AHA Directory of History Departments and Organizations

Institution Details


University of Toronto
University of Toronto Dept. of History
Sidney Smith Hall, Room 2074
100 St. George St.
Toronto, ON M5S 3G3
Phone: 416.978.3363
Email: history.ea@utoronto.ca
Website: https://history.utoronto.ca/


The department offers exciting opportunities to interpret the past and probe its significance through research, education, and lifelong learning. Each year, our internationally renowned faculty guide more than 7,000 talented students through the fascinating realm of historical study. One of the largest history departments in North America, we are home to a critical mass of expertise.


Chair: Eric Jennings
Director of Graduate Studies: Melanie Newton
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Heidi Bohaker
Degrees Offered: BA,MA,PHD
Academic Year System: SEM
Areas of Specialization: Africa, America, Atlantic world, Britain and Ireland, Canada, European, East Asia, Latin America and Caribbean, Mediterranean and Middle East, Russia, South Asia, Southeast Asia
Graduate Tuition (per academic year):
   In-state: $40000
   Out-of-state: $40756
Other Tuition:
    MA Program: https://www.history.utoronto.ca/graduate/ma/tuition-funding | PhD Program: https://www.history.utoronto.ca/graduate/phd/tuition-funding

Enrollment 2024-25:
Undergraduate Majors: 602
Students in Program: 0
New Graduate Students: 25
Full-time Graduate Students: 109
Part-time Graduate Students: 1
Degrees in History: 0 AA 372 BA 0 BS 23 MA 0 MS 6 PhD
Students in Undergrad. Courses: 5641
Students in Undergrad. Intro Courses: 887
% of Online-Only Courses: 0
Undergraduate Addresses:
   Admissions: https://www.utoronto.ca/future-students
   Financial Aid: https://future.utoronto.ca/finances/
Graduate Addresses:
   Admissions: https://www.history.utoronto.ca/graduate
   Financial Aid: https://www.history.utoronto.ca/graduate

Areas of Specialization: Africa, America, Atlantic world, Britain and Ireland, Canada, European, East Asia, Latin America and Caribbean, Mediterranean and Middle East, Russia, South Asia, Southeast Asia

Not applicable


Doctoral Program Information

The tri-campus Department of History is not only one of the largest programs in North America, but is consistently among the top-ranked history programs in the world.

Our faculty members and graduate students conduct ground-breaking, award-winning research around the world, and bring that expertise home to the classroom.

Our Programs and Fields of Study

As a student in our graduate program in history, you will be able to draw on the strengths of faculty members from the three campuses of the University of Toronto (Mississauga, Scarborough and St. George). We offer graduate supervision in 25 geographic and thematic fields of study at the MA and PhD levels. 

Our Community

In the Department

The graduate community in the Department of History brings together faculty and graduate students in many ways beyond the classroom. Some work together in cutting-edge collaborative digital history projects. Others meet in formal and informal reading groups. The Wrong & Careless Sessions, sponsored by the department, see local and visiting historians interviewed by graduate students in an informal setting (that is, in the pub).

At the University of Toronto

The University of Toronto (U of T) consistently ranks among the world’s top universities and is well-known for its research excellence. During your time here, you will have access to countless resources offered by U of T and the Graduate Students’ Union. U of T’s award-winning library system offers an extensive general collection for your use. The libraries and library staff at our Mississauga and Scarborough campuses offer particular support of digital humanities projects for interested faculty and students.

In Toronto

Our graduate program in history draws on the strengths of the three campuses of U of T, but is based at the downtown (St. George) campus. That places you in the heart of the city, with easy access to public transportation, and to the cultural and culinary delights of both its centre and its wider spaces.

Directory of History Dissertations

Doctoral Program Statistics 2024-25:
PhD students currently enrolled: 109
PhD applications received: 136
New PhD students: 13
% of students receiving tuition waivers: 0
% of students receiving stipends: 0


Aidid, Safia (PHD, Harvard, 2020; ; asst. prof.) anticolonial nationalism, territorial imaginations, borders, state formation in Horn of Africa; safia.aidid@utoronto.ca
Aladejebi, Funke (PHD, York, Can., 2016; ; asst. prof.) Black Canadian history; funke.aladejebi@utoronto.ca
Anastakis, Dimitry (PHD, York, Can., 2001; ; prof. and L.R. Wilson/R.J. Currie Chair; Rotman Sch. of Business) Canada, US, economy, technology and society, state/politics/law; dimitry.anastakis@utoronto.ca
Arthurs, Joshua W. (PHD, Chicago, 2007; ; assoc. prof., Scarborough) modern Italy, politics of monuments, museums, archaeology and cities; everyday life, violence and memory; joshua.arthurs@utoronto.ca
Bartlett, Kenneth (PHD, Toronto, 1978; ; prof.) Renaissance Europe; kenneth.bartlett@utoronto.ca
Bass, Sam H. (PHD, Indiana, 2021; ; asst. prof.) medieval and early modern East and Inner Asia, Mongolia, historical anthropology, historical methods; sam.bass@utoronto.ca
Bender, Daniel E. (PHD, NYU, 2001; ; prof.; Scarborough) urban, food; debender@utsc.utoronto.ca
Bergen, Doris L. (PHD, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1991; ; prof.) Holocaust studies; doris.bergen@utoronto.ca
Bertram, LK (PHD, Toronto, 2010; ; assoc. prof.) modern Canada, gender, material culture; l.bertram@utoronto.ca
Birla, Ritu (PHD, Columbia, 1999; ; assoc. prof.; dir., Asian Inst.) modern South Asia, colonial and postcolonial cultural studies, feminist and social; r.birla@utoronto.ca
Bohaker, Heidi (PHD, Toronto, 2006; ; assoc. prof. and assoc. chair, undergrad. studies) aboriginal; heidi.bohaker@utoronto.ca
Brown, Elspeth H. (PHD, Yale, 2000; ; prof.; Mississauga) American social and cultural; elspeth.brown@utoronto.ca
Chen, Li (PHD, Columbia, 2009; ; assoc. prof.; Scarborough) late imperial and modern China; lchen@utsc.utoronto.ca
Chin, Carol C. (PHD, Ohio State, 2001; ; assoc. prof.) international relations, Asian American relations; carol.chin@utoronto.ca
Cochelin, Isabelle (PHD, Montréal, 1996; ; assoc. prof.) medieval; isabelle.cochelin@utoronto.ca
Cohen, Paul E. (PHD, Princeton, 2001; ; assoc. prof.) early modern France; p.cohen@utoronto.ca
Coleman, Kevin P. (PHD, Indiana, 2012; ; assoc. prof.; Mississauga) modern Latin America, US-Latin American relations, visual culture; kevin.coleman@utoronto.ca
Cooper, Afua (PHD, Toronto, 2000; ; prof., Scarborough) African Canadian history and culture, Black women, gender, slavery and abolition; afua.cooper@utoronto.ca
Cowan, Mairi (PHD, Toronto, 2003; ; assoc. prof., Mississauga) social and religious histories of Scotland and New France; mairi.cowan@utoronto.ca
Elhalaby, Esmat (PHD, Rice, 2019; ; asst. prof.; Historical and Cultural Studies) global Asian studies; esmat.elhalaby@utoronto.ca
Emon, Anver M. (PHD, UCLA, 2005; OPHD, Yale Law Sch., 2009; prof. and Canada Research Chair; Faculty of Law) Islamic law, legal, legal philosophy; anver.emon@utoronto.ca
Everett, Nicholas C. (PHD, Cambridge, 1997; ; prof.) medieval Europe; n.everett@utoronto.ca
Ewing, Cindy (PHD, Yale, 2018; ; asst. prof.; Trinity Coll.) international relations, contemporary international, Asia-Middle Eastern transnational; cindy.ewing@utoronto.ca
Fujitani, Takashi (PHD, California, Berkeley, 1986; ; prof.) modern and contemporary Japan, East Asia, Asian American and transnational; t.fujitani@utoronto.ca
Gervers, Michael (PHD, Toronto, 1972; ; prof.; Scarborough) medieval, social, archaeology; m.gervers@utoronto.ca
Gettler, Brian (PHD, Québec, Montréal, 2011; ; assoc. prof.; Mississauga) aboriginal, Québec, capitalism; brian.gettler@utoronto.ca
Grewal, Anup (PHD, Chicago, 2012; ; asst. prof.; Scarborough) modern China, cultural studies, gender studies; anup.grewal@utoronto.ca
Halpern, Rick (PHD, Pennsylvania, 1989; ; prof.) US; rick.halpern@utoronto.ca
Hanssen, Jens (DPHIL, Oxford, 2001; ; prof.; Mississauga) Mediterranean urban, Ottoman and Arab, intellectual/cultural/political; jens.hanssen@utoronto.ca
Hastings, Paula Pears (PHD, Duke, 2010; ; assoc. prof.; Scarborough) Canada, British Empire, Caribbean; paula.hastings@utsc.utoronto.ca
Hawkins, Sean (PHD, Cambridge, 1989; ; assoc. prof.) Africa, animals; sean.hawkins@utoronto.ca
Hill, Susan (PHD, Trent, 2006; ; assoc. prof.; dir., Centre for Indigenous Studies) indigenous histories, culture and linguistics; susan.hill@utoronto.ca
Jenkins, Jennifer Louise (PHD, Michigan, 1997; ; assoc. prof.) modern Europe; jl.jenkins@utoronto.ca
Jennings, Eric T. (PHD, California, Berkeley, 1998; ; prof. and chair) modern western Europe, 20th-century France, colonialism; eric.jennings@utoronto.ca
Johnson, W. Christopher (PHD, Yale, 2014; ; asst. prof.; Women and Gender Studies Inst.) African American, gender, transnational studies; wchris.johnson@utoronto.ca
Kasekamp, Andres (PHD, London, 1996; ; prof. and Elmar Tampold Chair of Estonian Studies) Estonian studies, international relations; andres.kasekamp@utoronto.ca
Kasturi, Malavika (PHD, Cambridge, 1998; ; assoc. prof.; Mississauga) 19th- and 20th-century colonial South Asia and British Empire; malavika.katsuri@utoronto.ca
Kazal, Russell A. (PHD, Pennsylvania, 1998; ; assoc. prof.; Scarborough) modern America, social and urban, immigration and ethnicity; rkazal@utsc.utoronto.ca
Keil, Charles (PHD, Wisconsin, Madison, 1995; ; prof.; principal, Innis Coll.) modern America, cinema; charlie.keil@utoronto.ca
Lam, Tong (PHD, Chicago, 2003; ; assoc. prof.; Mississauga) modern China, East Asia; tong.lam@utoronto.ca
Loeb, Lori (PHD, Toronto, 1992; ; assoc. prof.) Britain; lori.loeb@utoronto.ca
MacArthur, Julie (PHD, Cambridge, 2010; ; assoc. prof.) African studies, film, cartography; julie.macarthur@utoronto.ca
Magocsi, Paul R. (PHD, Princeton, 1972; ; prof.) Ukrainian economic, social, political; ukr.chair@utoronto.ca
Mar, Lisa R. (PHD, Toronto, 2002; ; assoc. prof.) Chinese Canadian studies; lisa.mar@utoronto.ca
McGowan, Mark G. (PHD, Toronto, 1988; ; prof.) modern Canada, religious, social and immigration; mark.mcgowan@utoronto.ca
Meyerson, Mark D. (PHD, Toronto, 1987; ; prof.) medieval; meyerson@chass.utoronto.ca
Mills, Sean (PHD, Queen’s, Can., 2008; ; prof. and Canada Research Chair) Canada, Quebec, empire; sean.mills@utoronto.ca
Mishler, Max (PHD, NYU, 2016; ; asst. prof.) African diaspora, Atlantic world, America;
Mori, Jennifer (PHD, Worcester Coll., Oxford, 1992; ; prof.) arly modern Britain; jennifer.mori@utoronto.ca
Murphy, Michelle (PHD, Harvard, 1998; ; prof.) modern America, gender, race; michelle.murphy@utoronto.ca
Musisi, Nakanyike (PHD, Toronto, 1991; ; assoc. prof.) Africa, women’s studies; nakanyike.musisi@utoronto.ca
Nair, Aparna (PHD, Australian National, 2010; ; asst. prof.; Health and Society; Center for Global Disability Studies) ; aparna.nair@utoronto.ca
Nelson, William Max (PHD, UCLA, 2006; ; assoc. prof.; Scarborough) Europe, France, intellectual; wnelson@utsc.utoronto.ca
Newton, Melanie J. (DPHIL, Oxford, 2001; ; assoc. prof. and assoc. chair, grad. studies) Caribbean, gender; melanie.newton@utoronto.ca
Pelegrino, Alexandre (PHD, Vanderbilt, 2023; ; asst. prof.) Atlantic world, empires/colonialisms/indigeneity; alex.pelegrino@utoronto.ca
Penfold, Steve (PHD, York, Can., 2002; ; prof.) modern Canada, social, economic and cultural; steve.penfold@utoronto.ca
Pilcher, Jeffrey M. (PHD, Texas Christian, 1993; ; prof.) food history and studies; jeffrey.pilcher@utoronto.ca
Raman, Bhavani (PHD, Michigan, 2007; ; assoc. prof.; Scarborough) colonial law, scribal culture; bhavani.raman@utoronto.ca
Retallack, James (DPHIL, Oxford, 1983; ; prof.) modern western Europe, political, social; james.retallack@utoronto.ca
Rockel, Stephen J. (PHD, Toronto, 1997; ; assoc. prof.; Scarborough) Africa; stephen.rockel@utoronto.ca
Rothman, E. Natalie (PHD, Michigan, 2006; ; prof.; Scarborough) early modern Europe; rothman@utsc.utoronto.ca
Sayle, Timothy Andrews (PHD, Temple, 2014; ; assoc. prof.) international relations; tim.sayle@utoronto.ca
Sharma, Jayeeta (PHD, Cambridge, 2003; ; assoc. prof.; Scarborough) South Asia and British Empire, labor, environment and food; sharma@utsc.utoronto.ca
Shorter, Edward L. (PHD, Harvard, 1968; ; prof.) modern western Europe, social, medicine; history.medicine@utoronto.ca
Silano, Giulio (PHD, Toronto, 1982; ; prof.) medieval, ecclesiastical, institutional and legal; gsilano@chass.utoronto.ca
Smith, Alison K. (PHD, Chicago, 2000; ; prof.) imperial Russia; alison.smith@utoronto.ca
Sweeney, Shauna J. (PHD, NYU, 2015; ; asst. prof.; Women and Gender Studies Inst.) African diaspora, Atlantic world, women’s and gender studies; shauna.sweeney@nyu.edu
Tavakoli-Targhi, Mohamad (PHD, Chicago, 1988; ; prof.; Mississauga) Iran and Middle East, modernity, gender studies; m.tavakoli@utoronto.ca
Terpstra, Nicholas (PHD, Toronto, 1989; ; prof.) early modern Europe, Italian Renaissance; nicholas.terpstra@utoronto.ca
Topouzova, Lilia (PHD, Toronto, 2014; ; asst. prof.; Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology) ; lilia.topouzova@utoronto.ca
Tran, Nhung T. (PHD, UCLA, 2004; ; assoc. prof.) Southeast Asia, gender; nhungtuyet.tran@utoronto.ca
van Isschot, Luis (PHD, McGill, 2010; ; assoc. prof.) modern Latin America, human rights, law and society; luis.vanisschot@utoronto.ca
Verskin, Alan (PHD, Princeton, 2010; ; prof.; Centre for Jewish Studies) ; alan.verskin@utoronto.ca
Virani, Shafique (PHD, Harvard, 2001; ; prof.; Mississauga) Islam studies; shafique.virani@utoronto.ca
Wang, Yvon (PHD, Stanford, 2014; ; assoc. prof.) modern China, gender; yyvon.wang@utoronto.ca
Wilson, David Alexander (PHD, Queen’s, Can., 1983; ; prof.) Ireland, Celtic; david.wilson@utoronto.ca
Wittmann, Rebecca E. (PHD, Toronto, 2001; ; assoc. prof.; Mississauga) modern Germany; wittmann@chass.utoronto.ca
Woods, Rebecca (PHD, Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., 2013; ; assoc. prof.; Inst. for the Hist. and Philosophy of Sci. and Tech.) ; rebecca.woods@utoronto.ca
Abray, Jane (PHD, Yale, 1978; ; prof. emeritus) early modern Europe, Reformation; jane.abray@utoronto.ca
Aster, Sidney (PHD, London Sch. Econ., 1969; ; prof. emeritus; Mississauga) modern Britain, international relations; sidney.aster@utoronto.ca
Berger, Carl C. (PHD, Toronto, 1967; ; prof. emeritus) modern Canada, cultural and social, historiography;
Blanchard, Peter H. (PHD, London, 1975; ; prof. emeritus) modern Latin America, social, political; blanchar@chass.utoronto.ca
Bothwell, Robert (PHD, Harvard, 1972; ; prof. emeritus) modern Canadian political, diplomatic, military; bothwell@chass.utoronto.ca
Callahan, William J., Jr. (PHD, Harvard, 1964; ; prof. emeritus) early modern western Europe, Spanish social/economic/political; wj.callahan@utoronto.ca
Dowler, Wayne (PHD, London Sch. Econ., 1973; ; prof. emeritus; Scarborough) modern Russia, intellectual, political; dowler@utsc.utoronto.ca
Dyck, Harvey L. (PHD, Columbia, 1963; ; prof. emeritus) modern eastern Europe, Russian social/economic/political/diplomatic; hldyck@chass.utoronto.ca
Eksteins, Modris (DPHIL, Oxford, 1970; ; prof. emeritus; Scarborough) modern western Europe, political, intellectual; eksteins@utsc.utoronto.ca
Estes, James M. (PHD, Ohio State, 1964; ; prof. emeritus) early modern western Europe, German religious and political; james.estes@utoronto.ca
Finlayson, Michael G. (PHD, Toronto, 1968; ; prof. emeritus) early modern Britain, social/religious/political;
Gabaccia, Donna R. (PHD, Michigan, 1979; ; prof. emeritus; Scarborough) gender, immigration, diaspora; donna.gabaccia@utoronto.ca
Goffart, Walter A. (PHD, Harvard, 1961; ; prof. emeritus) early medieval Europe, Rome and institutional, historiography; walter.goffart@yale.edu
Grendler, Paul F. (PHD, Wisconsin, Madison, 1964; ; prof. emeritus) early modern western Europe, Italian intellectual/social/religious;
Hood, Adrienne D. (PHD, California, San Diego, 1988; ; assoc. prof. emeritus) America, material culture; a.hood@utoronto.ca
Iacovetta, Franca (PHD, York, Can., 1988; ; prof. emeritus; Scarborough) Canada, immigration, women and social; f.iacovetta@utoronto.ca
Ingham, John N. (PHD, Pittsburgh, 1973; ; prof. emeritus) modern America, business/social/cultural, 19th- and 20th-century America;
Israel, Milton (PHD, Michigan, 1965; ; prof. emeritus) modern Asia, British Empire, Indian social and political;
Johnson, Robert E. (PHD, Cornell, 1974; ; prof. emeritus; Mississauga) modern eastern Europe, Russia, social; johnson@chass.utoronto.ca
Kivimae, Juri (PHD, Estonian Acad. Science, 1981; ; prof. emeritus) early modern Estonia and Baltic, economic; jkivimae@chass.utoronto.ca
Klein, Martin A. (PHD, Chicago, 1964; ; prof. emeritus) modern Africa, social and political; martin.klein@utoronto.ca
Lahusen, Thomas (OPHD, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1982; ; prof. emeritus) Russia, cinema; thomas.lahusen@utoronto.ca
MacDowell, Laurel S. (PHD, Toronto, 1979; ; prof. emeritus) modern Canada, labour and social, environmental; laurel.macdowell@utoronto.ca
Macmillan, Margaret (DPHIL, Oxford, 1974; ; prof. adjunct) late 19th- and early 20th-century British Empire, international relations; margaret.macmillan@utoronto.ca
Murray, Alexander C. (PHD, Toronto, 1976; ; prof. emeritus; Mississauga) medieval, late Rome, early modern Europe; alexander.murray@utoronto.ca
Noel, Jan (PHD, Toronto, 1987; ; assoc. prof. emeritus; Mississauga) pre-Confederation Canada, French Canada, gender; jnoel@utm.utoronto.ca
Penslar, Derek Jonathan (PHD, California, Berkeley, 1987; ; prof. emeritus) modern Jewish, Europe and Israel;
Pruessen, Ronald W. (PHD, Pennsylvania, 1968; ; prof. emeritus) 20th-century American political and diplomatic; pruessen@chass.utoronto.ca
Raby, David L. (PHD, Warwick, 1971; ; prof. emeritus) Latin America, Mexico, 20th-century Portuguese social/economic/political;
Radforth, Ian W. (PHD, York, Can., 1985; ; prof. emeritus) Canada, 19th- and 20th-century Ontario, social and economic; i.radforth@utoronto.ca
Robertson, Ian (PHD, Toronto, 1974; ; prof. emeritus; Scarborough) post-Confederation Canada, political, intellectual; robertson@utsc.utoronto.ca
Rossos, Andrew (PHD, Stanford, 1971; ; prof. emeritus) modern eastern Europe, Czech political and diplomatic;
Rutherford, Paul F. W. (PHD, Toronto, 1973; ; prof. emeritus) modern Canada, cultural and social, political; prutherf@chass.utoronto.ca
Silver, Arthur I. (PHD, Toronto, 1973; ; prof. emeritus) modern Canada, French Canadian, social and intellectual; asilver@chass.utoronto.ca
Smyth, Denis (PHD, Cambridge, 1978; ; prof. emeritus) international;
Todd, Barbara J. (DPHIL, Oxford, 1985; ; prof. emeritus) early modern Britain, women; b.todd@utoronto.ca
Van Kirk, Sylvia (PHD, London, 1975; ; prof. emeritus) early Canadian West, women;
Viola, Lynne (PHD, Princeton, 1984; ; prof. emeritus) 20th-century Russia; lynne.viola@utoronto.ca
Wagle, Narendra K. (PHD, London, 1963; ; prof. emeritus) South Asia, medieval India;
Wark, Wesley K. (PHD, London Sch. Econ., 1984; ; prof. emeritus) 20th-century Britain, foreign and defense policy, international relations and intelligence;
Wayne, Michael (PHD, Yale, 1979; ; prof. emeritus) 19th-century America; michael.wayne@utoronto.ca
Wrobel, Piotr Jan (PHD, Warsaw, 1984; ; prof. emeritus) Poland; piotr.wrobel@utoronto.ca
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