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
Ortner, Christoph Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Yilmaz, Ozgur Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Shen, Ya Professor Faculty of Dentistry Department of Oral Biological & Medical Sciences
Berube, Pierre Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Civil Engineering
Younger, Alastair Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Orthopaedics
Cunliffe, Emma Professor Peter A. Allard School of Law
Kasahara, Hiroyuki Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Gergel, Sarah Professor Faculty of Forestry Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences
O'Connor, Deborah Professor Faculty of Arts School of Social Work
Barton, Jason Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Neurology, Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Taiebat, Mahdi Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Civil Engineering
Heyl, Jeremy Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Viau, Victor Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences
Kong, Hoi Professor Peter A. Allard School of Law
Peirce, Anthony Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Overall, Christopher Mark Professor Faculty of Dentistry Department of Oral Biological & Medical Sciences
Li, Shyh-Dar Professor Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Girling, Cynthia Professor Faculty of Applied Science School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture
Bassett, Ken Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Family Practice
MacVicar, Brian Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
Abraham, Ninan Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
Chiao, Mu Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Mechanical Engineering
Masri, Bas Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Orthopaedics
Huntsman, David Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Laroussi, Farid Professor Faculty of Arts Department of French, Hispanic & Italian Studies
Claxton, Dana Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory
Holt, Robert Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Medical Genetics, Department of Psychiatry
Keeling, Patrick John Professor Faculty of Science Department of Botany
Mirabbasi, Shahriar Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Bonn, Douglas Andrew Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Condon, Anne Professor Faculty of Science Department of Computer Science
Sayer, Jeffrey Professor Faculty of Forestry Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences
Mank, Judith Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
DeLongis, Anita Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Psychology
Caron, Nadine Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Surgery
Cheung, Wai Lung Professor Faculty of Science Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Angel, Omer Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Bryan, Jim Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Sheel, William Professor Faculty of Education School of Kinesiology
Carpenter, Mark Professor Faculty of Education School of Kinesiology
Choi, Peter Tsz Lung Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Beaudry, Paul Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Mortenson, Ben Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy
Gold, Michael Professor Faculty of Science Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Nasiopoulos, Panos Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Sin, Donald Professor Faculty of Medicine Division of Respiratory Medicine
Thrush, Coll Professor Faculty of Arts Department of History
Shariff, Azim Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Psychology
Baines, Donna Professor Faculty of Arts School of Social Work
Carleton, Bruce Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pediatrics

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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.