University of Toronto Department of Computer Science
The University of Toronto Department of Computer Science is the academic department for computer science at the University of Toronto. Part of the Faculty of Arts & Science, it provides undergraduate and graduate education in computer science and data science at the University's St. George campus in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Since the 1940s, the university has been conducing research in the emerging field of computing and early research in the field of artificial intelligence.[2] It is based at the Bahen Centre for Information Technology. HistoryAn early iteration of the department was the University of Toronto’s Committee on Computing Machines, formed in 1945 by professors Sam Beatty, Bernard Griffith, and V. G. Smith. The committee formed Canada’s first Computation Centre in a room inside the Physics Building in 1947. They developed the University of Toronto Electronic Computer (UTEC), the first computer in Canada and one of the first working computer prototypes in the world.[3] The department was formally established in 1964 and helped develop one of the earliest interactive computer animation systems in 1967. Computer Science faculty worked to expand Alan Turing’s theory of computability to include efficiency, and conducted early work on touchscreen technology in the 1980s.[1] In the 1960s, the University of Toronto established two new campuses, Mississauga and Scarborough, which host associated computer science departments: the Department of Mathematical & Computational Sciences and Department of Computer & Mathematical Sciences, respectively. Faculty are shared between the divisions which offer many of the same undergraduate courses. Some faculty at the University are considered pioneers in machine learning and neural networks.[2] Geoffrey Hinton, a University Professor Emeritus at U of T is credited for his work in advancing artificial neural networks, which has earned him the title of "the Godfather of AI."[4] Hinton was a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2024.[5] Computer Science faculty, including Hinton, founded the Vector Institute in 2017, a university-affiliated non-profit artificial intelligence research institute based in Toronto.[6] AcademicsThe department offers an undergraduate program in computer science with a choice of focuses, from artificial intelligence and computer vision to game design and quantitative finance. It also provides courses in data science and a specialist program.[7] The University offers three graduate programs through the department: a Master of Science (MSc), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), and unique Master of Science in Applied Computing (MScAC) degree, with a concentration in either Applied Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, Computer Science, Data Science, Data Science for Biology, or Quantum Computing.[8] RankingsThe University of Toronto was ranked first in Canada for computer science by QS Top Universities in its World University Ranking by Subject 2025[9] and Times Higher Education's Best universities for computer science in Canada 2025.[10] Notable faculty
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