New Student Guide
The PhD in Economics is a 14-credit/course program and students are required to complete the course component within a maximum period of 2 years. The program also consists of a review course, comprehensive exams, a seminar series, and a thesis/dissertation. A detailed overview of the PhD curriculum can be found on the Graduate Economics website. It is important to note that not all courses are offered each year.
The MA in International Economics and Finance is designed to be completed by Full-time Students in 12 months and by Part-time Students in 24 months. Students must pass the review course, take 4 required courses, 3 electives, and complete a Master’s Paper (MP), an additional course or an internship. A detailed overview of the MA curriculum can be found on the Graduate Economics website. It is important to note that not all general elective courses will be offered each year.
The open enrollment period will begin on Monday August 23rd, It is important to note that students who have not cleared their admission condition(s) will NOT be able to self-enroll into any course.
Instructions on how to register for courses can be found on the MyServiceHub Support website (opens in new window) .
Exceptions to on-line registration:
- EF8100 - The Mathematics and Statistics Review course runs prior to the official start of the term and students will not be able to self-enroll into this course. The Graduate Program Administrator will enroll all new students into the course. Students who have not cleared their condition(s) cannot be enrolled into the course. However, you should still plan to attend class and take the final exam.
- EF9100 - PhD Seminar course series. Attendance in the PhD seminar course and the regular departmental seminar series are mandatory for all PhD students in second year and above.
- GD1000 - In each term all students will be enrolled, by the Graduate Program Administrator, in GD1000. This is not a course but rather a code that indicates continuous registration until the completion of the degree program.
- Course Drop Requests – any request to drop a course must be approved by the Graduate Program Director, and will be processed by the Graduate Program Administrator. It is the student’s responsibility to submit the course drop request form to the Graduate Program Administrator by the deadline to drop courses in the term.
Part-time MA Students
Part-time students may only take a maximum of two courses per term. This does not include the review course. MA courses are offered during daytime hours, others during evening hours (6 to 9 PM, or 6:30 to 9:30 PM). Typically, required courses are rotated between day and evening offerings on a two year cycle during the Fall term. For part-time students who are only able to take courses in evenings, you must be sure to take required courses in the term they are offered in the evenings.
You can view the schedule of courses in MyServiceHub starting August 23rd and on the Current Students page. Instructions on how to search for courses on MyServiceHub can be found on the MyServiceHub Support website (opens in new window) . Winter and Spring schedules will be available just prior to the start of the term.
Please note: If there are any discrepancies between the schedule posted and what is indicated in your student account (MyServiceHub) it is the schedule in MyServiceHub that remains the official schedule. All classes this Fall 2021 will be online.
Tuition Fees
2021-2022 Fees Schedules by Program (opens in new window)
Please Note: Tuition is calculated on the basis of your program and status (part- or full-time), NOT on the number of courses that you take per term. Your tuition is a YEARLY charge, which is broken into three equivalent payments for the three terms in a graduate academic calendar. Tuitions fees are due before the end of the first month in each term: September, January, and May.
Continuous Registration
You are required to maintain continuous registration in EVERY semester of your graduate program until graduation or withdrawal, unless you have applied for and been granted inactive status. To seek inactive status (in cases of severe illness, parental leave, etc.) you must petition the Vice-Provost and Dean, Graduate Studies. For further information, consult the Graduate Admissions and Studies Policy - Policy 142, on the Graduate Studies website (opens in new window) .
How to Make a Payment
Effective June 30, 2015, payments for undergraduate and graduate tuition and residence fees must be made through your financial institution. Information on how to make a payment can be found here (opens in new window) .
Scholarship/Fellowship/Award distribution
For students who have been awarded a scholarship, fellowship, or award: You will receive your scholarship/fellowship/award money in three installments; at the beginning of each term. The money will be deposited directly into your student account. It is important that you are aware of the Terms and Conditions for each of your sources of funding. If you do not meet the terms and conditions, your funding can be revoked.
Students must have submitted a signed "Terms and Conditions - Scholarships/Fellowships/Awards" form, in order to start receiving their funding. If you have not done so, please contact the Graduate Program Administrator.
Graduate Teaching Assistant (GA)
Full-time students in either the MA or PhD program have the opportunity to work as a Graduate/Teaching Assistant (GA) in the Department of Economics. GA positions for the Department of Economics are offered during the Fall and Winter terms only. Payment for work done is on a bi-weekly deferred pay schedule.
All PhD and MA students are required to apply in order to be considered for a GA position. The Graduate Program Director will review your transcripts and resumes to determine what course(s) you will be assigned to. We try our best to offer at least one GA position to each of our full-time graduate MA students, however MA students are not guaranteed a GA in each term. If you are not interested in a GA position, please send an email to ief@torontomu.ca.
The typical GA assignment is for a total of 65 hours and includes either 2-4 hours of office hours or 1-tutorial hour, per week, for the term. Office hours are scheduled by the Graduate Program Administrator and are held in LIB-549, the Economics Help Centre. Tutorial Hours are held in a classroom. For Fall 2021, all tutorials, labs and office hours will be online. The schedule of tutorials cannot be changed. GA responsibilities also involve marking undergraduate assignments, invigilating undergraduate midterms and exams, or a combination of any of these.
When the GA positions are posted, an email will be sent to all students with instructions on how to apply. More instructions about the GA application process will be sent when the job posting is available.
*Unless otherwise inofrmed, the GA posting will not be available until after August 15th*
You will receive confirmation of your GA assignments during the first official week of school. Typically office and tutorial hours begin the second week of school.
Summer Research Assistant
Research Assistant (RA) opportunities are offered during the Spring/Summer term. The majority of the RAs are awarded to PhD students.
However the top (typically 5, based on CGPA) Master’s students may also be awarded an RA. No application is required and successful MA students will be notified in May.
Additional MA eligibility requirements:
- Minimum average is typically 3.67 (A-)
- Students must have CLEAR academic standing (no failed or INC grades)
- The course requirement for the MA must be completed by the end of the Winter term (ie - by the end of April)
- The RA is only available to first-year full-time MA students
PhD students should be aware of the program specific policies that apply to their funding.
Program Specific
Program specific forms can be found on the Economics Graduate website (opens in new window) .
These forms include the following:
- Course Action (to be used only for Course Drop Requests)
- Plan of Study
- Progress Report
- MRP/Dissertation
General Yeates School of Graduate Studies (YSGS) forms
A list of most commonly used forms can be found below:
- Application to Withdraw
- Change of Status (from PT to FT, or FT to PT)
- Course Audit
- GPA Adjustment
- Leave of Absence application
- Third Party Request (confirmation of degree completion, or confirmation of enrollment)
Additional forms (and the full list of YSGS form downloads) can be found here (opens in new window) .
For all incoming students the Program of Study is required. The Program of Study sets the stage for new students to plan and think ahead: how to complete the program requirements within the required time frame and what research directions they would like to pursue to complete the research component of their program of registration.
After the student has met with the faculty advisor to complete the Program of Study, the form may be returned to the graduate Graduate Program Administrator (PA) without the Graduate Program Director’s (PD) signature. The PA will submit the forms collectively to the PD. The student and faculty advisor must have signed the form before submission to the PA. Students are strongly advised to keep a copy of the completed Program of Study form for future reference.
For PhD students, the Plan of Study form is also used to apply for Course Exclusions.
A faculty advisor's job is to be a point of contact for you within the department during your studies. The faculty advisor meets with you once a term to help you complete key paperwork required by the program and the Yeates School of Graduate Studies, such as a Program of Study or Progress Reports.
At these meetings faculty advisors can also help you by offering general academic advice, helping you to focus your research interests and recommending potential supervisors for your research paper.
Faculty advisors will be assigned during the first week of the term. For all incoming PhD students, your faculty advisor will be the Graduate Program Director.
If you've just arrived in Canada, make your first stop Toronto Metropolitan University's International Student Support department.
International Student Support (ISS) (opens in new window) is the home away home for all international students. ISS provides both transformative and transactional support for students’ personal growth. Staff in ISS are specialized in providing immigration advising, transitional and academic and social adjustment support, and student life skills development programming.
Required information in each email
When sending emails it is important to remember to include your full-name, and 9-digit student ID.
Emails prior to the start of the school year
Prior to the official start of the academic year, the graduate program will communicate with incoming students using their personal e-mail addresses. If you change your e-mail address between now and the beginning of September, please send an updated e-mail address to the program at: ief@torontomu.ca.
Emails after the start of the school year
At the start of the Fall term, all communications will be sent to your Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) email address.
Important note: Mid-August or sooner, you will be prompted to create your TMU email address when you log into my.torontomu.ca.
STUDENT EMAIL OBLIGATIONS (policy 157): All students in full and part-time graduate and undergraduate degree programs and all continuing education students are required to activate and maintain their TMU online identity in order to regularly access TMU's E-mail (Rmail), MyServiceHub, my.torontomu.ca portal and learning system, and other systems by which they will receive official University communications.
Students are required to monitor and retrieve messages and information issued to them by the University via TMU online systems on a frequent and consistent basis. Students have the responsibility to recognize that certain communications may be time-critical.
Students may forward their TMU E-mail account to another electronic mail service provider address but remain responsible for ensuring that all University electronic message communication sent to their official TMU E-mail account is received and read.
Graduate Program Director: Dr. Cathy Ning
Office Location: Jorgenson Hall, 2nd Floor
Phone: 416-979-5000
E-mail: qning@torontomu.ca
Office Hours: TBD, please email for an appointment
Graduate Program Administrator: Karen Fajardo
Office Location: Jorgenson Hall, 2nd Floor, Room JOR-232
Phone: 416-979-5000 ext 7856
E-mail: kfajardo@torontomu.ca
Office Hours: TBD, please email for an appointment
Graduate students in the Economics department are required to follow the polices and procedures as set out by the Yeates School of Graduate Studies (YSGS). The Graduate Student Guide is an online guide that summarizes the policies, fees, procedures and services you’ll need to know as a TMU graduate student.
The guide is divided into sections which include: Getting Started, Academic Matters, Financial Matters, Services, Student Engagement, and Student Life.
It is the responsibility of all graduate students to be aware of the significant dates and deadlines during the academic year. It is important to note that extensions are not permitted for many of the deadlines.