About
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen’s Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King’s College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada. Originally controlled by the Church of England, the university assumed its present name in 1850 upon becoming a secular institution. As a collegiate university, it comprises 11 colleges each with substantial autonomy on financial and institutional affairs and significant differences in character and history. The university maintains three campuses, the oldest of which, St. George, is located in downtown Toronto. The other two satellite campuses are located in Scarborough and Mississauga.
The University of Toronto offers over 700 undergraduate and 200 graduate programs. The university receives the most annual scientific research funding and endowment of any Canadian university and is one of two members of the Association of American Universities outside the United States, alongside McGill University. Academically, the University of Toronto is noted for influential movements and curricula in literary criticism and communication theory, known collectively as the Toronto School. It is the largest university in Canada in terms of enrolment with more than 97,000 students.
University of Toronto Caribbean Studies Program
The University of Toronto’s strong ties with the Caribbean are longstanding. In fact, our Caribbean Studies Program – housed at our Centre for Caribbean Studies – was established in 1995 and is the only program in Canada with degrees specifically dedicated to the study of the Caribbean and its people. The Program has a close relationship with the Caribbean Studies Students’ Union, some of whom sit on the Caribbean Studies Program Advisory Committee.
The University of Toronto’s engagement with the Caribbean is guided in part by advice from the Presidential International Council on Latin America and the Caribbean, comprised of U of T faculty with expertise in the region. Recently, this Council convened a virtual symposium on Migration and Health in Latin America and the Caribbean to showcase current research and nurture new collaborations.
U of T’s Student Exchange with the University of West Indies commenced in 1993 and is one of our longest running mobility programs. U of T also actively engages in various government programs to facilitate mobility with the Caribbean. These include the CARICOM Leadership Scholarship Programs, and the Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program (ELAP). The University of Toronto strongly believes in developing and deepening opportunities with the Caribbean for regional partnership, faculty exchange, student exchange, global classrooms, and research collaboration. It is our view that membership in the Canadian Caribbean Institute can amplify and accelerate such activities as part of a broader network where the whole is worth more than the sum of the parts.
See University of Toronto Caribbean Studies Program.
Selected News from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto CCI Director – Prof. Mariana Prado
University of Toronto is represented on the CCI Board of Directors by Prof. Mariana Prado.
Professor Mariana Mota Prado was appointed Associate Vice-President and Vice-Provost, International Student Experience beginning January 2025 for a five-year term. Professor Prado reports to both the Vice-President & Provost and to the Vice-President, International, and plays an integral role in furthering the strategic goals of both offices when it comes to matters related to international students as well as all students’ opportunities for international engagement. Professor Prado will provide academic leadership in the areas of learning abroad opportunities for students and oversight of the tri-campus Centre for International Experience (in collaboration with the Vice-Provost, Students).
Professor Prado was born and educated in Brazil (University of Sao Paulo Law School) and then completed a master’s and doctorate in law at Yale Law School. She is currently Professor and William C. Graham Chair in International Law and Development in the Faculty of Law at U of T, where she also served as Associate Dean, Graduate Program. Professor Prado’s scholarship focuses on law and development, corruption and comparative law, fields in which she has published extensively, with four co-authored books, as well as a number of book chapters and 34 journal articles in journals such as the American Journal of Comparative Law, Hague Journal of the Rule of Law, Transnational Legal Theory and the University of Toronto Law Journal.