Admissions
Join Our Community of Learners
The Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study Laboratory School (JICS Lab School) welcomes applications from all interested families residing in the City of Toronto. Children come to the Laboratory School from across Toronto and are admitted through a waitlist process. The preliminary application form and our admissions policies will assist you in indicating your interest in joining our school community.
The school currently has a waiting list of applicants for admission across the Nursery School to Grade 6 levels. Each year we admit approximately thirty children. Twenty children enter the Nursery School each September. From Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6, spaces become available only if a child leaves the school. We are not able to offer tours of the school to those on the waiting list until there is a space in view.
Admission Policy
JICS Laboratory School is committed to diversity in all forms. Three principles underlie ongoing efforts to build a unique learning community and create diverse, gender-balanced, equitable classrooms with broad-based populations representing cultural, economic, and social diversity:
- JICS Laboratory School aims to represent Toronto’s diversity, including its aboriginal and multi-ethnic dimensions.
- JICS Laboratory School strives for economic diversity by providing limited needs-based financial support.
- JICS Laboratory School classrooms are gender-balanced.
Preference will be given to siblings of currently enrolled children and children of JICS employees. There is no preferred status for children of the University of Toronto employees beyond JICS, or for children of Laboratory School alumni. The Admissions Committee, chaired by the Principal, reviews the admissions policy annually.
Please note that your child's application will remain on file until your child is no longer eligible to be admitted (can be removed upon request).
Additional Information on Admissions
The Nursery Entry Year, the only year for admitting a full class of new students, has spaces for 10 girls and 10 boys. The admissions process for the Nursery Year begins in January and ends in March of each year. We will contact you if we are able to consider your application in the year your child turns three years of age.
The JICS Lab School approaches applications in chronological order, bearing in mind the considerations for diversity, siblings, staff children, and the need for classes to be balanced for age and gender for both research and pedagogical reasons. A Parent Information Session is held in January/February, an opportunity to learn about the school, meet the admin and teaching staff, and tour the school. After the Information Session, the families for whom we have spaces and who are interested in entering the Nursery will be contacted (in the order of application date) for a personal interview with your child. Admission offers are made by letter immediately following completion of this process.
Spaces in Junior Kindergarten (JK) to Grade 6 classes occasionally open when a child leaves the school. These spaces are filled following JICS Laboratory School policies and diversity principles, and according to the best interests of the child and the class, bearing in mind diversity, siblings, and balance.
Tuition & Fees
Tuition
- Nursery Students (2025-2026): $20,127 + Enrolment Fee
- Junior Kindergarten – Grade 6 Students (2025-2026): $31,874 + Enrolment Fee
Enrolment Fee
There is an Enrolment Fee for each student entering JICS Laboratory School:
- Nursery – Grade 2: $5,000
- Grades 3 – 4: $3,000
- Grades 5 – 6: $2,000
Enrolment fees are non-refundable and due upon acceptance. Tuition fees are set by the University of Toronto.
The school fees do not represent the full costs of educating a child at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study (JICS) Laboratory School. The University of Toronto deducts what it recognizes the Laboratory School’s contributions to the academic work of the University to be and has calculated the fees outlined on this page. The Laboratory School’s connection to the University influences everything from our high academic standards to the spirit of inquiry that pervades our classrooms.
Tuition Support
Families approved for JICS Laboratory School tuition support are notified by letter and the amount of the financial assistance award will be placed in the family’s University of Toronto Fees Account by September 1 of the school year.
To find out more information about financial assistance at the JICS Laboratory School, please visit our Financial Assistance webpage.
Laboratory School Waitlist
Login, or create an account, to complete an application to be placed on the JICS Laboratory School waitlist.
