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
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
Siu, Henry Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Mitchell, Ian Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Kizhakkedathu, Jayachandran Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Mulpuri, Kishore Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Orthopaedics
Marcus, Brian Harry Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Yan, Miu Chung Professor Faculty of Arts School of Social Work
Hirst, Martin Professor Faculty of Science Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Michael Smith Laboratories
Abrutyn, Seth Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology
Yassi, Annalee Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Cameron, Maxwell Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Political Science, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs
Groat, Lee Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Yada, Rickey Professor Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Lahiri, Amartya Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Manges, Amee Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Wong, Vincent Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Wright, Joanne Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Raymond, Lynn Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
Cretu, Edmond Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Lakshmanan, Laks Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
la Selva, Samuel Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Political Science
Aamodt, Tor Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Schechter, Martin Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Bennett, Michael Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
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
Ogrodniczuk, John Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
Eberhardt, Erik Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Sowlati, Taraneh Professor Faculty of Forestry Department of Wood Science
Metzer, David Professor Faculty of Arts School of Music
Hodgson, Antony Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Mechanical Engineering
Matsuuchi, Linda Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
Watson, Peter Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Crook, Juanita Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Surgery
Dummer, Trevor Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Dahl, Darren Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Marketing and Behavioural Science
Loewen, Christopher Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences
Kumpulainen, Kristiina Professor Faculty of Education Department of Language & Literacy Education
Brownlee, Kimberley Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Philosophy

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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.