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 descending Faculty Academic Unit
Clifton, Kelly Professor Faculty of Applied Science School of Community and Regional Planning
Sagan, Selena Professor Faculty of Science Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Brussoni, Mariana Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pediatrics
Pinar, William Professor Faculty of Education Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy
Granot, Daniel Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Operations and Logistics
Dechaine, Rose-Marie Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Linguistics
Eberhardt, Erik Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Khan, Nadia Ahmed Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of General Internal Medicine
Plotkin, Steven Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Fernandez, Rachel Professor Faculty of Science Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Benedet, Janine Professor Peter A. Allard School of Law
Byers, Michael Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Political Science
Castellarin, Simone Professor Faculty of Land and Food Systems Applied Biology
Daniels, Lori Professor Faculty of Forestry Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences
Krystal, Gerald Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Bhagavatula, Sastry Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Chen, Jinhua Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Asian Studies
Zandstra, Peter Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Biomedical Engineering, Michael Smith Laboratories
Harvey, Nicholas Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Kelly, Deirdre Professor Faculty of Education Department of Educational Studies
Bally, Marcel Bertran Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Alila, Younes Professor Faculty of Forestry Department of Forest Resources Management
Metcalfe, Amy Professor Faculty of Education Department of Educational Studies
Jones, Steven J Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Medical Genetics
O'Donoghue, Donal Professor Faculty of Education Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy
Woodward, Todd Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
Campbell, Kristin Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Physical Therapy
Laba, Izabella Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Tremlett, Helen Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Neurology
Wilkinson, David Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Oberg, Gunilla Professor Faculty of Science Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability
King, Ross Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Asian Studies
Pavlidis, Paul Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, Michael Smith Laboratories
Masse, Louise Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Joseph, K.S. Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, School of Population and Public Health
El-Kassaby, Yousry Professor Faculty of Forestry Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences
Stamp, Philip C Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Wylie, Alison Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Philosophy
Rogers, Theresa Professor Faculty of Education Department of Language & Literacy Education
Johnston, Kirsty Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Theatre & Film
Christenson, James Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine
Hudson Kam, Carla Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Linguistics
Sadowski, Ivan Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Purssell, Roy Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine
Solymosi, Jozsef Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Granville, David Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Cenfetelli, Ronald Timothy Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Accounting and Information Systems
Stainton, Timothy Professor Faculty of Arts School of Social Work
Pawlowicz, Richard Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Cheek, Timothy Professor Faculty of Arts School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, Department of History

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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.