NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA)

What you will need

• ✓ Form 202, Part I – Application for an Undergraduate Student Research Award (completed by you)
• ✓ Form 202, Part II – Application for an Undergraduate Student Research Award (completed by your proposed research supervisor)
• ✓ Submitted through NSERC's online system to the university where you want to hold the award, by that university's internal deadline
• ✓ For CIHR and SSHRC USRA applicants: self-identification as Black

About this award

You get $6,000 for a research term lasting 14 to 16 weeks on a full-time basis. As a grant, this money is yours to keep and does not have to be paid back. Additionally, the host institution where you do your research is required to provide a supplement to this amount. This program supports more than 3,000 students each year. This is for you if you are an undergraduate student interested in a research career in the natural sciences or engineering. CIHR (health) and SSHRC (social sciences and humanities) offer USRAs under the same rules, but these are currently open only to Black student researchers. There is no single national deadline. Each university sets its own internal deadline, so ask the USRA liaison officer at the university where you want to hold the award (usually in its scholarships office) for this year's date. NSERC (the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada — the agency that funds science and engineering research) does not take applications directly. Your application is submitted to the Canadian institution where you want to hold the award using NSERC's online system. The institution then selects which applications to send forward to NSERC for final approval. Because institutions have a limited number of awards they can offer, you should ask your school's liaison officer how many spots are available to judge your odds. The agency's contribution is paid directly to the host institution, and those funds are then included in the payments you receive. The university pays you the full value of the award through its own pay procedures, and issues you a T4 or T4A slip at the end of the calendar year. You can hold only one USRA per fiscal year (April 1 to March 31) and a maximum of three USRAs throughout your entire undergraduate career, regardless of which granting agency provides the funds.

Who qualifies

To apply, you must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or if you have refugee or protected-person status in Canada. You must be registered full-time or part-time in a bachelor's degree program at an eligible Canadian institution. You need a satisfactory cumulative average, which is normally at least B-, though you should check with your school to confirm their specific requirement. You must have completed all course requirements for at least the first year of study (or two academic terms) of your bachelor's degree to hold an award. You cannot be currently enrolled in an undergraduate professional degree program in the health sciences (such as MD, DDS, or BScN), although this restriction does not apply to awards from CIHR (the Canadian Institutes of Health Research — the agency that funds health science). You also cannot be currently registered, or have ever been registered, in a graduate program in the same field of study, and you cannot have already completed all your degree requirements. Special restrictions apply based on the granting agency: CIHR and SSHRC (the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council — the agency that funds social science research) USRAs are currently available only to Black student researchers who self-identify as Black.

This is what the award's official page said when we last checked. Rules change, so confirm on the award's official page before you apply.

• ✓ Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person
• ✓ Open to undergraduate students
• ✓ Studying health, natural sciences and engineering or social sciences and humanities

How to apply

1. 1

   Read the award's official page

   Check you meet every requirement, and note each document they ask for.

2. 2

   Check this year's deadline

   We don't have a confirmed date for this round. The award's official page will have it.

Tips for applying

• Research ProposalAvoid writing a generic statement of interest. Instead, work closely with your proposed supervisor to draft a technical proposal that matches the agency's mandate. Schedule a meeting with a professor whose research interests you to discuss a potential project.
• StrategyAvoid applying to only one department if you have diverse research interests. Instead, consider applying with more than one department or institution to increase your chances, keeping in mind you can only hold one award per fiscal year. List two or three potential supervisors who fit your field of study.
• RealismAvoid planning a heavy course load during the award. Instead, remember that you must work full time on research for the 14 to 16 weeks. You may take at most two courses during the award, and only with your research supervisor's approval.

Questions students ask

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