I don't know how to find or approach a supervisor
Find faculty whose work fits yours, write to them in a way that gets a reply, and check that you can work well together.
In short
Start here, today. Make a list of five faculty members whose work is close to your interests, using department websites or your graduate school's supervisor search. For each one, note one recent paper and write one sentence on how it connects to what you want to study. This takes about 40 minutes.
After that, work through these steps. Choose one to jump to it.
Step by step
Tick each step as you finish it. Open a step for the how.
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Search more widely than one department
Use your graduate school's supervisor directory if it has one, department pages, recent papers you admire and the authors those papers cite. Check whether each person is taking new students, since some profiles say so. If you're already in a program, ask senior students and your graduate coordinator who tends to take master's students.
Read before you write
UBC's graduate school suggests looking at a faculty member's profile and reading a couple of their publications before you get in touch. You don't need to master their work. You need to be able to say, in a sentence or two, what you read and how it connects to your interests.
Write a short, specific email
Use a clear subject line, address them by name and title, and keep to a few short paragraphs: who you are, what you want to study, how it connects to their work and what you're asking. Attach your CV and transcript if they're relevant. Write to each person separately rather than sending one message to a long list, which makes your interests look unfocused.
Follow up once, then widen the search
Faculty are busy, and silence often means a full inbox rather than a no. UBC suggests a polite follow-up if you haven't heard back within a couple of weeks, so log each email in the Waiting-For List with a follow-up date. If a second message gets no answer, move on to the next person on your list without taking it personally.
Check the working fit
If someone is interested, ask for a short call or meeting, and use Supervisor Meeting Prep to plan your questions. Ask how often they meet students, how they give feedback, how long their master's students usually take to finish and how funding works. Then ask one or two of their current students the same questions; the Toronto guidelines note that people tend to be more forthcoming in person than by email.
Confirm what was agreed
A friendly conversation isn't the same as an agreement to supervise. Ask clearly whether they're willing to supervise you, or whether you may name them as a potential supervisor in your application, and remember that agreeing to consider you doesn't guarantee admission. Follow up in writing so you both have the same understanding.
Words you can use
Is this you? Signs to look for
- You've been told to find a supervisor before you apply, or by the end of your first term, and you don't know where to start.
- You've drafted an email to a professor several times and haven't sent it.
- You've written to a few people and heard nothing back.
- You've found someone whose research you like, but you know nothing about what they're like to work with.
Why this happens
Programs handle supervision in different ways. Some expect you to secure a supervisor before you apply, some assign one after admission, and some expect you to choose during your first year. Professors also receive a lot of email from prospective students, so a vague message is easy to set aside. The University of Northern British Columbia's graduate admissions page is blunt about it: “Generic emails will not receive a reply.”
Fit has two parts, and students often check only one. The first is research fit: does this person work on questions close to yours? The second is working fit: how often they meet students, how much independence they expect and how quickly they read drafts. The University of Toronto's supervision guidelines for students point out that a strong researcher's supervisory style may still not suit you, and suggest asking current and former students about the style of supervision, how often they're in contact and how much independence they have.
You're choosing a working relationship that will last the length of your degree and shape how much you learn, as well as how smoothly you finish. A few hours spent checking fit now is far easier than changing supervisors halfway through.
Worth a look (4)
- Finding a supervisor, UBC Graduate and Postdoctoral StudiesPractical steps for finding potential supervisors and contacting them, including when to follow up.
- Tips for finding a supervisor, University of Northern British ColumbiaClear advice on subject lines, what to include and what to avoid when writing to faculty.
- Graduate Supervision Guidelines for Students, University of Toronto School of Graduate StudiesSection 3 lists questions to ask a potential supervisor and their students before you commit.
- “Master's thesis supervision”, de Kleijn, Mainhard, Meijer, Pilot and Brekelmans, Studies in Higher Education (2012)A study of how master's students' views of their relationship with their supervisor relate to grades, learning and satisfaction.
When to bring someone in
Your graduate coordinator can tell you how supervision is arranged in your program, who is taking students and what to do if you can't find anyone. If you're already enrolled and struggling to find a supervisor before a deadline, tell the coordinator early, because many programs have ways of helping students find a match. Senior students in the department are often the most honest source on what different supervisors are like to work with.
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