Ph.D. Supervisors

One of the most distinctive features of the GCAS Ph.D. program is the freedom it offers students to design their own research trajectory and methodological approach. Unlike many traditional doctoral programs—where students are often assigned a supervisor and implicitly (if not explicitly) expected to align with that professor’s existing research agenda—GCAS places your intellectual vision at the center of the process.

At GCAS, you begin by developing a comprehensive literature review and clarifying your research focus. From there, we work collaboratively with you to identify the most suitable expert in the world to supervise your project—someone who aligns with your topic, not the other way around.

This model allows for genuinely original scholarship to emerge. It avoids the stagnation that can arise when doctoral work is shaped primarily around institutional hierarchies or faculty egos. At GCAS, research moves forward, rather than circulating around established academic silos.

The supervisors listed below represent just a small sample of the exceptional possibilities available to GCAS doctoral researchers.