• Description
• Eligibility
• Value and duration of awards
• Location of tenure
• Supervision of the student at the institution
• Subject matter eligibility
• San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment
• Equity, diversity and inclusion
• Allocations
• Black student researchers
• Indigenous student researchers (for NSERC only)
• Application procedure
• Selection process
• Joint initiatives and supplements (for NSERC only)
• Deadline
• Notification of results
• Payment of awards
• Use and disclosure of information
• Contact

Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) are meant to nurture your interest and fully develop your potential for a research career in health, natural sciences and engineering or social sciences and humanities. These awards are also meant to encourage you to undertake graduate studies by providing research work experience that complements your studies in an academic setting.

The USRA program supports more than 3,000 students each year. It is administered jointly by Canada’s three granting agencies: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Applications for the USRA program must be completed and submitted to the Canadian institution where you wish to hold the award, using NSERC’s online system. Institutions then submit selected applications to NSERC. USRA applications cannot be submitted directly to the agencies.

To be eligible to apply for an award

• you must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada or a Protected Person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada), as of the institution’s application deadline
• you must be registered (full-time or part-time), in a bachelor’s degree program at an eligible institution as of the institution’s application deadline
• you must have obtained, over the previous years of study, a satisfactory cumulative average (normally at least B-; check with your institution)
• you cannot be currently enrolled in an undergraduate professional degree program in the health sciences (e.g., MD, DDS, BScN) (does not apply to CIHR USRAs)
• you cannot be currently registered, or have been previously registered at any time, in a graduate program in the same field of study
• you cannot have completed all your degree requirements

CIHR and SSHRC USRAs are currently available only to Black student researchers. To be eligible to apply, you must self-identify as Black (see the Black student researchers section for more details).

In addition

• if you already hold a bachelor’s degree and are studying toward a second bachelor’s degree, you may still apply for this award
• you may apply with more than one department or institution, but you can hold only one USRA per fiscal year (April 1 to March 31)
• you may hold a maximum of three USRAs throughout your undergraduate career (regardless of the granting agency)

To hold an award

• you must have completed all course requirements for at least the first year of study (or two academic terms) of your bachelor’s degree
• you must have been registered in a bachelor’s degree program at the time of application and in at least one of the two terms immediately before holding the award
• you must be working full time in eligible research and development activities in your proposed field of research during tenure of the award
• you cannot be registered in a graduate program

Notes:

• You may hold an award at any time during the year, as permitted by your academic program.
• The tenure of the award may start on a date acceptable to both you and your host institution.
• You are permitted to hold a USRA during a co-op placement. Your institution’s co-op office or USRA liaison officer (LO) may be able to assist you in finding a placement. LOs are institution administrators and usually work in your institution’s scholarship office.
• You may take a maximum of two courses during the tenure of the award if you have your research supervisor’s approval. Requests for exceptions should be submitted to NSERC through the LO. Credits obtained for a co-op placement during the USRA are not considered academic credits.

• USRAs have a value of $6,000, and the host institution is required to supplement the award
• the duration of the award is 14 to 16 weeks on a full-time basis
• the activities conducted during the tenure of the USRA are governed by the agreements between you and the host institution (including employment agreements, if applicable) and the relevant terms and conditions of awards
• the agency’s contribution is paid directly to the host institution and is included in the funds that you receive

The USRA program makes no provision for sick leave, vacation or for other types of interruptions. Shorter work terms are considered only in exceptional circumstances beyond the student’s control. Requests must be made directly to the LO at the institution where you wish to hold the USRA and must include a justification. Contact your LO and supervisor if special circumstances prevent you from completing your work term. If a USRA is interrupted or terminated early for any reason, the agencies must be informed immediately.

Without exception, USRAs are tenable only at eligible Canadian institutions with an assigned allocation. Awards must be held at the institution where the offer of award originates.

An eligible supervisor is a person authorized by the institution to independently supervise students. Your institution will decide if your proposed supervisor is eligible. You must work under the supervision of a person who has been approved by the institution.

CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC support and promote high-quality research in a wide variety of disciplines and areas, which are divided into broad fields of research (health, natural sciences and engineering and social sciences and humanities). This includes research that bridges two or more disciplines or that requires the skills of several disciplines.

Select the agency whose mandate most closely aligns with your research area. You must also ensure that you submit your application to an institution that has an allocation for your selected agency. For further details, refer to the Undergraduate Student Research Awards allocations and Selecting the appropriate federal granting agency web pages.

It is not necessary for your proposed supervisor’s research program to be exclusively within your selected agency’s field of study (health, natural sciences and engineering or social sciences and humanities).

CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC, along with other Canadian research funding agencies, signed the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). The agencies are committed to meaningful assessment of excellence in research funding and to ensuring that a wide range of research results and outcomes are considered and valued as part of the assessment process. They will continue to work to ensure that their strategies, policies and guidance align with DORA.

NSERC supports excellent, innovative and impactful research that advances knowledge and understanding and responds to local, national and global challenges. NSERC recognizes that equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) principles are foundational to research quality and impact. It is essential to recognize and remove systemic barriers that limit the full participation of all individuals and communities and to integrate EDI considerations in all aspects of research. These principles are integral to the Tri-agency statement on EDI and the Tri-agency EDI Action Plan. For more information, consult the NSERC Equity, diversity and inclusion web page.

When preparing the research proposal, supervisors are encouraged to consult the NSERC guide on integrating equity, diversity and inclusion considerations in research web page.

Self-identification data and consent provided with applications may be used to determine eligibility for additional awards or priority funding opportunities designated for specific underrepresented groups.

Eligible Canadian institutions are assigned a separate allocation of awards to offer from each agency. Institutions must respect the agency-specific allocation of awards. Refer to the Undergraduate Student Research Awards allocations web page for a list of allocations by institution and by agency.

For NSERC: NSERC provides supplementary allocations for additional awards for Black student researchers.

Note: The supplementary allocation for Black student researchers is not a limit. There is no limit on the number of Black student researchers who may be offered an award within an institution’s award allocation. NSERC expects institutions to use their award allocations to support applicants from all underrepresented groups, including Black student researchers.

For CIHR and SSHRC: CIHR and SSHRC USRAs are currently available only to Black student researchers. Institutions are assigned an allocation of awards, as outlined in the Undergraduate Student Research Awards allocations web page. To be eligible to apply for these awards, you must self-identify as Black by checking the relevant box within the application form. Note that this self-identification information will be shared with the institution to which you are applying and, if awarded, publicly. Refer to the Instructions for completing an Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) application – form 202 web page for more information.

Institutions may recommend applications from student researchers who self-identify as Indigenous beyond their allocation of awards.

To apply for these awards, you must complete and submit form 202 using NSERC’s online system. This system is the single platform used for all three agencies (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC) to submit applications. Refer to the Instructions for completing an Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) application – form 202 web page for more information.

You can apply to more than one institution, but you must apply directly to the institution where you would like to hold the award. Note that it is the institution’s choice whether to accept candidates from other institutions.

Eligible Canadian institutions are assigned an allocation of awards to offer each year. Refer to the Undergraduate Student Research Awards allocations web page for a list of allocations by institution and agency. The same selection criteria apply to all agencies.

The selection process of USRA applications will be carried out by institutions with an allocation and will be based on the following selection criteria:

• academic excellence
• research potential
• expected quality of the training and mentorship to be received

All application and review processes are internal to the institution. It is the institution’s responsibility to establish its own selection criteria within the broad guidelines that the agencies provide. Institutions have the discretion to apply stricter selection criteria than those outlined above. When selecting students for awards, the institution will take into account the objectives of the USRA program. For details on the institution selection procedures, refer to the Guidelines for Undergraduate Student Research Awards liaison officers or contact the USRA LO at the institution where you would like to hold the award.

NSERC may offer supplementary funding to award holders, including through joint initiatives (collaborations with organizations from across the not-for-profit, private and public sectors to support and promote training, research and connection activities). Joint initiatives and supplements are designed to reflect NSERC’s strategic objectives and mandates, inform decision makers, and in certain cases, address specific needs of their partners. Refer to the Funding opportunities web page for more information on related opportunities.

Self-identification data and consent provided with applications may be used to determine eligibility for additional awards or priority funding opportunities designated for specific underrepresented groups.

Note: To be considered for a supplement, you must first be awarded a USRA.

Each eligible institution sets its own internal deadline dates for receiving applications. For information about these dates, contact the USRA LO at the institution where you intend to apply for an award.

Although awards may be held in the summer, fall or winter term, each institution will determine the number of selection processes it holds each year.

Each institution will inform applicants of its award decisions after it has completed its selection process. To find out if your application was recommended to the agencies, contact the USRA LO at your institution.

Recommended candidates approved by NSERC and SSHRC will receive an email from the agencies midway through their award, inviting them to access their award letter on the secure Extranet for Applicants. Recommended candidates approved by CIHR will receive an award letter by email. Award letters should be read carefully and kept for future reference.

Once the relevant agency has approved your USRA for tenure at one particular institution, you may not transfer it to another institution.

You will receive your payment from the institution. The institution will issue payments to you for the total value of the award in accordance with its pay procedures. It will also issue a T4 or a T4A slip (statements of income) to you at the end of the calendar year.

CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC will pay their respective contributions directly to the institution.

All personal information collected as part of this program is used by the agencies and by the relevant officials at the eligible research institutions to review applications and to administer and monitor awards. It may also be used to determine the most appropriate funding jurisdiction or to monitor overlap in federal support.

Details on the use and disclosure of this information by the agencies are described by CIHR on the Info source – Sources of federal government and employee information web page, by NSERC on the Use and disclosure of personal information provided to NSERC web page, by SSHRC on the Collection, use and disclosure of personal information web page and in the relevant program literature.

Each agency may publish the names and other limited award information of award holders on its website in accordance with the agencies’ policies on disclosure under the Access to Information Act and their policies and guidelines related to the collection, use, retention and disposal of personal information under the Privacy Act. For more information, consult the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

For more details regarding CIHR’s use of personal information, refer to the Undergraduate Student Research Awards details on CIHR’s Funding Opportunity web page.

The first point of contact regarding the USRA program is the USRA LO at the institution where you intend to apply for an award or where you are currently registered in an eligible program of study.

For general information about the USRA program, policies, and guidelines, contact NSERC by email at usra-brpc@nserc-crsng.gc.ca.

For post-awards inquiries

• to CIHR, contact support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
• to NSERC, contact usra-brpc@nserc-crsng.gc.ca
• to SSHRC, contact fellowships@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca