Finding a supervisor for your MSc or PhD

All students must secure an appropriate LMP Graduate faculty supervisor before initial registration in a graduate program.

Selecting a supervisor is of utmost importance and should be made carefully. 

Although you are encouraged to contact potential supervisors before being admitted, supervisors can only officially accept you as a student after you have met the admission requirements and received an offer of admission (see MSc and PhD application process and deadlines). 

The process is complete when the faculty member agrees to accept you into their research program and agrees to pay the required stipend.

You should then notify the graduate office of the agreement by email (lmp.grad@utoronto.ca) and copy the supervisor. 

• International (visa) students: you are encouraged to contact faculty members during the application phase in order to have the support of a potential supervisor prior to the application deadline. You may be recommended for admission but will not gain admission without securing a supervisor.  

Tips for selecting a supervisor 

1. Go the Faculty Directory: you can filter by those accepting MSc or PhD, using the 'refine by' field. We regularly update our website to reflect who is accepting students. Only faculty  marked ‘yes’ under Graduate Faculty will supervise students. 
2. Browse through the list of researchers to find potential supervisors. 
3. Read publications from potential supervisors to determine whether the research topics align with your interests. 
4. Email the potential supervisor.  In the email, you should express:
   • why you are interested in the laboratory;
   • describe your educational background;
   • provide a short description of your past research experience(s), and;
   • request an interview. 

See Supervision Guidelines for Students and Faculty  on the School of Graduate Studies website.

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