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
Pliska, Benjamin Associate Professor Faculty of Dentistry Department of Oral Health Sciences
McElduff, Siobhan Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies
Etminan, Mahyar Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Roecker, Inge Associate Professor Faculty of Applied Science School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture
Campbell, Trevor Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Statistics
McIver, Jess Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Drew, Yvette Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Donaldson, R Glen Associate Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Finance
Arbel, Efrat Associate Professor Peter A. Allard School of Law
Rouse, Robert Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of English Language and Literatures
Girard, Jonathan Associate Professor Faculty of Arts School of Music
Cole, Peter Associate Professor Faculty of Education Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy
Dake, Gregory Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Byrne, Jeffrey Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of History
Cheifetz, Rona Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Surgery
Kramer, Jennifer Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Anthropology
Jenstad, Lorienne Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Audiology and Speech Sciences
MacNab, Ying Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Abdul-Mageed, Muhammad Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Linguistics
Regier, Dean Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Hung, Lillian Associate Professor Faculty of Applied Science School of Nursing
Sarsons, Heather Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Fast, Naomi Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany
Gill, Jagbir Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Nephrology
Bigazzi, Alex Associate Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Civil Engineering
Lin, Li-Wen Associate Professor Peter A. Allard School of Law
Calam, Betty Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Family Practice
Lee, Steven Hugh Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of History
Ducharme, Michel Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of History
Vellutini, Claudio Associate Professor Faculty of Arts School of Music
Kim, Michael Associate Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Operations and Logistics
Morton, David Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of History
Zulyniak, Michael Associate Professor Faculty of Land and Food Systems Food, Nutrition & Health
Parfrey, Laura Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany, Department of Zoology
Alvarez Moreno, Raul Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of French, Hispanic & Italian Studies
Cresswell, Silke Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Neurology
Bena, Jan Associate Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Finance
Kirchen, Patrick Associate Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Mechanical Engineering
Cool, Julie Associate Professor Faculty of Forestry Department of Wood Science
Vora, Siddharth Associate Professor Faculty of Dentistry Department of Oral Health Sciences
Pennefather, Patrick Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Theatre & Film
Nolan, Seonaid Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Social Medicine
Bhandar, Brenna Associate Professor Peter A. Allard School of Law
Robinson, Dylan Associate Professor Faculty of Arts School of Music
Steel, Daniel Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Shin, Leo Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of History, Department of Asian Studies
Kamat, Vinay Ramnath Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Anthropology
Mansoor, Jaleh Associate Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory
Zhao, Jiaying Associate Professor Faculty of Science Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability, Department of Psychology
West, Christopher Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Cellular & Physiological 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.