Research & Innovation
Field-defining Creative Research
The Creative School is an international leader in practice-based research, creative scholarship, and design thinking, grounded in a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. Embracing a transdisciplinary approach, we leverage our broad range of research expertise to partner with academic institutions, community organizations, and industry leaders to create global solutions for real-world change. The scope of scholarly, research, and creative activities in The Creative School is far-reaching, with faculty and graduate students investigating field-defining research questions through traditional and creative media.
18M+
Research Funding since 2014
23+
Research Labs and Centres
46+
Academic and Industry Partnerships
Thematic Clusters
The six clusters foster intentional and meaningful research collaboration between faculty and students across programs. The clusters create communities of practice where conversations about SRC activities develop alongside curricula, combining teaching, learning, and practical application.
Creative Enterprise
Creating new opportunities & changing industry practices.
Creativity & Social Change
Creating interventions toward an equitable future.
Storytelling & experiential media
Creating experiences across media, genres, and platforms.
Creative Tech & AI
Creating possibilities for human-machine interaction & knowledge-making.
Histories, Archives, & Curation
Creating counter-histories & unearthing untold stories.
Sustainability
Creating interventions toward an equitable future.
Research at The Creative School
Championing scholarly, research and creative (SRC) activities
The Catalyst provides faculty and Graduate students the space and resources to test the limits of their creativity and innovation. The Catalyst supports all aspects of research creation and dissemination through internal grants, writing workshops, mentorship programs, and grant-writing support. Further supporting SRC activities, the Catalyst features events that reflect the transdisciplinary collaborations between The Creative School, industry, and community partners.
Research Resources
Strategic Research Plan
The 2025-2030 Strategic Research Plan articulates the key themes representing Toronto Metropolitan University’s strategic strengths and reflects the diverse scholarly, research and creative (SRC) activity that is taking place across the institution. The seven strategic themes outlined below highlight where the university is driving SRC excellence, intensity and impact and the ways in which our SRC community addresses complex problems that demand bold and creative solutions.
Research News at The Creative School
Questions?
To learn more about Research at The Creative School, contact thecatalyst@torontomu.ca.