Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) offers many scholarships and stipends to domestic and international Master's and PhD students to support research and make education more accessible.

The Bridging Divides program is a new area of focus for TMU, offering a limited number of stipends to grad students studying a topic related to one of Bridging Divides' four research themes. Here's a quick look at the research stipends available:

Bridging Divides Graduate Student Stipends

Incoming Master's and PhD students may be eligible for a graduate stipend to support their studies. Here are the basic details, but please be sure to reach out to [email protected] with any questions!

Master's: Entrance & Existing students stipend: Up to $20,000 per year for domestic and $30,000 for international, for a maximum of two years for incoming students. Renewals are subject to an annual review of the student's progress and availability of funds.

PhD: Entrance & Existing students stipend: Up to $30,000 per year for domestic and $40,000 for international, for a maximum of four years for incoming students. Renewals are subject to an annual review of the student's progress and availability of funds.

Let's explore the Bridging Divides research themes now — if you're considering TMU for grad school, perhaps you'll find something interesting!

Theme 1: Immigrant Health and Well-Being

This research theme is all about newcomers' health outcomes after coming to Canada.

The challenge: what's at stake

Canada's immigration policies admit younger, better educated, and healthier individuals than their Canadian born counterparts, creating the healthy immigrant effect. However, the health advantages of immigrants diminish with increased duration of residence.

Narrow definitions of settlement and integration as the "length of time in Canada" ignore historical and ongoing colonial power relations; for example:

• residential schools
• slavery
• exclusionary immigration policies
• systemic racism
• gender inequities
• structural violence against LGBTQ+ peoples
• etc.

Such power relations produce exclusive public policies, shape inequitable distribution of resources, and create barriers to "true" and successful "whole-of-society integration".

There is an urgent need for innovative social and technological strategies that engage immigrant communities in prioritizing needs, co-creating solutions, and integrating community-centred tools to reduce health disparities.

Research focus

The Immigrant Health and Well-Being research theme is underpinned by a strong commitment toward reconciliation and principles of equity, access, and social justice, which are essential components of critical populations health promotion. In particular, TMU's implementing the following research initiatives:

• Timely population-based analysis to inform policy and practice: We will engage stakeholders to co-identify and prioritize the needs of distinct immigrant and racialized populations and use the evidence to inform policy solutions and innovative interventions.
• Advancing social integration and collective flourishing through innovative interventions and policy action: We will translate and disseminate evidence from population-based analyses, and engage affected communities and stakeholders to co-design community-centred trailblazing interventions to advance equity-based multidirectional whole-of-society integration.
• Indigenous perspectives of migration, integration, and reconciliation in health care: We will focus on learning from First Nations, Inuit and Métis perspectives about migrants to unceded and Treaty lands, especially migrant health professionals and apply insights and learning to co-design training on competence care.
• Using Advanced Digital Technology (ADT) to promote access to health services and health equity: We will explore the potential of ADT to enhance the delivery of secured and personalized health services.
• SingWell to promote integration, wellbeing and resilience: We will explore the benefits of group singing as a tool to improve cross-cultural communication, improved health and social wellbeing among immigrants and refugees.

Interested in this area of research? Browse all research projects in the Immigrant Health and Well-Being theme on the TMU website.

Theme 2: Employment and Lifelong Learning

This research theme is all about using advanced technologies to improve immigrants' economic integration.

The challenge: what's at stake

Immigration is a key driver of economic growth in Canada, which is viewed internationally as a leader in immigrant labour market integration. Yet, inconsistencies in policy can result in labour market disparities and many newcomers face barriers impeding their earnings and pathways to sustainable livelihoods.

While employers continue to claim that there are labour and skills shortages, there is evidence of rampant systemic discrimination. Further, when newcomers are successful in obtaining employment, they may face discrimination in the workplace.

While self-employment and entrepreneurship are options, there are few supports to help them navigate the processes of starting and growing a business.

Research focus

The Employment and Lifelong Learning research theme is using a multi-method approach to examine whether and how advanced digital technologies can improve newcomers' economic participation. In particular, TMU's studying the following research sub-themes:

• Interrogating unemployment and underemployment will explore how newcomers and their families cope with periods of unemployment and underemployment.
• Digital technologies for immigrant labour market integration and (re)training will leverage technologies in skills training programs designed for newcomers in order to support Canadian employers in achieving inclusive employment.
• Platform economy and quality of work will consider how advanced digital technologies enabling the platform economy generate tensions between access to work and quality of work.
• Navigating the future of work will examine two main factors: the increased adoption of artificial intelligence in the workplace and the rise of contingent work conditions.

Interested in this area of research? Browse all research projects in the Employment and Lifelong Learning theme on the TMU website.

Theme 3: Place and Infrastructure

This research theme is all about using technologies to reinforce social infrastructure and optimize urban communities' resilience.

The challenge: what's at stake

The design and development of places and infrastructure largely determine the integration of newcomers to Canada. Without effective social and physical infrastructure in place, new Canadians may be at risk of social isolation, homelessness, and/or excluded from the available settlement and other public services.

A more active role of newcomers in the place and infrastructure decision and policy-making processes will alleviate the existing barriers such as access to housing, transit, health, and other needs.

Research focus

The Place and Infrastructure research program considers new Canadians as active agents of change and place-making. To better understand the challenges and opportunities of place-making as it relates to infrastructure, TMU's studying the following research sub-themes:

• Social infrastructure encapsulates a number of interrelated topics such as changing demographics, ethnic neighbourhoods and their role in immigrant integration, social isolation among newcomers, and the risk of homelessness due to lack of affordable housing particularly in large cities. New and emerging frontiers such as climate mobility and the use of new technologies will also be a part of this sub-theme.
• Cyber-physical service infrastructure will investigate the role of cyber-physical infrastructure in facilitating or thwarting accessibility, opportunity, and capacity building for new Canadians.
• Housing markets and migration aims to develop an understanding of the housing market behaviour of new Canadians and create a comprehensive set of tools to aid policymakers and builders to proactively explore strategies and policies that can address issues such as housing affordability, alternative ownership models, accessibility, and availability.
• Pilot projects will take advantage of ADT and emerging smart infrastructure technologies in providing on-demand, high-availability services and will partner with municipal and industry partners to evaluate the role of new digital technologies in service delivery.

Interested in this area of research? Browse all research projects in the Place and Infrastructure theme on the TMU website.

Theme 4: Citizenship and Participation

This research theme is all about considering how civic and political participation and citizenship are fundamental to the success of resilient, inclusive, and sustainable communities.

The challenge: what's at stake

Civic and political participation and citizenship — understood both as a legal status and as the lived experience of membership, rights and belonging — are fundamental to the success of resilient, inclusive and sustainable communities.

If immigrants are kept as outsiders and excluded from full participation in social and political life, immigration ceases to be socially sustainable. The rise of Advanced Digital Technologies (ADTs) poses new challenges and opens new possibilities for migrant integration in different spheres of social, economic and political life, including civic and political participation.

While ADTs present opportunities for immigrant participation they are not a panacea to existing and emerging barriers.

Research focus

This research theme focuses on migrants, immigrants, newcomers, and refugees, notably people born outside of Canada who live in Canada with temporary or permanent status. To better understand this context and its impact, TMU's studying the following research sub-themes:

• Citizenship and belonging in a globalized and digitalized world will explore the evolving meaning of citizenship and belonging in a period of rapid (and disruptive) technological transformation and socio-economic and geopolitical change.
• The digitalization of immigrant integration and of immigrant service provision will study the role of ADTs in service provisions and mediating migration decisions.
• Societal polarisation, ADTs and the impact on migrant integration looks at the role of social media and ADTs in shaping the politics of immigration and public attitudes.
• Data and methodology issues will study the privacy and ethics challenges of working with and on migrant integration in today's climate and develop innovative methods of training and engagement.

Interested in this area of research? Browse all research projects in the Citizenship and Participation theme on the TMU website.

Learn more about Bridging Divides on the TMU website, and email [email protected] with any questions about the program.

We hope to see you at TMU soon!