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
Panenka, William Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
Maraj, Louis Associate Professor Faculty of Arts School of Journalism, Writing, and Media
Chamberlain, Sandra Associate Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Accounting and Information Systems
Wu, Chunhua Associate Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Marketing and Behavioural Science
Yadav, Vikramaditya Associate Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering
Donnelly, Leeann Associate Professor Faculty of Dentistry Department of Oral Biological & Medical Sciences
Dixon, Joy Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of History
Antweiler, Werner Associate Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Strategy and Business Economics
Rubin, Julia Associate Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Flannigan, Ryan Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Urologic Sciences
Saylor, Joel Edward Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Mota, Miguel Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of English Language and Literatures
Elfring, Gwynn Associate Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Mechanical Engineering
Kalia, Sunil Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Dermatology & Skin Science
Dahinten, Susan Associate Professor Faculty of Applied Science School of Nursing
Feeley, Michael Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Zahl, Joshua Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Hastie, Bethany Associate Professor Peter A. Allard School of Law
Schaffer, Paul Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Radiology
Cao, Yankai Associate Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Foster, Johan Associate Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Huyser, Kimberly Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology
Hoffman, Bradford Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Surgery
MacHan, Lindsay Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Radiology
Weijs, Steven Associate Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Civil Engineering
Hutchinson, Norman Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Fulton, Bruce Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Asian Studies
Perla, Jesse Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Sadarangani, Manish Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pediatrics
Speller, Camilla Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Anthropology
Ryan, Christopher Associate Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Operations and Logistics
Potter, Andrew Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Laffin, Christina Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Asian Studies
Dormuth, Colin Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Reinsberg, Stefan Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Yodanis, Carrie Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology
Bayrampour Basmenj, Hamideh Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Midwifery Program
Zhang, Jenny Li Associate Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Accounting and Information Systems
Gerofsky, Susan Associate Professor Faculty of Education Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy
Odic, Darko Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Psychology
Jin, Xiaoliang Associate Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Mechanical Engineering
Schaeffer, David Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Hallas, Alannah Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Fung, David Associate Professor Faculty of Arts School of Music
Szkup, Michal Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Coulthard, Glen Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies, Department of Political Science
Shneiderman, Sara Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Anthropology, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs
Beasley-Murray, Jon Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of French, Hispanic & Italian Studies
Tam, Roger Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Biomedical Engineering
Williams, Karla Associate Professor Faculty of Pharmaceutical 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.