DISCS Open Positions

I love working with students and I am always looking for motivated, curious, and hardworking undergraduate, Master’s, and PhD students to join DISCS. Before applying formally, feel free to contact me by email. 

I read all email I receive from prospective students. Before writing to me, do keep in mind that I receive a lot of email from students interested in applying to McGill. If you would like to get a response, please read the following and send me the information I request.

If you are applying to our graduate programs (PhD and MSc), you should also be aware of the following:

• Students are admitted by the department, not by individual faculty. 

• The department begins reviewing applications in January for the following academic year. The application deadline for international students requiring financial support is December 15. 

• You cannot be admitted if you do not submit a complete application.

• Even if I believe that you are well-suited for my group, I cannot guarantee that you will be admitted, although I can make a recommendation for you to the admissions committee.

• More information on the admissions process in the McGill School of Computer Science can be found here.

If you are interested in working with me, please do the following:

Visit the DISCS Research and Publications pages. Skim through the titles and abstracts to get a sense of the kind of work the group is doing. Please spend enough time doing this to determine the areas in which I conduct research. I am a systems person. I cannot advise students in areas in which I do not have expertise. If you do not hear back from me, you did not convince me that your research interests are aligned with mine.

If our interests seem genuinely aligned, find one paper that looks particularly interesting and read it.

If you are still interested, then send me email including the area(s) in which you are interested in working, the background you are bringing to the area (for undergrads this part is less important), and which paper you read. For the paper you read, explain why you chose to read it, what you learned from reading it, and what about it convinced you that I would be a good research fit for you.

Information for PhD Students

In addition to what I asked above, please do the following:

• Please include a summary of your prior research experience.

• If you are applying with an MSc degree, please tell me whether your Master’s program was research-oriented; if so, provide a 1-paragraph summary of your Master's thesis.

• If you are applying directly from an undergraduate program, please send copy of your CV/resume and transcript and tell me what research experience you have had.

• Please include a summary of your programming experience. I am looking for strong programming skills (especially in C/C++) and good knowledge of Linux/Unix.

• If you have worked in industry (full-time, internships, etc.), please include a summary of your experience and contributions.

Information for prospective Postdoctoral Researchers

• Please include a 1-2 page statement that describes your goals for the postdoc and the specific research you are interested in undertaking within DISCS.

• Please include your resume/CV.

• Please tell me when you will complete your PhD.

I do not have funding for postdoctoral positions, but the following fellowships are available to apply:

• Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships

• NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowships Program

• FRQNT Postdoctoral Research Scholarship

• MITACS Elevate