Orientation will be held in late August. Classes will commence on September 5, 2023. A detailed Orientation schedule will be posted online under the “Orientation” link.

 Although the steps below are set out in such a way as to imply they are to be undertaken consecutively, several of them can be done simultaneously, and we encourage you to do so. Please read all of these steps before moving ahead.

  1. Accept your Offer of Admission via Email & Pay the Tuition Deposit
  2. Acquire a Study Permit & Other Required Immigration Documents
  3. Start your Housing Search
  4. Enable your JOINid & Log in to ACORN
  5. Apply for Awards & Other Funding
  6. Get your TCard, Activate your UTORid & Obtain your UTmail+
  7. Enroll in Courses via Course Match
  8. Register in your Graduate Program by September 1st
  9. Review International Student Fee Exemptions
  10. Understand your Health Insurance Coverage
  11. Essential Guide for Graduate Students

1. Accept your Offer of Admission via Email & Pay the Tuition Deposit

Accept your Offer of Admission via Email

WHAT

Provide the Graduate Program Coordinator with a signed copy of all admissions documentation.

HOW

If you have not already done so, you must submit your signed letter of offer and Confirmation/Deposit form to the Graduate Program Coordinator by email, in accordance with the date set out in your Faculty of Law offer letter.

Pay the Tuition Deposit

WHAT / WHEN

In order to secure your place in the program to which you were accepted, you must pay a non-refundable tuition deposit of $500 CAD by the deadline provided in your offer letter. The tuition deposit will be applied to your Fall tuition installment, and is non-refundable in the event that you choose not to commence the program. A Confirmation/Deposit form is enclosed with your admission package.

HOW

Make an online MasterCard or Visa credit card payment by logging into your ACORN account at www.acorn.utoronto.ca using the JOINid credentials that were emailed to you when you completed your application. 

Important note about online payment: If you pay online, you will pay a service fee, which is a fee billed by the Moneris credit card service provider. This fee is non-refundable, even if you decide not to study at the University of Toronto. The service fee, charged at a rate of 2.50% of the fee payment, is billed directly by Moneris and is not remitted to the University of Toronto. 

2. Acquire a Study Permit & Other Required Immigration Documents

WHAT

 

A study permit is an immigration document that allows you to live in Canada temporarily while you complete your program of study. If you are neither a Canadian citizen nor a permanent resident and you want to study in Canada in a program that is 6 months or more in length, you must obtain a valid study permit.  

WHEN

The study permit application process can be very time-consuming.  International students are strongly encouraged to submit their application as soon as possible to ensure that they are able to be in Canada by the last week of August.  Under no circumstances should you commence your relocation until you have received your study permit approval letter and, if necessary, a Temporary Resident Visa (Entry Visa).

HOW

Please review the U of T’s Centre for International Experience and the Government of Canada websites below for valuable information on immigrating to Canada:

Immigration

Study Permits

Get a Study Permit

Pre-Arrival Guide

 You may also contact the U of T’s Centre for International Experience at: 416-978-2038

3. Start your Housing Search

WHEN

Start actively searching as soon as possible! The rental market in Toronto is quite competitive (particularly close to campus) and selection will become more limited the closer we get to September. 

WHAT

There are a myriad of resources and services upon which you can rely in order to find a place to live. Some of these resources are provided by the University and others are independent.  

U of T Housing maintains listings for on campus residences, off-campus, temporary and summer housing options.

HOW

Residence housing:

If you are new to U of T: In order to apply for university residence housing, you must first enable your JOINid (see “Enable your JOINid” below).

Returning U of T students: Use your UTORid to apply for residence housing.

Graduate House is the only residence at U of T exclusively for masters and doctoral students. In order to apply, you must submit the required online application with a $100 deposit. Applications are considered on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Additional information about Graduate House can be found here.

Students with families who are seeking family-friendly housing should consider the U of T Student Family Housing high rise units, located a 15 minute walk east of the law school. There are a limited number of units and the University is not able to guarantee availability in the buildings. Please apply early (with the intention to move in as close to early July as possible)! Additional information about Graduate House can be found here.

Off-campus housing:

Off-campus housing listings are maintained by U of T Housing, but can also be found through a number of online services including PadMapper.

4. Enable your JOINid & Log in to ACORN

Enable your JOINid

WHAT

 

Your JOINid is your UofT applicant user ID and will allow you to, among other things, apply for on-campus housing, use the U of T housing database for off-campus housing, and apply for the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS).  Enabling your JOINid will allow you to access these services until you are able to obtain your TCard and UTORid.

HOW

If you are new to U of T: Go to the JOINid website and click on “Enable Your JOINid”. You will need to enter your student number, which is listed on your School of Graduate Studies offer letter.  Follow the instructions provided in order to set up your JOINid password. 

If you have misplaced the e-mail sent to you by the School of Graduate Studies in which you were provided with your JOINid, or experience difficulty enabling your JOINid, please email admissions.sgs@utoronto.ca with “JOINid” in the subject line.

Returning U of T students: If you already have a UTORid, you may continue to use it.

Log in to ACORN

WHAT

 

 

ACORN is the student portal in which you can update your personal contact information, view your grades, monitor your fees, use the Financial Planning Calculator, access the Career Learning Network and On-Campus Housing, order transcripts and more!

Please note you will not be able to add or drop courses directly through ACORN – course selection happens through the Faculty of Law’s own course selection system.

New students must first enable their JOINid before trying to login to ACORN.

HOW

Log in to ACORN.  Read the “How To” ACORN guide.

Within ACORN, you can:

Verify that your tuition deposit has been received by Student Accounts:

From the Finances menu, select Financial Account, then go to Payment History.

Verify or update your personal contact information:

From the Profile & Settings menu, select the relevant options.

Tip:  Be sure to keep your email and mailing addresses (both “permanent” and “mailing”) up-to-date throughout the duration of your program. Correspondence from the University will only be sent to the contact information on your ACORN account.

Add one or more Emergency Contacts to your personal information:

From the Profile & Settings menu, select Emergency Contact.

5. Apply for Awards & Other Funding

WHAT

Graduate students can expect to finance their graduate legal education in a variety of ways (e.g. student loans, previous employment income, etc.) and are encouraged to independently investigate and apply for all external and university-wide awards for which they are eligible.

The Faculty of Law’s internal scholarships and awards are all allocated during the admissions process.  

Please also review the “Financing your Graduate Law Degree” section of our Fees & Financing webpage.

6. Get your TCard, Activate your UTORid & Obtain your UTmail+

Get your UTORID and TCard

WHAT

Your UTORid and password give you access to a number of U of T’s online services, such
as email, the campus wireless network and more.  

Your TCard is your official U of T identification (student card) and is required in order to sit exams, access athletic & student services, and obtain transit & retail discounts. All new students and those who have not been a student at the University of Toronto in the last two years must get a TCard.

WHEN

Students who have accepted their U of T offer of admission will be able to obtain their UTORid (and U of T Email) starting May 1, 2023. You must acquire it before the first week of classes (September 5, 2023at the very latest.

HOW

Please visit the Get UTORid and TCard page for detailed information on how to get your first TCard/UTORid

Newly admitted students: You can find detailed instructions on how to get your UTORid and TCard here.

  • Submit a photo and documentation online, login here.
  • Check your email for approval of your submission (please note that approval will be sent to the email listed on your ACORN account).
  • After receiving your photo approval email, you will receive an email with instructions on how to activate your UTORid, using your Secret Activation Key (SAK). Use your SAK to activate your UTORid:
    • Go to uoft.me/activate-utorid
    • Enter your JOINid + SAK.
    • Set up your UTmail+ account
    • Set up your UTORid password and account management options.
  • Once you are on campus you can book an appointment on CLNx to pick up your TCard. Please note that you will need to bring your required documentation to your appointment

Returning students:

  • If you’ve been absent from the University for two or more years, you’ll need to have a new photo taken and provide legal status documentation.
  • If you need a replacement TCard, visit Replace your TCard.

Activate your UTmail+

WHAT

UTmail+ is the University of Toronto's email service.  All correspondence from the University will be sent to students’ UTmail+ email addresses alone, and thus your UTmail+ account must be activated before the first day of classes.

WHEN

Activate immediately activating your UTORid.

HOW

New students’ UTmail+ accounts are created during the UTORid activation process. You will receive a new email address typically in the form of firstname.lastname@mail.utoronto.ca

Once activated, you may log in to your account by going to the following website: http://mail.utoronto.ca

Let us know when both are active!
Once you activated your UTORid and UTmail+ accounts, please let us know you have done so by sending our Program Assistant, Carla, an email from your UTMail+ account. 

7. Enroll in Courses via Course Match

WHAT

Enrolment refers to the process of signing up for specific courses, which happens before registration takes place. 

The 2023-2024 Course List will be available in June.

Please review all of the course selection and enrolment instructions on our Course Selection webpage.

8. Register in your Graduate Program by September 1st

WHAT

All students must register in their program by paying their "Minimum Payment to Register" and clearing all admissions-conditions. 

Please review all of the details on our Registration webpage.

9. Review International Student Fee Exemptions

WHAT

 

Certain categories of international students may apply to pay domestic fees instead of international fees.  Detailed descriptions of fee exemptions are available on Student Accounts’ International Fee Exemptions webpage

Please note that eligible international students who receive this exemption will still have to pay the mandatory UHIP fee (see “Health Insurance” below).

10. Understand your Health Insurance Coverage

Domestic students

WHAT

Students who are permanent residents of Ontario will have provincial health insurance coverage through the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). Students from other provinces are usually covered under their own provincial plans. However, be aware that regulations vary from province to province. If you're an out-of-province student, be sure you are aware of the coverage you will have while in Ontario. 

Visit U of T’s Health & Wellness Centre’s website for further information.

International students

WHAT

The University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) is a mandatory health plan that provides international students with basic health care coverage while studying in Ontario. International students are automatically enrolled in UHIP and the cost is included on their ACORN invoices.  Please note that you must show your UHIP card and present a claim form every time you use health care services.  Register online, print your UHIP card, and always have it with you.  UHIP coverage may also be extended to provide coverage for your eligible dependent family member(s).

Visit the Centre for International Experience’s website for further information. 

U of T Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) Health and Dental Plan

WHAT

Domestic students are automatically enrolled and may choose to opt out of this plan or include their dependents. Opt-out/opt-in occurs beginning of the term you are first registered in. Contact the U of T Graduate Students’ Union for further information.

11. Essential Guide for Graduate Students

WHAT

We encourage you to review the Essential Guide for Grad Students (EGGS), which is produced by The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) and the Office of Student Life annually. The Guide contains information about registration, SGS awards, University-wide resources and much more.