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 Rolesort ascending Faculty Academic Unit
Menzies, Charles Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Anthropology
Green, David Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Asselin, Edouard Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Materials Engineering
McGrail, Kimberlyn Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Frangou, Sophia Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
Wang, Zhen Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Wolf, Michael Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Christensen, Villy Professor Faculty of Science Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Ogrodniczuk, John Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
Eberhardt, Erik Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Francis, Gordon Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Endocrinology
Booker, Courtney Professor Faculty of Arts Department of History
Fisher, Charles Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Orthopaedics
Crowe, Sean Professor Faculty of Science Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Matsui, Shigenori Professor Peter A. Allard School of Law
Kassam, Rosemin Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Kazanjian, Arminee Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
El-Kassaby, Yousry Professor Faculty of Forestry Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences
Ryan, Katherine Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Maldonado, Maite Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Austin, Jehannine Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Genetics
Larjava, Hannu Professor Faculty of Dentistry Department of Oral Biological & Medical Sciences
Bassett, Ken Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Family Practice
Orbaugh, Sharalyn Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Asian Studies
Woodward, Todd Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
Yen, Edwin H Professor Faculty of Dentistry Department of Oral Health Sciences
Doebeli, Michael Walter Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics, Department of Zoology
Brondani, Mario Professor Faculty of Dentistry Department of Oral Health Sciences
Grant, Isabel Professor Peter A. Allard School of Law
Li, Loretta Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Civil Engineering
Koehoorn, Mieke Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Barton, Jason Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Neurology, Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Gleason, Mona Professor Faculty of Education Department of Educational Studies
Krystal, Gerald Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Piret, James Professor Faculty of Science Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Copeland, Brian Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Shepherd, Bruce Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Underhill, Michael Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences, School of Biomedical Engineering
Angel, Omer Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Tokuriki, Nobuhiko Professor Faculty of Science Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Peck, Jamie Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Geography
Sadowski, Ivan Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Justice, Daniel Professor Faculty of Arts Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies, Department of English Language and Literatures
Palepu, Anita Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of General Internal Medicine
Haber, Eldad Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Martone, Patrick Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany
Hermida, Alfred Professor Faculty of Arts School of Journalism, Writing, and Media
Quirk, Paul Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Political Science
Hesselink, Nathan Professor Faculty of Arts School of Music
Glassheim, Eagle Professor Faculty of Arts Department of History

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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.