Research Supervisors

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
Todesco, Marco Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Botany
Alacaoglu, Ahmet Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Hinshaw, Gary Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Beckie, Roger Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Reinsberg, Stefan Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Harley, Christopher Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Scott, Douglas Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Chen, Jiahua Professor Faculty of Science Department of Statistics
Joe, Harry Sue Wah Professor Faculty of Science Department of Statistics
Salibian-Barrera, Matias Professor Faculty of Science Department of Statistics
Franz, Marcel Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Waltham, Christopher Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Lister, Alison Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Perrin, David Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Vincent, Amanda Professor Faculty of Science Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Halpern, Mark Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Tsai, Tai-Peng Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Ortner, Christoph Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Heagy, Lindsey Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Park, Mi Jung Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Johnson, Catherine Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Martin, Gregory Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Boley, Aaron Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Karu, Kalle Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Mehrkhodavandi, Parisa Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Welch, William Professor Faculty of Science Department of Statistics
Murphy, Gail Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Kim, Young-Heon Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Tetzlaff, Wolfram Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
Mayer, Ulrich Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Gold, Michael Professor Faculty of Science Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Hearty, Christopher Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Rozali, Moshe Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Feeley, Michael Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Greenstreet, Mark Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Hasinoff, Michael Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
McKenna, Janis Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Sossi, Vesna Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Zahl, Joshua Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Bachmann, Sven Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Song, Liang Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany
McDonald, Daniel Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Statistics
Chritz, Kendra Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Peirce, Anthony Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Kopylova, Maya Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Wei, Juncheng Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Sumaila, Ussif Rashid Professor Faculty of Science Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs
Hickey, Kenneth Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Gordon, Michael Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
Laba, Izabella Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics

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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.