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 descending Faculty Academic Unit
Firkins, Jacqueline Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Theatre & Film
Fu, Qiang Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology
Bundon, Andrea Associate Professor Faculty of Education School of Kinesiology
Barbic, Skye Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy
Lee, Gene Associate Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Accounting and Information Systems
Gaertner, David Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies
Elliott, Alison Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Medical Genetics
Nelson, Laura Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology
Reynolds, Graham Associate Professor Peter A. Allard School of Law
Marshall, Hallie Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Theatre & Film
McNeilly, Kevin Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of English Language and Literatures
Boley, Aaron Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Ostwald, Kai Associate Professor Faculty of Arts School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, Department of Political Science
Dierkes, Julian Associate Professor Faculty of Arts School of Public Policy and Global Affairs
Davis, Noelle Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Surgery
Severs, Jeffrey Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of English Language and Literatures
Hanser, Amy Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology
Kramer, John Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Kunz, Nadja Associate Professor Faculty of Arts School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering
Hooper, Michael Associate Professor Faculty of Applied Science School of Community and Regional Planning
Klein, Naomi Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Geography
Hanley, Gillian Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Al-Kassim, Dina Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of English Language and Literatures
Davidoff, Thomas Associate Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Strategy and Business Economics
Measday, Vivien Associate Professor Faculty of Land and Food Systems Food, Nutrition & Health
Douglas, Jennifer Associate Professor Faculty of Arts School of Information
Doberstein, Carey Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Political Science
Patterson, Christopher Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Institute for Gender, Race, Sex and Social Justice
Hieawy, Ahmed Associate Professor Faculty of Dentistry Department of Oral Biological & Medical Sciences
Chew, Ben Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Urologic Sciences
Hickey, Kenneth Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Lis, Mieszko Associate Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Satterfield, Blair Associate Professor Faculty of Applied Science School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture
Mizumoto, Kota Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
Kornelsen, Jude Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Family Practice
Miller, Bradley Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of History
Murphy, Anne Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of History
Haverkamp, Beth Associate Professor Faculty of Education Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, and Special Education
Ye, Ziliang Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Lee, Christopher Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of English Language and Literatures
Main, Jessica Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Asian Studies
Sinnamon, Luanne Silvia Associate Professor Faculty of Arts School of Information
Ortiz Molina, Hernan Associate Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Finance
Ngan, Elton Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
Lang, Donna Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Radiology
Madiseh, Ali Associate Professor Faculty of Applied Science Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering
Liao, Carol Associate Professor Peter A. Allard School of Law
Perrone, Lucy Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Madison, Kirk Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Somerville, Tsur Associate Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Strategy and Business Economics

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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.