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
Stull, Roland Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Suttle, Curtis Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Botany, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Phani, Srikantha Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Mechanical Engineering
Cranston, Emily Professor Faculty of Forestry Department of Wood Science, Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Miller, Freda Professor Faculty of Science Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Medical Genetics
Ramankutty, Navin Professor Faculty of Arts School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability
Wood, Evan Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Social Medicine
Yang, Tsung-Yuan Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Civil Engineering
Pai, Dinesh Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Boyd, Lara Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Physical Therapy
Krassioukov, Andrei Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
McKay, Heather Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Family Practice, Department of Orthopaedics
Blouin, Jean-Sebastien Professor Faculty of Education School of Kinesiology
Giammarino, Ronald Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Finance
Robinson, Sandra Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources
Devereux, Michael Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Mohn, William Professor Faculty of Science Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Aquino, Karl Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Marketing and Behavioural Science
Mawani, Renisa Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology
Frank, Adam Professor Faculty of Arts Department of English Language and Literatures
Angert, Amy Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany, Department of Zoology
Roehr, Daniel Professor Faculty of Applied Science School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture
Al-Solaylee, Kamal Professor Faculty of Arts School of Journalism, Writing, and Media
Balmforth, Neil Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Tworek, Heidi Professor Faculty of Arts Department of History, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs
Shuler, Charles Professor Faculty of Dentistry Department of Oral Biological & Medical Sciences
Graf, Daniel Professor Faculty of Dentistry Department of Oral Biological & Medical Sciences
Nicol, Cynthia Professor Faculty of Education Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy
Wang, Rizhi Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Materials Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering
Jiang, Xiaoyan Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Medical Genetics
Brown, Carolyn Janet Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Medical Genetics
Zhang, Anming Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Operations and Logistics
Almeida, Fernanda Professor Faculty of Dentistry Department of Oral Health Sciences
Sinclair, Chadwick Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Materials Engineering
Williams, Jennifer Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Geography
Condon, Anne Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Roskelley, Calvin Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences, School of Biomedical Engineering
Militzer, Matthias Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Materials Engineering
Young, Margot Professor Peter A. Allard School of Law
Auld, Vanessa Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
Hodgson, Elizabeth Professor Faculty of Arts Department of English Language and Literatures
Abraham, Ninan Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
Peacock, Simon Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Hatala, Rose Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of General Internal Medicine
Moritz, Orson Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Jefferies, Wilfred Arthur Professor Faculty of Science Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Medical Genetics
Mostow, Joshua Scott Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Asian Studies
MacFarlane, Andrew Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Hur, Nam-Lin Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Asian Studies
Hall, David Geoffrey Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Psychology

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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.