Research Supervision & Graduate Successes

Faculty Research Supervisors

We believe that mentorship is a collective responsibility shared by all faculty members, and not just the supervisor. We encourage you to get to know as many of the faculty members as possible during the first two years of the degree before choosing a supervisor. We believe that all members of the PhD supervisory committee should be fully engaged in the dissertation at every stage and that students should draw on the collective expertise of the department throughout their degree. If you are passionate about becoming a professional political scientist and are open to being mentored and challenged to grow, we invite you to apply to our graduate program. Our Faculty members welcome any questions you may have about your research plans or interests. The following is a list of Faculty members along with their areas of research interest.
Christopher Alcantara

Christopher Alcantara

Supervisory Interests: Canadian Politics, Federalism and Multilevel Governance, Indigenous-Settler Relations, Institutions

Supervisory Interests: Canadian Politics, Federalism and Multilevel Governance, Indigenous-Settler Relations, Institutions

Cameron Anderson

Cameron Anderson

Supervisory Interests: Canadian Politics, Elections, Voting, Multi-level Governance, Public Opinion

Supervisory Interests: Canadian Politics, Elections, Voting, Multi-level Governance, Public Opinion

Dave Armstrong

Dave Armstrong

Supervisory Interests: Quantitative Methods in Political Science

Supervisory Interests: Quantitative Methods in Political Science

Nandita Biswas Mellamphy

Nandita Biswas Mellamphy

Supervisory Interests: Contemporary French Political Theory, Nietzsche, Post-Structuralism

Supervisory Interests: Contemporary French Political Theory, Nietzsche, Post-Structuralism

Dan Bousfield

Dan Bousfield

Supervisory Interests: Political Economy of Protest, Psychoanalysis and Politics, Gender Studies, International Relations, Qualitative Methodology, Ethnography, Korean Social Movements, Militant Masculinities

Supervisory Interests: Political Economy of Protest, Psychoanalysis and Politics, Gender Studies, International Relations, Qualitative Methodology, Ethnography, Korean Social Movements, Militant Masculinities

Caroline Dick

Caroline Dick

Supervisory Interests: Aboriginal Politics, Constitutional Politics, Difference Politics and the Politics of Identity, Legal Method

Supervisory Interests: Aboriginal Politics, Constitutional Politics, Difference Politics and the Politics of Identity, Legal Method

Marta Dyczok

Marta Dyczok

Supervisory Interests: Politics and History of Eastern Europe and Russia, Politics and the Media, Post Communism, Ukraine

Supervisory Interests: Politics and History of Eastern Europe and Russia, Politics and the Media, Post Communism, Ukraine

Elizabeth Finneron-Burns

Elizabeth Finneron-Burns

Supervisory Interests: Future Generations, Contractualism, Human Extinction, Global Justice, Applied Ethics

Supervisory Interests: Future Generations, Contractualism, Human Extinction, Global Justice, Applied Ethics

Amanda Friesen

Amanda Friesen

Supervisory Interests: Political Psychology, Gender and Politics, Experimental Political Science, Biology and Political Behaviour

Supervisory Interests: Political Psychology, Gender and Politics, Experimental Political Science, Biology and Political Behaviour

Adam Harmes

Adam Harmes

Supervisory Interests: Canadian and US Foreign Policy, International Relations, Political Economy, Political Ideologies, Canadian and US Parties and Interest Groups, Election Campaign Techniques

Supervisory Interests: Canadian and US Foreign Policy, International Relations, Political Economy, Political Ideologies, Canadian and US Parties and Interest Groups, Election Campaign Techniques

Martin Horak

Martin Horak

Supervisory Interests: Comparative Urban Politics (Europe and North America), Multi-level Urban Governance

Supervisory Interests: Comparative Urban Politics (Europe and North America), Multi-level Urban Governance

Charles Jones

Charles Jones

Supervisory Interests: Contemporary Political Theory, Equality, Global Justice, Human Rights

Supervisory Interests: Contemporary Political Theory, Equality, Global Justice, Human Rights

Matt Lebo

Matt Lebo

Supervisory Interests: Political Behaviour and Elections, Political Parties, American and British Politics, Political Methodology

Supervisory Interests: Political Behaviour and Elections, Political Parties, American and British Politics, Political Methodology

Joe Lyons

Joe Lyons

Supervisory Interests: Local and Metropolitan Governance, Multi-Level Governance, Public Administration, Public Policy

Supervisory Interests: Local and Metropolitan Governance, Multi-Level Governance, Public Administration, Public Policy

Bruce Morrison

Bruce Morrison

Supervisory Interests: Democratization, State Formation, State Society Relations, Social Policy

Supervisory Interests: Democratization, State Formation, State Society Relations, Social Policy

Joanna Quinn

Joanna Quinn

Supervisory Interests: Transitional Justice, Peace-building

Supervisory Interests: Transitional Justice, Peace-building

Erika Simpson

Erika Simpson

Supervisory Interests: Canadian Defence and Foreign Policy, International Security, NATO, Peacekeeping

Supervisory Interests: Canadian Defence and Foreign Policy, International Security, NATO, Peacekeeping

Laura Stephenson

Laura Stephenson

Supervisory Interests: Canadian Politics, Comparative Political Economy, Elections, Experimental Political Science, Institutions, Political Behaviour

Supervisory Interests: Canadian Politics, Comparative Political Economy, Elections, Experimental Political Science, Institutions, Political Behaviour

Zack Taylor

Zack Taylor

Supervisory Interests: Urban politics, Local and Metropolitan Governance, Multi-Level Governance, Urban and Regional Planning Policy, Political and Electoral Geography, Ideas and Institutions, Political Development

Supervisory Interests: Urban politics, Local and Metropolitan Governance, Multi-Level Governance, Urban and Regional Planning Policy, Political and Electoral Geography, Ideas and Institutions, Political Development

Mathieu Turgeon

Mathieu Turgeon

Supervisory Interests: Political Psychology, Political Behaviour, Experimental Political Science, Comparative Politics, Brazil

Supervisory Interests: Political Psychology, Political Behaviour, Experimental Political Science, Comparative Politics, Brazil

Sebastián Vallejo Vera

Sebastián Vallejo Vera

Supervisory Interests: Politics and Gender, Racial Identity and Racism, Latin American Politics, Natural Language Processing, Computational Social Science

Supervisory Interests: Politics and Gender, Racial Identity and Racism, Latin American Politics, Natural Language Processing, Computational Social Science

Blair Welsh

Blair Welsh

Supervisory Interests: Armed Violence, Conflict and Displacement, Post-Conflict Development and Recovery

Supervisory Interests: Armed Violence, Conflict and Displacement, Post-Conflict Development and Recovery

PhD Graduate Successes

Our department proudly celebrates the scholarly achievements of our graduate students. Each completed dissertation reflects the dedication of the student and the collective mentorship of their supervisory committee and the wider faculty community. We honour these milestones as important contributions to the discipline and as evidence of the vibrant research culture that defines our program. Recent thesis completions are listed below as a testament to the intellectual curiosity, perseverance, and academic excellence of our graduates.

We look forward to celebrating our future doctoral graduates in 2026 and beyond, as they continue to shape the scholarly excellence and research culture of our program!

December 2025
Shanaya Vanhooren successfully completed her PhD Thesis, "Programmatic Polarization and Party Position Change in Canadian Provincial Party Systems, 1945-2020," supervised by Professor Zack Taylor. Congratulations, Shanaya!

October 2025
Jesse Mehravar successfully completed his PhD Thesis, "Bending Boundaries and Constructing Categories: On the Limits and Prospects of Inclusive and Exclusive Political Group Identities," supervised by Professor Amanda Friesen. Congratulations, Jesse!


Daniel Mosannef successfully completed his PhD Thesis, "Between Law and Outcomes: Indigenous Sentencing, Section 718.2(e), and the Failure of Reform in Canada," supervised by Professor Caroline Dick. Congratulations, Daniel!


September 2025
Alvaro Joao Pereira Filho successfully completed his PhD Thesis, "The Targeting Model of Partisanship: Explaining the Origins and Consequences of Expressive Partisanship," supervised by Professor Laura Stephenson. Congratulations, Alvaro!


May 2025
Dianne Lalonde successfully completed her PhD, "Cultural Appropriation: How Meanings Are Taken, Distorted, and Destroyed," supervised by Professor Caroline Dick. Congratulations, Dianne!