University of Toronto Department of Computer Science

The Department of Computer Science (DCS) at the University of Toronto is an academic department at the St. George campus in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Part of the Faculty of Arts & Science, it provides undergraduate and graduate education in both computer science and data science. Notable faculty have included Stephen Cook, founder of the theory of NP-completeness which laid the groundwork for computational complexity theory,^[2][3] and Geoffrey Hinton, the "Godfather of A.I."^[4][5]

Department of Computer Science

The Bahen Centre for Information Technology, the location of several department offices.
Type	Academic department
Established	1964; 61 years ago (1964)[1]
Parent institution	Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Toronto
Chair	Eyal de Lara
Undergraduates	2,500+[1]
Postgraduates	450+[1]
Location	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Campus	St. George
Website	cs.toronto.edu

History and research

An 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 electronic computer prototypes in the world.^[6]

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 its Mississauga and Scarborough campuses, which each host associated computer science departments: the Department of Mathematical & Computational Sciences, UTM and Department of Computer & Mathematical Sciences, UTSC.

The department has hosted several faculty members who are considered pioneers in numerous computational fields.^[7] Stephen Cook, University Professor Emeritus, is credited in his work in advanced understanding of computational complexity theory and NP-completeness, and introduced the unsolved problem of P versus NP in 1971.^[8] Cook received the A.M. Turing Award in 1982.^[2] University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton 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.^[9]

Academics

The 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.^[10] Graduate studies in computer science at the university is solely offered at the St. George campus through the department. It hosts three graduate programs: 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.^[11]

Rankings

The University of Toronto was ranked 12th in the world and first in Canada for computer science and information systems by QS Top Universities' World University Ranking by Subject 2025.^[12] It was ranked 23rd in the world and first in Canada for computer science in Times Higher Education's World University Rankings by Subject 2025.^[13][14]

Notable faculty

• Stephen Cook – University Professor Emeritus, recipient of the A.M. Turing Award for formalizing the notion of NP-completeness through Cook's theorem, considered one of the forefathers of computational complexity theory.
• Geoffrey Hinton – University Professor Emeritus, "Godfather of AI," Nobel Prize laureate, former researcher at Google, co-founder of the Vector Institute.
• Raquel Urtasun – University Professor and researcher in the field of artificial intelligence and deep learning, co-founder of the Vector Institute.
• Sanja Fidler – Associate Professor, Director of AI at Nvidia, co-founder of the Vector Institute.
• Allan Borodin – University Professor and former department chair from 1980 to 1985.
• Charles Rackoff – University Professor Emeritus specializing in cryptography and security protocols.

Related institutions

Computer science departments

• Department of Mathematical & Computational Sciences (Mississauga)
• Department of Computer & Mathematical Sciences (Scarborough)

Other

• Vector Institute
• Fields Institute
• Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society
• Toronto Intelligent Systems Lab