New College & Fellowship

September 2026 – April 2027

New College offers a thriving and intellectually stimulating environment for doctoral students. University of Toronto doctoral students who are in the writing stage of their dissertation are encouraged to apply to a New College Program relevant to their area of research.

Senior Doctoral Fellowships, valued at $2,500 each, are for one full academic year (September 1 – April 30) in a specific academic program/area of study as specified by each of the programs. Senior Doctoral Fellows will be expected to attend a welcoming event in September, to engage with students and the larger intellectual community at New College, and give a public lecture or workshop related to their research. Fellows will be expected to be able to attend events in person.

New College will provide access to the special library collections at the College. Senior Doctoral Fellows will be eligible for New College travel funds and can submit applications for other funding initiatives in collaboration with their host Program Director.

New College Programs

Buddhism, Psychology & Mental Health Program (BPMH)

The BPMH Program is an undergraduate Minor hosted at New College. Founded in 2006 and now an internationally recognized contemplative science program, Buddhism, Psychology & Mental Health engages rigorous interdisciplinary research interactions between scientists, academics, health practitioners and contemplative traditions. Emerging from decades of global research on interactions between Buddhist traditions and the sciences, the program trains students in qualitative and quantitative research, scientific literacy, and writing skills, and it aims to foster in students a multi-epistemic literacy that is ethically grounded in dialogue and collaborative learning.

We seek a doctoral fellow working in contemplative science, broadly understood, focused on forms of meditative or embodied practice, their histories and contexts within philosophical, secular, or religious traditions globally, or their clinical or pedagogical applications in society. The BPMH Senior Fellow will also be a member of and participate in regular meetings of the BPMH’s advanced research unit, the EASE Lab, a network that connects researchers and students from all three University of Toronto campuses.

Centre for Caribbean Studies

The Centre for Caribbean Studies offers an interdisciplinary undergraduate program that consists of courses on Caribbean history and society, politics and economic development, literature and thought. Our courses deal with a wide range of issues including gender, religion, culture, ethnicity, race, development, language, colonialism, the environment and regional common markets. Caribbean Studies equips students to think about broad, theoretical and challenging intellectual issues and, at the same time, to ground that expansive thinking in deep understanding of the particular historical, political, economic, geographical, cultural and linguistic realities of the Caribbean and its diasporas. This combined interdisciplinary and area studies approach prepares students to think across disciplines about these kinds of questions, and to base their comparative, transnational and interdisciplinary thinking in concrete knowledge of the Caribbean and its people. The study of the Caribbean equips students to question the order of things, reflect on their own place in the world, and see past the Caribbean’s size or current level of geo-political influence to recognize the inherent value and intellectual significance of all places and all people.

Critical Studies in Equity and Solidarity Program (CSES)

Critical Studies in Equity and Solidarity is an undergraduate Major/Minor program in the Faculty of Arts and Science at New College, University of Toronto. For over 25 years, CSES has been a hub of academic excellence, pedagogical innovation, and comunity-engaged learning, supporting students to develop a deep understanding of social in/equities in local and global contexts. Rooted in principles of political participation, social justice, and activism, the program explorer interconnected struggles for equity and justice, emphasizing collaborative approaches to systemic inequalities and promote meaningful engagement across diverse communities. 


The program for Critical Studies in Equity and Solidarity at New College provides a dynamic and intellectually engaging environment for doctoral students. University of Toronto PhD candidates in the dissertation writing stage whose research aligns with the core areas of the Critical Studies in Equity and Solidarity (CSES) program—(1) Critical Disability Studies, (2) Critical Race and Anti-Colonial Studies, and (3) Food Equity, Justice, and Sustainability—are encouraged to apply.

International Foundation Program (Second Language Acquisition)

International Foundations Program (IFP)  is an English for academic purposes program in the Faculty of Arts and Science located at New College, University of Toronto. For over 15 years, IFP has been a hub of EAP pedagogy and research within the broader field of applied linguistics that supports international students who speak English as an additional language in their transition to first year study in the Faculties of Arts and Science, Music, and the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design. The two-term program follows a form of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) where language learning and academic skill building in three non-credit courses scaffold a first-year humanities course taken for credit.  Students are admitted to the program fully meeting the university’s academic requirements and have English placement test (EPT) scores that fall within the program’s EPT range.

Senior Doctoral Fellows will be expected to engage with IFP students and instructors and the larger intellectual community at New College and give a public lecture related to their research. Other activities could include a professional development session for instructors and/or being a guest instructor for a class in one of our courses.

Application

All applications are to be submitted electronically through the New College Senior Doctoral Fellowship Application. It must include the following:

  • A cover letter outlining your qualifications for the New College Senior Doctoral Fellowship as outlined by each of the programs above
  • A curriculum vitae
  • A one-page summary outlining research focus, doctoral thesis and progress to date, any other relevant information and include a brief description on how you envision contributing to the intellectual life of the host program and the broader New College community.
  • Contact information of your dissertation supervisor

Senior Doctoral Fellows must be currently registered University of Toronto graduate students in the year the fellowship is held and available to participate in the College during the tenure of the award.

For further information on the fellowship program, please contact office.nc.principal@utoronto.ca

The closing date for applications is: Friday, May 15, 2026


Senior Doctoral Fellows Speaker Series

Every year, we invite the New College community to hear about the research of New College’s senior doctoral fellows. Please come back later for more information about this year’s Speaker Series.

You may find recorded presentations from former Senior Doctoral Fellows on YouTube.