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
Vessey, Mark Professor Faculty of Arts Department of English Language and Literatures
Muehlmann, Shaylih Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Anthropology
Ahmed, Rumee Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Asian Studies
Klonsky, Elisha Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Psychology
Woody, Sheila Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Psychology
Vertinsky, Ilan Boris Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Strategy and Business Economics
Ghaziani, Amin Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology
Vallance, Bruce Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pediatrics
Tortell, Philippe Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Botany
Chen, David Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Thrush, Coll Professor Faculty of Arts Department of History
Kozak, Robert Antal Professor Faculty of Forestry Department of Wood Science
Snowberg, Erik Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Av-Gay, Yossef Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology & Immunology
McCormack, James Professor Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Ryan, Colm Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Respiratory Medicine
McKeown, Martin Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Neurology
Floresco, Stanley Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Psychology
Sheffer, Alla Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Savalei, Victoria Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Psychology
Klein, Bern Professor Faculty of Applied Science Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering
Kuus, Merje Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Geography
Plotkin, Steven Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Russell, James Professor Faculty of Medicine Critical Care Medicine
Robertson, Leslie Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Anthropology
Wetton, Brian Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Wilson, Brian Professor Faculty of Education School of Kinesiology
Badir, Patricia Professor Faculty of Arts Department of English Language and Literatures
Vadeboncoeur, Jennifer Professor Faculty of Education Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, and Special Education
Guenette, Jordan Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Physical Therapy
Lam, Stephen C Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Respiratory Medicine
Martinez, Mark Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Lazarus, Liora Professor Peter A. Allard School of Law
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
Wei, Juncheng Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Nolde, Natalia Professor Faculty of Science Department of Statistics
Cooper, Elisabeth Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies
Schneider, Thomas Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies
Gustafson, Paul Professor Faculty of Science Department of Statistics
Behrend, Kai Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Kumar, Ujendra Professor Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Schafer, Laurel Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Berryman, Sylvia Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Philosophy
Heyl, Jeremy Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Leung, Cyril Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Harris, Douglas Professor Peter A. Allard School of Law

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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.