The University of Toronto (Canada)

Date: Oct 04 2005
Major: Anthropology (This Major's Salary over time)
I attended UofT for Masters and Ph.D. degrees, and generally speaking, enjoyed my years there. The university is very good, and my program (anthropology) was of high quality. I've heard UofT referred to as

The Harvard of Canada

The campus is gorgeous, and the city of Toronto very cosmopolitan & interesting. As an American at a Canadian university, I was extremely well treated and respected, and the school was very generous to me. All in all, it was a tremendously positive experience, and a reasonably good graduate experience.

Having said this, however, I do feel that the quality of instruction is somewhat uneven. Some professors are world-class scholars and gifted teachers, whereas others are marginal at best, and some even are has-beens. Consequently, I felt my education was somewhat uneven, and that I had to take responsibility to fill in the holes. In the final analysis, I could have been better prepared for the professional world of academics.

The other aspect of college life at UofT is my status as an American. As I mentioned, I was generally well treated and respected, althogh I will say that I did feel life a fish out of water at times, and that the school did not have the same identity for me as it did and does for Canadain students. I met my (American) wife there, and she feels the same way. Since we left Toronto, we have not been tremendously involved in the alumni community, which in of itself must say something. If you are an American, this is something to keep in mind. Perhaps it is typical of students studying abroad generally.

In summary, I would recommend University of Toronto very highly for its academic program, with the few caveats mentioned.