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 Rolesort ascending Faculty Academic Unit
Li, Xin Professor Faculty of Science Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Botany
Altshuler, Doug Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
Rogers, Theresa Professor Faculty of Education Department of Language & Literacy Education
Servati, Peyman Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Pattabiraman, Karthik Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Putnins, Edward Professor Faculty of Dentistry Department of Oral Biological & Medical Sciences
Myers, Tamara Professor Faculty of Arts Department of History
Satterfield, Theresa Professor Faculty of Science Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability
Chiao, Mu Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Mechanical Engineering
Dvorak, Marcel F S Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Orthopaedics
Cairns, Brian Professor Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Pakhomov, Yevhenii Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Ur, Ehud Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Endocrinology
MacLure, Malcolm Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Stewart, Evelyn Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
Chang, Thomas Professor Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Mansfield, Shawn Professor Faculty of Forestry Department of Wood Science, Department of Botany
Hurd, Laura Professor Faculty of Education School of Kinesiology
Wilkes, Rima Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology
Mitton, Craig Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Gramling, David Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Central, Eastern & Northern European Studies
Macnab, Andrew Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pediatrics
Christoff Hadjiilieva, Kalina Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Psychology
Hoegg, Jo Andrea Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Marketing and Behavioural Science
McAlpine, Jessica Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Abu-Laban, Riyad Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine
Sorensen, Poul Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Saewyc, Elizabeth Professor Faculty of Applied Science School of Nursing
Fernandez, Rachel Professor Faculty of Science Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Traboulsee, Tony Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Neurology
Karsan, Aly Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
McMaster, W Robert Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Medical Genetics
Riano-Alcala, Pilar Professor Faculty of Arts Institute for Gender, Race, Sex and Social Justice
Berdahl, Jennifer Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology
Yu, Henry Professor Faculty of Arts Department of History
Gunderson, Lee Paul Professor Faculty of Education Department of Language & Literacy Education
Feng, James Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Department of Mathematics
Ross, Colin Professor Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Evans, Philip David Professor Faculty of Forestry Department of Wood Science
Gregory-Evans, Cheryl Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Norman, Wendy Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Family Practice
Oberg, Gunilla Professor Faculty of Science Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability
Lyon, Annabel Professor Faculty of Arts School of Creative Writing
Bouchard-Cote, Alexandre Professor Faculty of Science Department of Statistics
Vallance, Bruce Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pediatrics
Bryman, Douglas Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Van de Panne, Michiel Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Ellermann, Antje Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Political Science
Viau, Victor Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences
Law, Michael Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health

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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.