Graduate Studies

Welcome to Graduate Studies in Religion!

The Graduate Program in the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto:

  • hosts the largest and most comprehensive graduate program in the study of religion within Canada
  • includes over 100 religious studies professors, sociologists, anthropologists, historians, philosophers, psychologists of religion, and legal scholars
  • belongs to the Division of Humanities within the School of Graduate Studies
  • is situated in downtown Toronto, one of the most culturally and religiously diverse cities in the world

We invite all students and faculty interested in the study of religion to visit and participate in our lecture and colloquia events. For questions about the DSR, or about the admissions process in particular, please contact us or refer to the Religion Graduate Handbook.

The purpose of the Graduate Department is

  1. to provide for graduate training and experience in the study of religion
  2. to facilitate research and publication in this important field of inquiry

The Department’s academic task is distinct from the study of theology as pursued from within a faith-based commitment to any particular religious tradition. In the University of Toronto, this distinction is upheld institutionally by the separate functioning of the Department for the Study of Religion and the Toronto School of Theology.

The Department considers its distinguishing mark an ability to provide individualized programs of graduate study that are integratively interdisciplinary, and that make use of the rich and diverse curricular, library, and faculty resources that are available here at the University of Toronto.

The Department’s master’s and doctoral programs aim to serve students with a wide variety of purposes. Our graduates go on to careers in teaching, public affairs, publishing, and academic research.