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
Kissoon, Niranjan Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pediatrics
Preston, Roanne Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Chung, Stephen Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Surgery
Fisher, Charles Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Orthopaedics
Zhang, Anming Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Operations and Logistics
Zebehazy, Kim Professor Faculty of Education Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, and Special Education
Matsubara, Joanne Aiko Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Rozali, Moshe Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
McMaster, W Robert Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Medical Genetics
Benavente, Oscar Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Neurology
Fedorova, Alexandra Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Chen, Jingyi Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Sossi, Vesna Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Ohlin, Alix Professor Faculty of Arts School of Creative Writing
Frangou, Sophia Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
Shannon, Kate Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Social Medicine
Shuler, Charles Professor Faculty of Dentistry Department of Oral Biological & Medical Sciences
Wittman, Hannah Professor Faculty of Land and Food Systems Food, Nutrition & Health, Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability
Scott, Douglas Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Abolmaesumi, Purang Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Kellett, Ronald Professor Faculty of Applied Science School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture
Hauert, Christoph Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
MacFarlane, Andrew Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Tortell, Philippe Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Botany
Mansfield, Shawn Professor Faculty of Forestry Department of Wood Science, Department of Botany
Gibson, William Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Medical Genetics
Murphy, Michael Professor Faculty of Science Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Michalak, Erin Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
Dell, Sharon Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pediatrics
Zhou, Fei Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Fisher, Adlai Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Finance
Mancini, John Professor Faculty of Medicine Divisions of Cardiology & Cardiovascular Surgery
Haber, Eldad Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Martone, Patrick Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany
Siu, Henry Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Gsponer, Joerg Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michael Smith Laboratories
Hamel, Keith Professor Faculty of Arts School of Music
Churg, Andrew Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Marshall, Christopher Warren Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies
Honey, Christopher Richard Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Surgery
Riano-Alcala, Pilar Professor Faculty of Arts Institute for Gender, Race, Sex and Social Justice
Jacobs, Alan Michael Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Political Science
Schwarz, Stephan Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Jorgenson, Andrew Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology
Kam, Christopher Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Political Science
Chanway, Christopher Professor Faculty of Forestry Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences
Collins, Colin Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Urologic Sciences
Joe, Harry Sue Wah Professor Faculty of Science Department of Statistics
Wyly, Elvin Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Geography
Grant, Isabel 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.