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 Role Facultysort descending Academic Unit
Folk, Joshua Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Andersen, Raymond Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Chemistry
MacFarlane, Andrew Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Austin, Philip Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Whitton, Jeannette Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany
Rozali, Moshe Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Tortell, Philippe Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Botany
Van de Panne, Michiel Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Van Raamsdonk, Mark Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Sossi, Vesna Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Zahl, Joshua Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Hermon, Jonathan Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Miller, Freda Professor Faculty of Science Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Medical Genetics
Summers, Alexander Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Cooke, Ilsa Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Holmes-Cerfon, Miranda Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Jones, David Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Berciu, Mona Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Hickson, Paul Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Auld, Vanessa Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
Bizzotto, Dan Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Samuels, Anne Lacey Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany
Hudson, Zachary Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Greif, Chen Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Hickey, Kenneth Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Mehrkhodavandi, Parisa Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Welch, William Professor Faculty of Science Department of Statistics
Williams, Ben Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Straus, Suzana Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Haber, Eldad Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Pakhomov, Yevhenii Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Martone, Patrick Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany
Chen, David Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Sammis, Glenn Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Mattison, Thomas Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Brumer, Harry Professor Faculty of Science Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Chemistry
Angert, Amy Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany, Department of Zoology
Bachmann, Sven Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Nichols, Eva Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Leslie, Sabrina Associate Professor Faculty of Science Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Physics & Astronomy
Chritz, Kendra Assistant Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Wang, Yan Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
McGrenere, Joanna Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Leyton-Brown, Kevin Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Ghioca, Dragos Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Leander, Brian Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany, Department of Zoology
Bostock, Michael Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Gordon, Michael Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
Schmidt, Mark Associate Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Hu, Alan Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science

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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.