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
Freeman, Hugh James Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Gastroenterology
Peters, Michael Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Gallipoli, Giovanni Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Taiebat, Mahdi Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Civil Engineering
Savage, Kerry Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Medical Oncology
Gay, Colin Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Algar, Russ Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
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
Evans, William Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Mérida, Walter Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Mechanical Engineering
Arneil, Barbara Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Political Science
Dedhar, Shoukat Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Qayumi, Abdul Karim Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Surgery
Guy, Pierre Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Orthopaedics
McAusland, Carol Professor Faculty of Land and Food Systems Food and Resource Economics
von Keyserlingk, Marina Professor Faculty of Land and Food Systems Applied Biology
Stamp, Philip C Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Ferraz, Claudio Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Dell, Sharon Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pediatrics
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
Soma, Kiran Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Psychology
Aydede, Murat Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Philosophy
Andres, Lesley Professor Faculty of Education Department of Educational Studies
Ho, Kendall Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine
Lui, Harvey Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Dermatology & Skin Science
Cannon, Joanna Professor Faculty of Education Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, and Special Education
Hallam, Steven Professor Faculty of Science Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Khan, Samia Professor Faculty of Education Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy
Wang Kazun, Siyun Professor Faculty of Land and Food Systems Food, Nutrition & Health
Liu-Ambrose, Teresa Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Physical Therapy
Kojevnikov, Alexei Professor Faculty of Arts Department of History
Poh, Catherine Professor Faculty of Dentistry Department of Oral Biological & Medical Sciences
Shelton, Anthony Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory
Sadar, Marianne Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Sigal, Leonid Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
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
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

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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.