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
Philip, Kavita Professor Faculty of Arts Department of English Language and Literatures
Johnson, Mark Professor Faculty of Science Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability, Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences
Green, Sheldon Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Mechanical Engineering
Marziali, Andre Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Boschma, Geertje Professor Faculty of Applied Science School of Nursing
Collins, Colin Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Urologic Sciences
Kim, Young-Heon Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Yatham, Lakshmi Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
Gold, Michael Professor Faculty of Science Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Tenzer, Michael Professor Faculty of Arts School of Music
Black, Thomas Andrew Professor Faculty of Land and Food Systems Applied Biology
Vincent, Amanda Professor Faculty of Science Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Lauer, Sean Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology
Cherkasov, Artem Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Urologic Sciences
Sossi, Vesna Professor Faculty of Science Department of Physics & Astronomy
Rojas, Orlando Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Department of Wood Science
Ortner, Christoph Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Clare, Adam Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Mechanical Engineering
Allan, Douglas Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences
Morgan, Steven Professor Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health
Granot, Daniel Professor Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Division of Operations and Logistics
Perry, Nancy Professor Faculty of Education Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, and Special Education
Kissoon, Niranjan Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pediatrics
Banthia, Nemkumar Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Civil Engineering
Song, Kyungchul Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Claxton, Dana Professor Faculty of Arts Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory
Afshar, Kourosh Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Urologic Sciences
Drelichman, Mauricio Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Tanner, Martin Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Li, Yue-Xian Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Nielsen, Torsten Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Strynadka, Natalie Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Anderson, David Professor Faculty of Education Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy
Ho, Vincent Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Dermatology & Skin Science
Bally, Marcel Bertran Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Chou, Keng Chang Professor Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry
Gordon, Michael Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology
Adem, Alejandro Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Kasahara, Hiroyuki Professor Faculty of Arts Vancouver School of Economics
Weng, Andrew Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Wright, Handel Professor Faculty of Education Department of Educational Studies
Castellarin, Simone Professor Faculty of Land and Food Systems Applied Biology
Lam, Tania Professor Faculty of Education School of Kinesiology
Kim, Amy Professor Faculty of Applied Science Department of Civil Engineering
Madzwamuse, Anotida Professor Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics
Chan, Kai Professor Faculty of Science Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability
Svendsen, Linda Professor Faculty of Arts School of Creative Writing
Pinar, William Professor Faculty of Education Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy
Christenson, James Professor Faculty of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine
Brauner, Colin Professor Faculty of Science Department of Zoology

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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.