Research Supervisors

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The supervisor is the key person in a thesis-based graduate degree program. The principal role of the supervisor is to help students achieve their scholastic potential and to chair the student’s Supervisory Committee. The Supervisor will provide reasonable commitment, accessibility, professionalism, stimulation, guidance, respect and consistent encouragement to the student. Learn more

Graduate programs have different expectations regarding prospective students contacting faculty members. Some require commitment of a faculty member as thesis supervisor prior to applying while others assign supervisors in the first year. Please review the requirements for each program in the degree listing under the heading "Admission Information & Requirements" in step 3 "Prepare Application" under "Thesis Supervision".

Advice on how to reach out to supervisors

 
Name Role Facultysort descending Academic Unit
Richards, Jeffrey Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
Van Raamsdonk, Mark Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Aviles, Leticia Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
Huan, Tao Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Schiebinger, Geoffrey Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
McIver, Jess Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Blakney, Anna Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Michael Smith Laboratories, School of Biomedical Engineering
Reid, Andrea Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Mehta, Aastha Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Sagan, Selena Professor Faculty of Science Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Kenne, Steve Cyrille Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Matthews, Philip Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
McAllister, Murdoch Associate Professor Faculty of Science Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Johnson, Mark Professor Faculty of Science Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability, Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Hickson, Paul Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Colliander, James Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Chou, Keng Chang Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Leander, Brian Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany, Department of Zoology
Smit, Matthijs Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Solymosi, Jozsef Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Stairs, Ingrid Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Jankowski, Jill Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
Schleich, Kristin Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Rosado Rey, Abel Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany
Carenini, Giuseppe Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Gordon, Julia Yulia Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Condon, Anne Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Murphy, Michael Professor Faculty of Science Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Angert, Amy Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany, Department of Zoology
Allen, Susan Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Aronson, Meigan Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Korthauer, Keegan Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Department of Statistics
Miller, Freda Professor Faculty of Science Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Medical Genetics
Ding, Jiarui Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Bradbury, Hal Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Zhou, Fei Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Berciu, Mona Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Bryan, Jim Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Brauner, Colin Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
Cronk, Quentin Charles Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany
Ward, Michael Jeffrey Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Unruh, William Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Graham, Sean Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany
Kronstad, James Professor Faculty of Science Michael Smith Laboratories
Hauert, Christoph Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Folk, Joshua Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Hu, Alan Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Milner, Valery Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Bonn, Douglas Andrew Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Waterman, Stephanie Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences

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Reaching Out Tips

Complete these steps before you reach out to a faculty member!

Check requirements
  • Familiarize yourself with program requirements. You want to learn as much as possible from the information available to you before you reach out to a faculty member. Be sure to visit the graduate degree program listing and program-specific websites.
  • Check whether the program requires you to seek commitment from a supervisor prior to submitting an application. For some programs this is an essential step while others match successful applicants with faculty members within the first year of study. This is either indicated in the program profile under "Admission Information & Requirements" - "Prepare Application" - "Supervision" or on the program website.
Focus your search
  • Identify specific faculty members who are conducting research in your specific area of interest.
  • Establish that your research interests align with the faculty member’s research interests.
    • Read up on the faculty members in the program and the research being conducted in the department.
    • Familiarize yourself with their work, read their recent publications and past theses/dissertations that they supervised. Be certain that their research is indeed what you are hoping to study.
Make a good impression
  • Compose an error-free and grammatically correct email addressed to your specifically targeted faculty member, and remember to use their correct titles.
    • Do not send non-specific, mass emails to everyone in the department hoping for a match.
    • Address the faculty members by name. Your contact should be genuine rather than generic.
  • Include a brief outline of your academic background, why you are interested in working with the faculty member, and what experience you could bring to the department. The supervision enquiry form guides you with targeted questions. Ensure to craft compelling answers to these questions.
  • Highlight your achievements and why you are a top student. Faculty members receive dozens of requests from prospective students and you may have less than 30 seconds to pique someone’s interest.
  • Demonstrate that you are familiar with their research:
    • Convey the specific ways you are a good fit for the program.
    • Convey the specific ways the program/lab/faculty member is a good fit for the research you are interested in/already conducting.
  • Be enthusiastic, but don’t overdo it.
Attend an information session

G+PS regularly provides virtual sessions that focus on admission requirements and procedures and tips how to improve your application.