Graduate students can expect to finance their graduate legal education in a variety of ways. The options listed here are not exhaustive and all applicants are expected to independently investigate and apply for all external and university-wide awards for which they are eligible. 

The Faculty of Law administers all of the scholarships and awards on this page; all of which are granted on the basis of both financial need and academic merit. They have been established by alumni, legal practitioners, the University, external organizations, and friends of the Faculty, all of whom share a strong belief in the importance of enabling outstanding law students to pursue their research interests.

Candidates seeking financial assistance should apply early in the admissions process and must submit a Financial Assistance Application Form as part of their online admissions application in order to be considered for applicable awards and fellowships. Please review our Graduate Admission webpage for further information.

Targeted Awards

Targeted awards are for individuals who are pursuing research in specific areas of law and/or are from identified countries or groups.

June Callwood Program in Aboriginal Law

The June Callwood Program in Aboriginal Law was established through an anonymous gift and matching funds from the University of Toronto, and named in honour of journalist, author, and social activist June Callwood. Ronald Rhodes, who was instrumental in the founding of the Women's Television Network, took a leadership role in the creation of the program. Half of the annual funds are used for graduate fellowships and undergraduate scholarships for Indigenous students with demonstrated financial need, with first priority to be given to graduate fellowships. The remaining half of the funds shall be used to support undergraduate community internships in Aboriginal Law.  View further details.

Nathan Strauss Q.C. Graduate Fellowship in Canadian Constitutional Law

The Nathan Strauss Q.C. Graduate Fellowship in Canadian Constitutional Law is awarded annually to a student enrolled in the LL.M. or S.J.D. programme who: (1) has demonstrated academic excellence; (2) shows promise of completing his/her degree; and (3) Is producing a thesis on the subject of Canadian Constitutional Law, focusing on any past, present or contemplated issue of significance to Canadian society.  The Fellowship was established by Lilly Offenbach Strauss to honour the memory of her late husband, Nathan Strauss, who was a Life Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada, and someone oft admired for his exemplary professional conduct, wise counsel and uncompromising insistence on integrity and fairness in legal practice.  The Fellowship consists of annual income from an endowment fund established by Mrs. Strauss and matched by the University of Toronto.

Graduate Fellowships in Capital Markets Research

The Faculty has established the Graduate Fellowships in Capital Markets Research. Fellowships will be awarded to students who have demonstrated an interest in the regulation of capital markets, including financial institution regulation, securities regulation and corporate governance.

Naomi Overend Fellowship in Human Rights

The Naomi Overend Fellowship in Human Rights, was established by a generous gift from Ellen Anderson, a graduate of the Faculty of Law (LLB 1996, LLM 1998, SJD 2000), in honour of Naomi Overend, a 1985 graduate of the Faculty of Law, for her work in the promotion of human rights. This fellowship is to be awarded annually to a full-time student in the graduate programme with a focus on human rights.

Smadar Peretz Fellowship in Human Rights

The Smadar Peretz Fellowship will be awarded annually to a graduate student from Israel undertaking coursework or research related to human rights law with the intention of advancing human rights for members of recognized minority groups in Israel, including Muslim Arabs, Bedouin Arabs, Christian Arabs, the Druze and the Circassians (as defined by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs), as well as members of the LGBTQ communities, and people with disabilities. Selection will be based on academic excellence as well as on financial need.  Members of minority and disadvantaged groups in Israel are strongly encouraged to apply.

The fellowship sets out to encourage and contribute to strengthening human rights law in Israel, hoping to build the capacity of passionate and skillful Israeli human rights lawyers.  Those, in turn will go on to create and contribute to new and existing human rights organizations and movements focused on the rights of minority groups in Israel.

The Fellowship was established through a generous contribution from Smadar Peretz, a graduate of the Faculty of Law (MSL 2015), in memory of her late parents, Latifa and Albert Peretz.

Graduate Fellowships in Innovation Law and Policy

The Centre for Innovation Law and Policy (CILP) annually sponsors a minimum of five Graduate Fellowships in Innovation Law and Policy of up to $25,000 each. These fellowships were established through an endowment fund by the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund.  View further details.

Nathan Strauss Q.C. Graduate Fellowship in International Law

The Nathan Strauss Q.C. Graduate Fellowship in International Law is awarded annually to a student of proven academic excellence enrolled in the LL.M. or S.J.D. programme. Candidates will be expected to indicate the relevance to the Canadian context of their proposed subject of study.  The Nathan Strauss Q.C. Graduate Fellowship in International Law has been established by his wife, Lilly Offenbach Strauss, to commemorate her husband's reputation as a "lawyers' lawyer", and in recognition of his contribution to the practice of law by an  unstinting devotion of  time and effort to the governance of the legal profession in his capacity as  a Life Bencher of the  Law Society of Upper Canada, and by personal example set by the widely admired uncompromising professional standards which characterized his long and distinguished career.  The Fellowship consists of annual income from an endowment fund established by Mrs. Strauss and matched by the University.

Hon. Mr. Justice Warren K. Winkler Graduate Fellowship in International Human Rights

The Hon. Mr. Justice Warren K. Winkler Graduate Fellowship in International Human Rights will be awarded annually to one graduate student working in the area of international human rights on the basis of financial need and academic excellence.

Nathan Strauss Q.C. Graduate Fellowship in International Law and Intellectual Property

The Nathan Strauss Q.C. Graduate Fellowship in International Law and Intellectual Property, established by Lilly Offenbach Strauss in memory of her late husband, will be awarded annually to a student of proven academic excellence who shows definite promise of completing his/her degree. The thesis subject can focus on any significant past, present or contemplated issue relating to intellectual property and  should include a discussion of its relevance to Canadian society.  Admired for combining legal expertise with wise counsel and uncompromising integrity in a distinguished legal career spanning over sixty years, Nathan Strauss was widely known for his contribution to the governance of the legal profession in Ontario, in particular his insistence on professional standards in legal conduct which he exemplified in his private practice and actively promoted in his capacity as a Bencher - later Life Bencher - of the Law  Society of Upper Canada.  The Fellowship, in the approximate amount of $ 6,000, consists of annual income from an endowment fund established by Mrs. Strauss, matched by the University of Toronto under the GSEF programme.

John Stransman Graduate Fellowship in Law and Economics

The John Stransman Graduate Fellowship in Law and Economics is awarded annually to a graduate student or students working in the area of law and economics on the basis of financial need and academic excellence.

Mary and Louis Anisman Fellowship in Law and Fairness

The Mary and Louis Anisman Fellowship in Law and Fairness, created in honour of his parents by Philip Anisman, is available to an outstanding student pursuing a master or doctor of laws degree who writes a thesis on an aspect of the relationship between law and fairness, including fairness as a jurisprudential concept, equality as an aspect of fairness in law, fairness in the legal system (such as due process of law, administrative fairness and fairness in the legislative process) and the effect of concepts of fairness on the development and application of specific legal norms by courts and/or legislatures (such as the doctrine of unconscionability in the law of contracts, the oppression remedy in the corporate law, the treatment of minorities or of discrimination), or an analysis of an aspect of law from the perspective of the intersection of law, mortality and fairness. The Fellowship, which may be awarded for a period of up to three years, consists of the income earned on the Fellowship Fund in the preceding years and may vary from year to year.

Robert Law Fellowship in Legal Ethics

The Robert Law Fellowship in Legal Ethics is gift from Canadian Tire and Cassels Brock & Blackwell in honour of Robert Law, who was Vice President and General Counsel at Canadian Tire for 43 years and has been associated with the firm Cassels Brock & Blackwell for over 45 years. The fellowship is awarded annually to a graduate student or students undertaking course work or research related to legal ethics and the legal profession. Financial need and academic merit will be considered.

Lucille Norris Graduate Scholarship in Medical Legal Studies

The Lucille Norris Graduate Scholarship in Medical Legal Studies is a fellowship donated by Thomas Dunne (1968) in memory of Lucille Norris, awarded to a student undertaking graduate work in the area of medical legal studies.

Arthur Scace Graduate Fellowship in Tax Law

Established through a gift from The Henry White Kinnear Foundation and named in honour of Arthur Scace, fellowships will be awarded annually to graduate students studying tax law, on the basis of academic excellence and financial need. Arthur Scace has been with the firm of McCarthy Tétrault for 33 years, and has served as former national chairman and managing partner at the Toronto office.

Graduate Scholarships in Women's Rights

The Graduate Scholarships in Women's Rights provides a partial or full scholarship to law graduates from Africa, Central or South America, the Middle East, East or South East Asia who have an interest in human rights of women to undertake advanced research and study in this area of law. For more information, see the Graduate Scholarships in Women's Rights web page.

 

Open Awards

Open awards are available to graduate students studying all areas of law and legal policy. Open awards often have a financial need component but also include an assessment of the applicant's academic record at the time of admission.

Faculty of Law Fellowships

Faculty of Law Fellowships are made available from the Faculty's endowment to outstanding students in financial need showing high intellectual promise in either the LLM or SJD programme. These fellowships are awarded on the recommendation of the Associate Dean, Graduate Studies.

University of Toronto Fellowships

University of Toronto Fellowships are offered by the School of Graduate Studies to graduate students in either the LLM or SJD programme. The Faculty of Law allocates these scholarship funds.

Law Foundation Fellowships

Law Foundation Fellowships are made available from the Law Foundation of Ontario and are awarded in varying amounts to outstanding students showing high intellectual promise in either the LLM or SJD programme.

Albert S. Abel Graduate Award

The Albert S. Abel Graduate Award is awarded from on the basis of scholarship and financial need to a graduate student in the Faculty of Law on the recommendation of the Chairman of the Graduate Committee of the Faculty of Law. The award was established by friends and family of the late Professor Albert S. Abel.

Bernard Chernos Graduate Fellowship in Law

The Bernard Chernos Graduate Fellowship in Law is an award established by a gift from Martin Teplitsky, Q.C., '64 and Beverley Chernos in memory of Bernard Chernos, Q.C. '57.

Houlden & Morawetz Graduate Scholarship

The Houlden & Morawetz Graduate Scholarship is awarded to a graduate student on the basis of financial need and academic excellence. The Insolvency Institute of Canada established the scholarship with the proceeds of the Lloyd W. Houlden festschrift Dinner organised in January 1998. This award honours Justice Lloyd Houlden and Dr. Carl Morawetz and is the graduate complement to the Houlden & Morawetz Bursary, which was established by friends and admirers in 1996. 

WGC Howland Graduate Fellowship

The WGC Howland Graduate Fellowship, a gift of the late W.G.C. Howland, is awarded each year to students in either the LLM or SJD programme on the basis of academic promise and financial need.

Law Alumni Fellowship

The Law Alumni Fellowship has been generously made available by the University of Toronto Law Alumni Association, to be awarded in varying amounts to students of outstanding merit in the LLM or SJD programme.

Raoul Wallenberg Graduate Scholarship

The Raoul Wallenberg Graduate Scholarship is the gift of an anonymous donor in recognition of the heroic efforts of the celebrated Swedish diplomat whose humanity and courage saved many thousands of Jewish lives in Hungary during World War II.