schools with popular HCI programs that aren't under the CS department and report career stats:

Carnegie Mellon - They've got 3 HCI related programs but I'll keep it to the one within the HCI Institute, the actual MHCI. Class of 2017 (page 8-10) went strong into the west coast, the salary range is USD$76k-125k, with and average of just under $97k. 

GIT (MSHCI) - Class of 2017 report (and the others) don't mention salary, but every single one of the respondents (42 out of 47 graduates) are working in the field, with a good amount in California. Facebook, Google, Intel, Disney, etc. Quite a good cohort there.

UMich Ann Arbor - MSI class of '17 stats vary greatly whether the graduate is in public or private sector. Literally a USD$39k difference in favour of private sector on average, with the average for tech sector alone specifically being > USD$90k. Most tech sector grads work in UX.

Edited March 25, 2019 by najo
formatting for clarity.

[Guest najo]

Carol told me that decisions on funding have been made, and those that received them will know by the end of this month. She mentioned it was competitive because there were a number of applicants with perfect GPAs. I shot an email back to confirm if she meant CGPA or L30, but she hasn't responded yet. Best of luck to everyone. 

[Reza2019]

On 3/19/2019 at 5:17 AM, Giank said:

Hello everyone! I just accepted an offer to study my MSc in Statistics at UBC, starting this fall. I'm beyond excited about coming to Vancouver and meeting other grad students.

I'm also unsure about housing, so I'll check options both on and off-campus. My Department's admissions coordinator told me that this year UBC is offering a limited number of guaranteed housing spots to new graduate students. I'll copy-paste what she sent me in case it's of interest to any of you:

"For the September 2019 intake a number of rooms in winter session student housing (Vancouver) will be set aside for newly admitted graduate students. Priority for these rooms will be given to newly admitted graduate students who have accepted their admission offer, have no prior experience at UBC, and reside outside of the Greater Vancouver area. In order to have the best chance of securing on-campus housing, newly admitted students who meet those criteria should:

• Submit BOTH a Winter Session and Year-Round Housing application. You will only pay one application fee ($50) if you submit both within a 14 day period.
• Apply as soon as possible.

Currently, the majority of graduate students residing on-campus live in the two Colleges (Green College, St. John's College) and Acadia Park (student family housing), which are year-round residences. However, for students who are new to Vancouver and UBC, getting into single studio and shared living arrangements in winter session housing (8 months contract from September 2019 to end of April 2020) will allow you to get to know the city, and look for long-term housing options while at the same time staying on the waitlist for year-round housing for May 2020.

Demand will exceed the availability of these rooms, and no guarantees for on-campus housing can be given. Timing is still a big factor in the success of housing applications.

You should not select a room type/residence area on your 19W Session Residence Application that you are not willing to accept.

Common questions:

1. When will offers be made? Year Round Housing offers start as early as mid-March and Winter Session Housing offers will start going out in June.
2. If students apply for both options (Winter Session and Year Round) with preference on year round should they wait for an offer for their preferred choice? That usually depends on a number of factors, in particular, time of application and current waitlist number. If a student accepts a winter session offer, and had a Year Round Housing (YRH) application on file, Housing will encourage the student to change the start date on their YRH application to May 1 of the following year, e.g. to May 1, 2020.  The student's waitlist number for YRH remains the same (as it is based on the date of original application) and it might put the student in a better position to receive a YRH offer for a start in May.
3. Can I arrive early? Graduate students who have applied for 2019 Winter Session housing and receive an offer with a move in date of September 1, 2019 may be able to request an early arrival accommodation from UBC Housing. The application for early arrival will become available at the beginning of July at the latest and students are encouraged to apply early if they wish to arrive early. Please note that you are only eligible for early arrival in particular circumstances, such as the intention to attend Graduate Student Orientation on August 30 or your academic program starting early with specific academic sessions. You may have to provide proof of the reason to UBC Housing"

I will still look for off-campus housing, but if any other newly admitted grad student is looking for on-campus spots then this might be of interest

Cheers!

 

1 hour ago, najo said:

I'm not so sure about whether it's impressive or not, but for comparisons sake I'll share other school stats in the field, particularly North American ones ranked top 10 within the iSchool's general field (library and information management). If they have multiple programs that fit into data science or UXD, I'll try and share stats for both where possible, but I'll mostly be focusing on the programs most similar to UofT's MI.

#1 for 2019 is UBC. They don't share income breakdown based on specialization, and they only have one person in their last graduate class that had a sub specialty in HCI. Most everyone works within BC or other Canadian provinces, with the majority of grads (23/40 respondents) making between 50k-75k, and only 2 making more than that.

#4 UIUC  - No salary reports for MLIS, honestly. The MSIM, which is more relevant to data science, doesn't seem to have any career information up whatsoever. 

#5 UNC Chapel Hill (MSIS) - 21/21 respondents for this one, class of 2017. No salary reports. 95% of graduates either went on to full time work or further graduate studies.

#6 Syracuse - Can't seem to find any report on what job titles graduates have taken, or how much they earn, only what places they've gone. Generally in libraries and schools, or school districts. Seems their data science and applied data science programs are new, and there's no career outlook PDF for them just yet. Class 2015-2017 can all be found here.

#7 UW - Nothing in their iSchool reports outside of job titles taken on by MLIS and MSIM students. However, UW does have a few UXD oriented degrees, such as the HCDE, and the MHCI-D. Majority of the graduates in the latter case earn more than most MI students, and the employers seem to be relatively big in the tech sector. Helps they're on the west coast.

#8 IU Bloomington - In their actual HCI/d degree, the average salary for MS students (across the Informatics department, which includes an MS in Informatics) is USD$85k. LIS department doesn't specify, unfortunately.

#10 UC Berkeley (MIMS) - USD$115k median salary across graduates, with some big name employers under their belt according to their Class of 2017 and Class of 2016 reports. They don't report on how many of their graduates actually responded to their career outcomes survey, or share stats on the specific salary ranges people from that graduating class fall into. I'm willing to assume most remain in California and make a handsome amount due to the state's COL.

For the sake of a more thorough picture, based on reputation alone, let's add some other schools with popular HCI programs that aren't under the CS department and report career stats:

Carnegie Mellon - They've got 3 HCI related programs but I'll keep it to the one within the HCI Institute, the actual MHCI. Class of 2017 (page 8-10) went strong into the west coast, the salary range is USD$76k-125k, with and average of just under $97k. 

GIT (MSHCI) - Class of 2017 report (and the others) don't mention salary, but every single one of the respondents (42 out of 47 graduates) are working in the field, with a good amount in California. Facebook, Google, Intel, Disney, etc. Quite a good cohort there.

UMich Ann Arbor - MSI class of '17 stats vary greatly whether the graduate is in public or private sector. Literally a USD$39k difference in favour of private sector on average, with the average for tech sector alone specifically being > USD$90k. Most tech sector grads work in UX.

12

Thanks for the detailed information

[Reza2019]

I got an offer from another professional program in Canada with $2500 of funding. Do you think I should tell the team at UoT? Perhaps it will improve my chances of getting some funding. Do I have to disclose the university name and details of the offer to UoT?

[Guest najo]

Considering Carol said funding decisions were already made when I asked her for an update, my guess is probably not. Worth a shot, I guess. I'd personally mention the university's name, at the very least. 

[marloe]

On 3/26/2019 at 3:22 AM, Reza2019 said:

I got an offer from another professional program in Canada with $2500 of funding. Do you think I should tell the team at UoT? Perhaps it will improve my chances of getting some funding. Do I have to disclose the university name and details of the offer to UoT?

I am in a similar boat, I got a funding offer from another university (albeit in a non-professional program) and was just wondering if there was a point where we should give up hope about getting any funding from the iSchool. I have asked Carol if they had informed everyone that would be getting funding. 

[Reza2019]

On 3/27/2019 at 6:06 PM, stuart_d said:

I am in a similar boat, I got a funding offer from another university (albeit in a non-professional program) and was just wondering if there was a point where we should give up hope about getting any funding from the iSchool. I have asked Carol if they had informed everyone that would be getting funding

I believe the decisions have already been made so it probably won't make a difference. 

 

Has anyone looked into the Scotia Professional Plan? What are the requirements besides being a full-time student and Canadian national? Do we need to be working?

How much can we expect to earn in the summer? Should I consider that when budgeting?

Edited March 29, 2019 by Reza2019
added a point

[Lokey]

Has anyone received an email about funding?

I guess the people receiving funding should have been made aware by now. 

[Guest najo]

17 hours ago, Lokey said:

Has anyone received an email about funding?

I guess the people receiving funding should have been made aware by now. 

Not a thing on my end. I'm not sure how they even considered funding, whether it's based on CGPA or the L30 (since that's what our admission is based on, anyway). If it's the first case, eh, I won't receive anything (CGPA 3.54 here). Feel like awards have gone out, since they said we'd be notified by the end of the month, and come Monday it's April.

 

 

 

 

[ShivaGhasemi]

I am on waitlist too. Andrea just told me today. I am wondering how many of us are on waitlist?

[marloe]

Re: Funding. I asked them about it and got a form email that said this : 

The entrance award and scholarship decisions for this year have been made and all successful applicants have been notified. I do know that this year the competition for these awards have been higher than they have ever been before, as many students applying this year had a perfect 4.0 / A+ GPA. However, don't worry if you did not receive an entrance award; there are other scholarships and awards you can apply for. 

Sadly, I am not sure if I can't attend iSchool without funding, the $11k-ish a year tuition is a bit much, and I have a full scholarship offer from another institution for a more traditional masters program. I preferred the ischool, but not sure I can justify the cost. 

 

 

[ellen_b]

Hi everyone. Are any of you still waiting to hear back from admissions? I sent in my application on February 27th and it's currently Under Review. I received an acceptance from Western last Thursday so I at least got one acceptance, but I'm starting to get a little antsy.

[Guest najo]

On 4/3/2019 at 9:56 AM, stuart_d said:

Re: Funding. I asked them about it and got a form email that said this : 

The entrance award and scholarship decisions for this year have been made and all successful applicants have been notified. I do know that this year the competition for these awards have been higher than they have ever been before, as many students applying this year had a perfect 4.0 / A+ GPA. However, don't worry if you did not receive an entrance award; there are other scholarships and awards you can apply for. 

Sadly, I am not sure if I can't attend iSchool without funding, the $11k-ish a year tuition is a bit much, and I have a full scholarship offer from another institution for a more traditional masters program. I preferred the ischool, but not sure I can justify the cost. 

 

 

Yeah, I got the same response from Carol weeks ago and shared the gist of it. Knew from that alone I'd be getting no funding, and now I'm in a position where I'll most certainly have to get that Scotia Bank LOC mentioned last week. Not even sure I'll be able to get it, seeing as I already have a PLOC from Scotia, and it's most certainly got a higher interest rate to it. It could cover the additional cost of the program that OSAP won't, but 7.5% as opposed to near prime will hurt me later. Gonna have to talk to the banks about that. 

Best of luck in what you choose, bud.