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
Kassam, Rosemin Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Bloch, Alexia Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Anthropology
Joseph, K.S. Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, School of Population and Public Health
Richards, Jeffrey Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
Robinson, Wendy Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Medical Genetics
Baines, Donna Professor Faculty of Arts School of Social Work
Pulleyblank, Douglas Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Linguistics
Chi, Kim Nguyen Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Medical Oncology
Kubota, Ryuko Professor Faculty of Education Department of Language & Literacy Education
Milner-Bolotin, Marina Professor Faculty of Education Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy
Browne, Annette Professor Faculty of Applied Science School of Nursing
Krassioukov, Andrei Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
McKay, Heather Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Family Practice, Department of Orthopaedics
MacDonald, David Professor Faculty of Dentistry Department of Oral Biological & Medical Sciences
Chang, Stephanie Professor Faculty of Applied Science School of Community and Regional Planning, Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability
Jaeger, Nicolas A Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Lui, Harvey Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Dermatology & Skin Science
la Selva, Samuel Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Political Science
Wasteneys, Geoff Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany
Munzner, Tamara Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Bennewith, Kevin Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Daniels, Lori Professor Faculty of Forestry Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences
Kindler, Anna Professor Faculty of Education Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy
Norton, Bonny Professor Faculty of Education Department of Language & Literacy Education
Allen, Susan Professor Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Olson, Robert Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Surgery
Sunderland, Terence Professor Faculty of Forestry Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences
Hopewell, Kristen Professor Faculty of Arts School of Public Policy and Global Affairs
Gao, Zu-Hua Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Bertram, Allan Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Warburton, Darren Professor Faculty of Education School of Kinesiology
Moss, Laura Professor Faculty of Arts Department of English Language and Literatures
Unruh, William Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Gonzalez-Montaner, Julio Sergio Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases
Arneil, Barbara Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Political Science
Hesselink, Nathan Professor Faculty of Arts School of Music
Masse, Louise Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Nielsen, Torsten Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Murphy, Michael Professor Faculty of Science Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Loewen, Philip Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Haynes, Charles Professor Faculty of Science Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Kong, Hoi Professor Peter A. Allard School of Law
Carrabre, T. Patrick Professor Faculty of Arts School of Music
Britton, Ben Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Materials Engineering
Zhitnitsky, Ariel Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Steiner, Theodore Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases
Bamji, Shernaz Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences, School of Biomedical Engineering
Pavlich, Dennis Professor Peter A. Allard School of Law
Pai, Dinesh Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Boyd, Lara Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Physical Therapy

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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.