Minimum Qualifications

Master’s Programs

  • Degree requirements: A recognized bachelor’s degree in geography or a closely related field (a minimum of 4.0 FCE or 8 one-semester courses in geography or a closely related field).
  • Academic achievement: B+ average in each of the final two years of study.

If you do not meet any of the degree requirements for admission to the master’s program, please contact us for information on completing a qualifying year of study.

PhD Program

  • Degree requirements: A recognized master’s degree in geography or a closely related field.
  • Academic achievement: A- average in all graduate studies completed.

International Degrees

Applicants with international degrees can consult the International Degree Equivalencies Database to determine whether their degree is acceptable for admission to a masters or PhD program at the University of Toronto. Please note that the GPA requirements for admission to Geography & Planning are higher than those listed in the database.

English Language Facility

Applicants whose first language is not English and who have (or will have) graduated from a university where the language of instruction and testing was not English must submit an approved English language facility test with an acceptable score.

Applicants are required to achieve the minimum required scores on an accepted test by the application deadline. There are no exceptions to this requirement.

The most commonly used English language facility tests are TOEFL internet based test (IBT) and IELTS. Minimum required scores for TOEFL IBT are 22 on each component (writing, reading, speaking, listening) and an overall score of 93. Minimum required scores for IELTS (academic) are 6.5 on each component (writing/structure, reading, speaking, listening) and an overall score of 7.0.

The School of Graduate Studies maintains a listing of acceptable English Facility Tests.