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
Wasteneys, Geoff Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany
Baldwin, Susan Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Wu, Lang Professor Faculty of Science Department of Statistics
Fleetham, John Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Respiratory Medicine
Bhagavatula, Sastry Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Walus, Konrad Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Huebner, Kurt Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Political Science
Pierre, Jemima Professor Faculty of Arts Institute for Gender, Race, Sex and Social Justice
Kwakkel, Erik Professor Faculty of Arts School of Information
Knight, Darryl Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Petrella, Robert Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Family Practice
Clune, Jeff Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Lundholm, Russell Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Accounting and Information Systems
McGrenere, Joanna Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Mercer, Sterett Professor Faculty of Education Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, and Special Education
Tracy, Jessica Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Psychology
Purssell, Roy Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine
Goldman, Ran Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pediatrics
Oser, Scott Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Martindale, Andrew Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Anthropology
Siu, Henry Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Crook, Juanita Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Surgery
Dummer, Trevor Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Dahl, Darren Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Marketing and Behavioural Science
Loewen, Christopher Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences
Givens, Terri Elizabeth Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Political Science
Ciocca, Valter Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Audiology and Speech Sciences
Simchen, Ori Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Philosophy
Pailer, Gaby Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Central, Eastern & Northern European Studies
Hancock, Robert E Professor Faculty of Science Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Wong, Vincent Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Wright, Joanne Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Pramanik, Malabika Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Finlay, B Brett Professor Faculty of Science Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Whitlock, Michael Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
Cote, Helene Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Cerri, Ronaldo Professor Faculty of Land and Food Systems Applied Biology
Munzner, Tamara Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Menzies, Charles Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Anthropology
Green, David Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Asselin, Edouard Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Materials Engineering
McGrail, Kimberlyn Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Frangou, Sophia Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
Spiegel, Jerry Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Lorincz, Matthew Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Medical Genetics
Ruitenberg, Claudia Professor Faculty of Education Department of Educational Studies
Poursartip, Anoush Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Materials Engineering
Pottinger, Rachel Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Sowlati, Taraneh Professor Faculty of Forestry Department of Wood Science
Metzer, David Professor Faculty of Arts School of Music

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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.