How do you apply to Master’s programs at the Faculty of Information?

• Transcript(s) are required from ALL post-secondary institutions attended – for all studies started, completed or attempted, even if no degree was awarded. This includes transfer credits, exchanges or courses taken on letter of permission, even if not used toward your degree.
• For applicants currently in the process of completing their final year of study, an interim transcript needs to be submitted.
• For the purpose of the application review, unofficial transcripts may be uploaded to the online application form
• Current and past UofT students may upload a copy of their grade report / academic history from Acorn to their online application
• If an offer of admission is made, official final transcripts from ALL post-secondary studies need to be received at the faculty as part of the offer condition(s)*

 * In order for a transcript to be considered official, it must be sent to the Faculty of Information directly from your institution:

• Transcripts are considered official when they have been prepared, sealed in an envelope and signed over the back flap by an official at the issuing institution. They are to be sent directly to the Faculty of Information:
  • University of Toronto, 140 St. George Street – 4th floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3G6
• E-transcripts are also accepted and can be sent directly from your institution(s) to admissions.ischool@utoronto.ca
• For current and past University of Toronto students (UTSC, UTM, UTSG) applying to Faculty of Information Programs, we will access your official University of Toronto transcript on your behalf.
  • Note: we are unable to access transcripts from UofT School of Continuing Studies – these will have to be ordered.
• If you submit your electronic transcript through MyCreds / Parchment or any other third-party platform, please make sure you specifically indicate that it be sent to admissions.ischool@utoronto.ca. If you select the recipient as “the University of Toronto” from the drop-down list instead of to our email address directly, it would have been sent to central UofT undergraduate office, and it would never be shared with us. You will need to submit another request.
  • The Admissions Committee may at any time during the application process, request applicants to submit official transcripts for all post-secondary institutions attended.
  • For admission to the Faculty of Information standardized tests (such as GMAT or GRE) are not required or requested and will not be considered.
  • For students whose admitting degree was granted outside of North America, the Faculty of Information will accept transcripts sent directly from World Education Services (WES) as official transcripts in consideration for admission. The Faculty of Information will consider the evaluation report from WES but will make its own evaluation decision.

In this part of the application, you will create one double-spaced document consisting of:  

1. A Statement of Interest (400-600 words, required)  

2. The answer to one (1) mandatory question (200-300 words, required)  

3. The answer to one (1) reflective question (300-400 words, required)  

4. Additional context to help us interpret your application (150-200 words, optional)  

  

Please include the word count in the heading for each response, e.g., “Statement of Interest (491 words)”. Note that longer answers will not necessarily be considered stronger and exceeding the word count may impact the assessment of your application.  

Once completed, please submit this one document through the SGS application site as either a Microsoft Word file or a PDF. The document should be no longer than 4 pages total.  

1. Statement of Interest  

• As a future professional in the information and/or museum fields, you will be responsible for the management of information, knowledge, and culture in an ever-changing world. 

• In your Statement of Interest, we would like to learn more about your interest in the Faculty of Information, as well as your vision for your graduate studies and subsequent professional career. 

• Your Statement of Interest should be between 400 and 600 words, double-spaced, and written in essay format using complete sentences.  

Statement of Interest Prompts  

Read through and reflect on the prompts below and use some of the following questions to guide your writing. You are not required to address all questions in your Statement of Interest.  

We value applicants who have chosen the information and/or museum field thoughtfully, and who can articulate their motivations for studying at the Faculty of Information.  

• How did you decide that committing to the information and/or museum field was the best decision for you?  

• What are some of the reasons you chose to apply to the Faculty of Information?  

 Our students have a wide range of academic and professional interests, and many have pursued different careers or degrees before choosing the Faculty of Information.  

• In what ways has your academic, professional, or personal experience prepared you for our Master of Information and/or Master of Museum Studies program?  

• In what ways could your prior experiences and interests enrich, expand, or enhance your journey in the information and/or museum field?  

 It is important to the Faculty of Information that we are educating information and museum professionals who will contribute to their chosen fields, practice their professions ethically and responsibly, and be grounded in the values of equity, diversity and inclusion.  

• What are some topics, questions, or problems you would like to explore during your studies here, and which of our concentrations best suits your interests?  

• What are some of your career goals and aspirations for the future, and in what ways would our Master of Information and/or Master of Museum Studies program support you in achieving them?  

• Upon graduation, what are some ways you hope to contribute to the information and/or museum field? What makes these contributions important to you 

• What does it mean to you to be an information and/or museum professional, and what are some of the key values such a professional should uphold?  

2. Mandatory Question 

With this question, we would like to learn about your potential role within a diverse learning community. Since the question is limited to 300 words, successful answers will be specific and concise.  Please respond to the following mandatory question and include the word count in the heading. 

MQ1: Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism  

The Faculty of Information is strongly committed to initiating, cultivating and sustaining an academic community that engages diverse intellectual and cultural perspectives, and that values inclusion, acceptance, shared responsibility, and mutual respect. Tell us how your experiences, perspectives, or actions would contribute to this goal.  

3. Reflective Questions  

With these questions, we would like to learn about your critical thinking, interpersonal skills and your ability to reflect on past experiences. Please feel free to provide example(s) from your personal, professional, or academic life. Please answer one of the following four questions to enrich your application. Please include the word count in the heading and make it clear which question you are responding to. We recommend that you keep your answer to this question between 300 to 400 words. 

RQ1: Creativity  

Creative potential can take many forms: problem-solving, innovative thinking, and artistic expression. What are some ways you personally channel your creative inclinations, and how would your creative outlets influence your academic and professional journey within the context of the Faculty of Information?  

RQ2: Flexibility  

What is a real-life, non-academic experience you have had in which things did not go as you had planned or hoped? What happened, how did you navigate the situation, and what benefits or opportunities for growth did you take away from the experience?  

RQ3: Resilience  

Reflect on a major challenge you have confronted in your life and discuss the strategies you have employed against it. What progress have you made towards overcoming the challenge, and how has this struggle impacted your experiences or achievements?  

RQ4: Critical Thinking  

Critically consider the information (MI) or museum (MMSt) field and identify a real, substantial gap or challenge within it. Describe the challenge, suggest a viable solution, and illustrate how your skill set, knowledge, and expertise can meaningfully contribute to implementing this solution.  

4. Context  

 (Optional)  Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your academic record or experiences (e.g., inconsistencies, gaps, policies, circumstances, etc.)?  

Tips 

We care about your unique interests, accomplishments, and perspectives, and this document is our opportunity to get to know the most important things about you. Here are some tips to ensure your responses represent you well.

• Be clear, focused, and organized. Plan out your responses and ensure they follow a logical structure. Consider why we may be asking each question, and how to answer it as directly and concisely as possible.
• Be authentic, reflective, and specific. Consider how to apply your own writing voice to your responses, what key messages you want each response to convey to someone who doesn’t know you, and what concrete examples from your experience you can use to support these messages. We want to understand your journey and the challenges you have faced, but you don’t need to write about a life-changing event, personal hardship, or difficult circumstance to have a strong application.
• Be careful with clichés, cultural references, and humour. Clichés and canned phrases reduce your ability to differentiate yourself from other applicants, while references to media and ironic or joking phrasing may not be accurately understood by your readers.
• Revise and review. Give yourself enough time to think about your responses, to write a few drafts, and to come back to them with fresh eyes. Check your spelling, grammar, and structure. Read your responses out loud and ask people you trust who know you well for their perspective on how your writing represents you to a reader.

Two academic references are required. Referees should speak to your academic abilities, performance, aptitude, etc. They should be a professor that taught you previously or currently teaching you. A third optional reference is permitted (which can be an academic or work / professional reference). You should only consider adding an additional reference if you are certain that it will be as strong as the other required references.

If you last graduated more than five years ago, you may substitute work letters of reference. Work-related referees should be direct supervisors who can comment on your skills that are useful in the academic environment.

On the online application, you will be asked to provide the contact information for your referees on the online application. Once you have entered this information, your referees will be emailed by the School of Graduate Studies with instructions directing them to a secure website where they will submit electronically:

• A candidate assessment on a fillable Confidential Report form.
• A reference letter.

Please be sure to inform your referees on all appropriate deadlines!

References from Traditional Knowledge Keepers and Elders

The Faculty of Information is committed to implementing recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada; specifically those concerned with eliminating educational gaps for Aboriginal students, improving education attainment levels and success rates, and developing culturally appropriate curricula.

We recognize that one of the most destructive and enduring artifacts of Canada’s colonial history involves the devaluation of traditional knowledge and cultural practice, and the disenfranchisement of knowledge keepers and elders. As such, and where requested by the applicant, letters of achievement, recognition, and support from community knowledge keepers and elders will be accepted by the admissions committee, and weighted equally to formal academic references.

Tips to Selecting Referees

• Choose faculty members whom you believe will give you strong references.
• Teaching assistants or workshop instructors are generally not useful as academic referees.
• If your referees are not currently teaching you, send them your CV, mention the course(s) you took with them, as well as anything about your work that will remind them of who you are.
• If a referee seems vague or reluctant, find another referee.

For applicants for whom English is not their first language, an English Proficiency Test result will need to be submitted.

The Faculty of Information reserves the right to require evidence of English language proficiency from any applicant educated outside Canada, whose first language is not English. Applicants must demonstrate proficiency in English by submitting an acceptable score from one of several English language competency tests.

For graduate programs, consult the U of T School of Graduate Studies (SGS) website for information on available tests. Note that the Faculty of Information may require scores higher than the SGS language competency scores (see Faculty of Information minimum scores below). This requirement must be met before the Admissions Committee will review an application.

Rationale

• Programs at the Faculty of Information are language-intensive
• Some courses may use English in very particular philosophical and nuanced ways
• Students are expected to function smoothly and subtly in both written and verbal English
• Students are also expected to be English-language proficient in one-on-one interactions, group work, formal presentations, and in electronic communication media
• For these reasons, the Faculty of Information may require scores higher than the SGS language competency scores
• Scores must be from tests taken within the last two years

Acceptable Tests and Faculty of Information Minimum Scores

TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language
Institution Code for U of T Graduate Studies: 0982-00

• Internet-based Test (iBT)
  overall score: 107/120
  speaking section: 24/30
  writing section: 27/30
• Paper-based Test
  overall score: 600
  Test of Written English (TWE): 5.5

IELTS – International English Language Testing System (Academic)
overall score: 7.5
Writing: 7.5
Speaking: 7

Cambridge English – C1: Advanced and C2: Proficiency
Required score: 185 overall with at least 176 for each component.
Applicants should use the “Send Your Result” function on the Candidate Results portal to send their results electronically to the University of Toronto.

COPE – Certificate of Proficiency in English
overall score: 95
writing component: 41
each of the other components: 27

English Language Program, UofT School of Continuing Studies
overall score: ‘A’ in Level 60 in Academic English

*Please note, the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) temporarily accepted the Duolingo English Test (DET) to satisfy the English language proficiency requirement for graduate admission to the Fall 2020 session only. Considering that testing centres for both TOEFL and IELTS have been resumed, Duolingo will not be accepted for admissions.