Supervision

I have multiple goals when supervising graduate students. Some of these goals are to:

• Provide high quality, personal, and timely guidance,
• Have students complete their degrees within two years,
• Help students produce theses that make meaningful contributions to the literature, and
• Assist students’ enjoyment of and meaningful engagement in our graduate program.

These goals shape how I structure my supervision. For instance, I generally take no more than two new graduate students each year and usually won’t supervise more than three students at any one time. I also only consider taking students whose interests align with one or more of the streams in my research program. Students can definitely bring in their own interests, but those interests must mesh with my research program in some way. This is mutually beneficial: students get to incorporate their own interests into their thesis (which helps keep them engaged), they are able to get expert and personal guidance from me (contributing to the quality of their work and to the pace at which they progress through the program), and my research program grows.

I also encourage my students to work hard and to play hard. Graduate school can be tough and a grind; students need to put in the hours. But they also need to ways to rejuvenate and refresh themselves (and to have a life outside of school). I fully support that approach.