The Graduate Centre for Theological Studies (GCTS) Office is the central administrative office for the graduate degree (AD) programs across the Toronto School of Theology (TST). The GCTS Office hosts orientation, sets up language courses and exams, records grades of general examinations on ACORN (Accessible Campus Online Resource Network), administers graduate admissions, and organizes thesis examinations. The links in the sidebar menu are meant to provide helpful information to supplement the handbooks, but please note that the handbooks remain the authoritative guide for the graduate degree programs.

If you have any questions about any of the above, or about other matters related to the GCTS, please contact the GCTS Office: GCTS Contacts and Office Hours.

Graduate Student Listserv

The TST GCTS Office communicates important information regarding scholarships and other graduate student polices and procedures via the "GCTS Listserv". All students registered by the registration deadline (and having made the minimum fee payment) are automatically added to the Listserv each semester. If you register after the deadline, please contact the GCTS Administrator to ensure that your name is added to the list.  Conjoint degree students must use their utoronto.ca email account to participate in the listserv.

PhD Program and DMin Program Components at a Glance (Flow Charts)

The various components of the PhD and DMin program are described in detail in the Graduate Conjoint Degree Handbook, and they are also summarized and mapped on flow charts found at the links below.

• PhD Program Flow Charts (click link, then scroll down page)
• DMin Program Flow Charts (click link, then scroll down page)

Supervisory Guidelines

TST has adopted the UofT School of Graduate Studies Supervision Guidelines as informing student supervision at TST and as adaptable to TST structures and policies.

Annual Supervisory Reports (Conjoint PhD)

Conjoint PhD students are required to complete and submit a report every academic year, before the prescribed deadline:

• New students (Pre-General Exams) deadline - October 1 (submit the Pre-General Exams form) a second report is required by the June 1 deadline (see Section C4.1 of Handbook)
• Returning students (Pre-General Exams and Post-General Exams) deadline:- June 1 (submit the Pre-General Exams form if you have not yet completed your General Exams and the Post-General Exams if you have completed your General Exams)

The Annual Supervisory Report Forms (Conjoint PhD) may be found in the Forms for Graduate Students at the end of this Resources & Forms page. The GCTS has encountered  misunderstanding about other aspects of the Annual Report. These problems, and how to avoid them, are listed in the document Notes on PhD Annual Reports, with references to the sections of the Graduate Conjoint Degree Handbook that state what is required. For ease of reference, the list is followed by a section containing all the relevant passages of the Handbook.

General Examinations (Conjoint PhD)

Please see the Conjoint Degree Handbook, section C8, as well as the Procedures for the Conjoint PhD General Examinations, for information on General Examination procedures and regulations. Please note that we are unable to schedule in-class written examinations during the first three weeks of September.

Research Ethics Approval Process (Conjoint Degrees)

All research projects (Master's or Doctoral) involving human subjects must receive UofT Research Ethics Board approval. This approval must be received before the research involving human subjects is conducted. The procedure for obtaining Research Ethics Approval may be found in the document Research Ethics Submission Process for TST Graduate Students.

*COVID-19 SUPPLEMENT*: As of July 28, 2020 all face-to-face human research (on-campus and in the field) will require submission of a completed Face-to-Face Human Research Checklist, uploaded to the Document Summary section (#13) in MRHP, and submission of other COVID-19 related information as described in the U of T Guidance for the Recovery of Human Research During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Examinations of Doctoral and Master's Theses

• Information for students preparing to submit their thesis for examination.
• Information for students after their thesis examination.

TST Students Taking Graduate Courses at UofT and SGS Students Taking TST Courses

In order for a UofT (SGS) course to count towards a TST graduate program or a SGS student taking a TST graduate course count towards their program,  the student must get the appropriate approvals.  The SGS Add/Drop form must be used and this is who signs which line in Section 2 of the Form.

For TST graduate students wanting to take UofT/SGS courses

Student’s Signature:                                  The student signs                                                   

Instructor’s Signature:                               Leave Blank

Supervisor’s Signature:                             The student’s supervisor signs

Chair/Graduate Coordinator Signature:   Send to gcts.office@utoronto.ca for the signature of the TST Associate Director, Graduate Programs

Host Instructor’s signature:                       The Instructor of the SGS course the student is wanting to take

Host Chair/Graduate Signature:                This is the signature of the unit at UofT/SGS that ‘owns’ the course.

For UofT SGS Students wanting to take TST graduate courses:

Student’s Signature:                                  The student signs                                                   

Instructor’s Signature:                               Leave Blank

Supervisor’s Signature:                             The student’s supervisor signs

Chair/Graduate Coordinator Signature:   This is the signature of the unit at UofT/SGS under which the student is registered

Host Instructor’s signature:                       The instructor of the TST graduate level course

Host Chair/Graduate Signature:                Send to gcts.office@utoronto.ca for the signature of the TST Associate Director, Graduate Programs