Master of Teaching

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Master of Teaching

Master of Teaching Overview

The Master of Teaching in (MT) program offers students a unique educational opportunity, which combines teacher qualification with advanced study of educational theory and an opportunity to conduct research. The program provides students with a strong grounding in curriculum; human development; ethics and educational law; equity diversity and inclusion; Indigenous education; educational technology; instructional planning; instructional design; and learning theory. Students enjoy three practice teaching experiences in which they develop their skills as teachers and extend the theoretical and practical knowledge they acquired in the academic portion of the program.

This program involves two years of full-time study leading to a Master of Teaching  degree. Upon successful completion of this program, students will be recommended to the Ontario College of Teachers for an Ontario Teachers' Certificate of Qualification, which qualifies them to teach in either the Primary and Junior (P/J) divisions, the Junior and Intermediate (J/I) divisions, or the Intermediate and Senior (I/S) divisions of Ontario schools.

The program includes: formal coursework, teaching and research seminars, and practice teaching.

The 20-month program is normally completed on a full-time basis in 5 terms:

  • Terms 1 and 2 (Fall and Winter sessions, September to April)

  • Term 3 (Summer session, May to August)

  • Terms 4 and 5 (Fall and Winter sessions, September to April).

Registration in Terms 4 and 5 is contingent upon successful completion of all courses in Terms 1, 2, and 3 and two successful placements.

Applicants must select one of the following teaching divisions:

  • Primary/Junior (Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6)

  • Junior/Intermediate (Grades 4 to 10)

  • Intermediate/Senior (Grades 7 to 12).

At a Glance

Study Options
Full-time (5 sessions full-time)
Registration Sequence (typical): F/W/S/F/W
Coursework (22 half courses)

Funding and Tuition
For current information about tuition fees, funding, and financial support, visit Tuition & Financial Support.  

Deadlines
Applications to the Master of Teaching for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle is open.

To view updated program deadlines, visit the OISE application deadlines and closing dates page.

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Have questions about our program, admissions, financial support or career options after graduation? Our team has the answer you’re looking for. Contact us for one-on-one support.

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We host information sessions, open houses and tours throughout the year. Come discover what it's like to study at OISE. Explore campus and meet our community.

MT Admissions Drop-In

Have a question about admissions requirements?  Drop-in (online) and speak to program staff. 

Every Thursday from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. (EST) 

Why I Chose Curriculum, Teaching & Learning

Susan He.
Susan He (Master of Teaching 2018, Master of Education 2020)

Program Coordinator, Undergraduate
PhD student, Higher Education and Educational Policy 

"There is no better place to develop the skills as an educator and to springboard into a career in educational research than the MT program at OISE. Once I began to embrace and open up to the vulnerabilities of being a teacher and researcher in this field, my confidence and relationship with people and texts in this field also blossomed. Since then, I have been able to explore a range of topics in education broadly that benefits from my training as a secondary teacher. In my current profession and research, I engage with the issues and interconnectedness between access to higher education, academic policies, and student development."

Master of Teaching Admission Requirements

General Admission Requirements

Please visit the OISE Admissions website for detailed information about the application process, including general minimum admission requirements and supporting documents. 

Note: You cannot apply to the Master of Teaching program through the Teacher Education Application Service (TEAS) run by OUAC (Ontario Universities' Application Centre).

At the University of Toronto, we strive to be an equitable, diverse and inclusive community. Our teaching, scholarship and other activities take place in the context of a highly diverse society. Reflecting this diversity in our own community contributes to the diversification of ideas and perspectives and thereby enriches our scholarship, teaching and other activities. OISE is dedicated to admitting qualified candidates who reflect the ethnic, cultural and social diversity of Toronto’s schools.

Program-Specific Information (Minimum Admission Requirements)

Minimum admission requirements for this program are:

The Admissions division of the Registrar's Office & Student Experience and the Master of Teaching program cannot provide an assessment of credentials for teaching subject eligibility or academic standing prior to submission of an application.

Detailed information on Admissions at OISE.

You can apply for one, two or three OISE programs within the same academic year under one total application fee and if the program is open for application. Your choices are final, therefore choose carefully.  Do not apply to the same program of study/division more than once.

Not all eligible applicants are guaranteed admission.

Your Application Package

We are looking for applicants who have sound academic backgrounds, a deep interest in equitable education and socially just practices, as well as previous experience as an instructor, mentor, or tutor. Since this is a teaching certification program, you should not apply if you already have teaching qualifications in Canada (i.e. Ontario College of Teachers certification, Bachelor of Education degree).

Please visit the OISE Admissions website for detailed information about the application process, including general minimum admission requirements and supporting documents. 

Please submit an online unofficial electronic transcript from each and every post-secondary institution you attended (including those in-progress). Post-secondary study includes:

  • degree programs
  • pre-degree courses (e.g., CEGEP in the province of Quebec)
  • post-degree courses (even for one single course)
  • professional development (e.g., Additional Qualification courses for educators)

Information about submitting transcripts.

For applicants with international academic credentials, the University of Toronto School of Graduate Studies has provided a minimum admission requirements tool that allows applicants to determine equivalency of their academic credentials. 

If you want to be considered for more than one division (PJ, JI or IS), a separate application for each division is required.  You will only be considered for the division(s) where an application has been submitted.  Please choose carefully.  Please rank order your applications and be sure to use the exact same application materials (resume, responses to faculty questions, referees, transcripts, and instructional experience chart). 

You can only apply to each division one time only in the same admission year. 

A statement of intent is not required. Instead, you must enter your response to each question in the text box provided in the online application. Do not upload a separate document.

In the Master of Teaching (MT) Program, there are three divisions to choose from - Primary/Junior, Junior/Intermediate, and Intermediate/Senior. The online application system requires a separate application for each division. If you’re applying to more than one MT division, please rank order your applications and be sure to use the exact same application materials (resumé, responses to faculty questions, referees, transcripts, instructional experience chart). With the exception of your rank order, you will need to copy and paste your responses to the Faculty Questions to subsequent MT division applications, therefore, keep a copy to reuse.  Do not apply to the same MT division more than once.

OISE is committed to admitting teacher candidates who show openness and commitment to working towards equity and socially just practices within diverse classrooms, schools, families, and communities. See the OISE Guiding Principles on Equity and Diversity. You will be asked to answer the following questions. 

  1. Question: Describe significant teaching and/or teaching-related experiences (up to a maximum of three experiences, at least one with a group) you have had with learners in school, work, or community settings. Reflecting on the insights that you have gained; how can you contribute to supporting and teaching students in school? How does this relate to what you can bring to the teaching profession? (maximum 500 words)
  2. Question: Describe a challenging situation you had with a learner or group of learners during one of the experiences mentioned in Question 1 above. How did the challenging situation impact the learner(s)? What did you learn about teaching and learning from this specific situation? (maximum 500 words)
  3. Question: Describe an experience that deepened your understanding of equity and social justice (you may wish to reference your own identities). How might this knowledge enable you to support the growth and success of diverse classrooms, schools, communities and/or learners? (maximum 500 words)
  4. Applicants who identify as Black my choose to indicate this on their application which will direct your application into the Black Future Educator's Pathway (BFEP). BFEP applicants will follow the same admissions requirements listed on this page. There are no additional application requirements for BFEP. Learn more about the Black Future Educators' Pathway (BFEP).

Your resumé should describe in detail your education history (both academic and professional), employment history (including names of employers, job titles, position responsibilities, dates employed, whether full or part-time), awards, business and professional achievements, community activities, as well as any special and/or transferable skills you have acquired. 

The MT program requires two reference letters (1 professional and 1 academic). The professional reference letter should preferably be written by a person who supervised you during one of the teaching-related experiences that you described in your responses to the Faculty Questions. The academic letter should come from a University professor who has taught you in the past. If you graduated more than 3 years ago, the program will accept a second professional reference letter in its place (in this case you should direct the most suitable referee to include some comments pertaining to your intellectual abilities and potential). Full information about submitting reference letters.

  • You will be required to enter information for two (2) referees. Your referees will automatically receive a notification email that they have been requested to complete a reference for your application, along with instructions to submit their reference letter in the application system. 
  • If you need to send a reminder email to your existing referees, you can do so through your applicant portal after submitting your application.

You are also required to include an instructional experience chart that describes your past formal/informal instructional experiences. The instructional experience chart should include dates, number of hours working with learners, locations of experience, and role. You will ideally have experience working with groups of learners, preferably at the age level you wish to teach. Please download the instructional experience chart.

You will be asked to upload the chart through your Application Status portal after you submit your application.

Under “Upload Materials”, select “Instructional Experience Chart” from the drop-down list. Then upload your experience chart. Please note, you will want to refresh your page after uploading to update the Application Checklist.

There are some entrance awards available through the generous contribution of our donors. To determine whether you could be considered for the awards, please visit the MT Entrance Awards page for detailed information on the qualifying criteria. Note that there are links at the bottom of the MT Entrance Awards page to additional awards where there may be different application processes. Some may indicate that you can apply through your admission application and others may indicate a separate application that is emailed to our office. Please review this information prior to submitting your admission application. Only those selected to receive an Entrance Award will be contacted.

Additional Degree Information

The Master of Teaching program coursework details are as follows:

Students must complete 11.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs) or 22 half courses consisting of:

  • 8.0 FCEs: 16 half courses (or equivalent) compulsory core courses; Primary/Junior and Junior/Intermediate divisions include quarter-credit courses.
  • 1.0 FCE: 2 elective courses.
  • 2.0 FCEs: 3 practice teaching courses: CTL7080H (.5 FCE), CTL7081H (.5 FCE) and CTL7090H (1.0 FCE). There is one placement per course, totalling three teaching placements. 
  • On successful completion, students receive the MT degree and a recommendation to the Ontario College of Teachers for an Ontario Teachers' Certificate of Qualification.
  • Advanced standing is not granted in this program.
  • Students registered in the Primary/Junior and Junior/Intermediate divisions must successfully complete the non-credit seminar course CTL7100H Mathematics Concepts for Elementary Teacher Candidates (0.0 FCE), also known as MathPlus, during their first session of registration.

Course areas include formal coursework, teaching and research seminars, and practice teaching.

We welcome applications from outside Canada. International students will graduate with a Master of Teaching Degree and will be recommended to the Ontario College of Teachers to receive a Certificate of Qualification for Teaching in Ontario. For more on international student admissions please review International Applicants on the OISE Registrar's office website. The University of Toronto School of Graduate Studies has provided an assessment tool that allows International Applicants to determine the equivalency of their academic credentials.

International students will be required to purchase a University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) for the duration of their academic study. Please note that UHIP does not cover all the costs in an Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). Contact the UHIP office for more information about the plan's coverage and fees.

As an International Student, available funding is limited. International students will not be able to apply for OSAP but can apply for bursaries and emergency funding. Please contact Registrar’s Office & Student Experience on the 8th floor of the OISE building.


Centre for International Experience - The Centre is located at 33 St. George Street. The Centre provides guidance for International Students studying abroad in Toronto including visas, health insurance, financial aid, and housing. The centre is also used by both International and domestic students for many events including social and cultural.

After Applying to the Master of Teaching Program

What Happens After You Submit Your Application?

Once you've completed your application, understand what happens next by visiting "After Submitting Your Application". 

Newly Admitted Students Information

Applicants who receive an official "Offer of Admission" result letter can view the Newly Admitted Students webpage for information about the next steps.  

Note: Due to the structure of the Master of Teaching program, newly admitted students with conditions of admission must satisfy all conditions by August 31 or their offer of admission will be permanently withdrawn.

Ready to join one of the world’s top universities?

Take the next step in your academic journey and start your application to graduate studies at OISE.