Eligible Canadian institutions receive allocations of Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) corresponding to the number of students they may offer awards to each year on behalf of the granting agencies.
Each year, the following award allocations are distributed to institutions:
- 165 awards from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
- 3,000 awards from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
- 180 awards from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
Note: CIHR and SSHRC USRAs are currently available only to Black student researchers.
Institutions may offer awards according to their USRA allocation throughout the May, September and January terms each year. Allocations are not transferable to a subsequent year or to projects outside the mandate of the agency funding the award.
To be eligible for a USRA allocation, an institution must:
- be listed in the most recent Canada Research Chairs (CRC) results of reallocation
- be eligible to administer award funds for CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC
Allocations are calculated based on the grant funding* received over the last three available fiscal years.
For NSERC:
- Each institution receives an allocation of four awards
- The remaining award allocations are distributed based on each institution’s share of NSERC’s total grant funding*
- An additional 166 award allocations are reserved for small eligible institutions and distributed using the same method, with at least one additional award allocation per small institution
- Some very small institutions have only one award allocation in the list below. However, the institution can request additional awards, up to a maximum of four
In addition:
- USRA applications from self-identified Indigenous student researchers may be submitted beyond the institution’s award allocation
- NSERC provides supplementary allocations for Black student researchers (up to 10% of the institution’s award allocation)
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:
- Each institution receives an allocation of one award
- The remaining award allocations are distributed based on the institution’s share of the relevant agency’s total grant funding*
* Grant funding refers to funds received by host institutions in Canada for grants programs eligible to be included in the CRC credit calculation. For further information on the CRC credit calculation, consult the
| Allocations | Allocations for Black student researchers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Institutions (in alphabetical order) | NSERC | NSERC | CIHR | SSHRC |
| Acadia University | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Algoma University | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Athabasca University | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Bishop’s University | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Brandon University | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| British Columbia Institute of Technology | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Brock University | 21 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Canadian Mennonite University | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Cape Breton University | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Carleton University | 53 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| Concordia University | 50 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| Concordia University of Edmonton | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Dalhousie University | 68 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| École de technologie supérieure | 38 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Grant MacEwan University | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| HEC Montréal | 18 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Institut national de la recherche scientifique | 38 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Lakehead University | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Laurentian University | 21 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| McGill University | 158 | 16 | 12 | 7 |
| McMaster University | 89 | 9 | 6 | 4 |
| Memorial University of Newfoundland | 36 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Mount Allison University | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Mount Royal University | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Mount Saint Vincent University | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Nipissing University | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ontario College of Art and Design University | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Polytechnique Montréal | 70 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| Queen’s University | 77 | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| Redeemer University | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Royal Military College of Canada | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Saint Mary’s University | 17 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Simon Fraser University | 61 | 6 | 3 | 4 |
| St. Francis Xavier University | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| St. Thomas University | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| TÉLUQ | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| The King's University | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| The University of British Columbia | 212 | 21 | 12 | 10 |
| The University of Western Ontario | 82 | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| The University of Winnipeg | 15 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Thompson Rivers University | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Toronto Metropolitan University | 36 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Trent University | 20 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Trinity Western University | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Université de l'Ontario français | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Université de Moncton | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Université de Montréal | 75 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Université de Sherbrooke | 72 | 7 | 3 | 3 |
| Université du Québec à Chicoutimi | 20 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Université du Québec à Montréal | 28 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Université du Québec à Rimouski | 20 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières | 21 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue | 21 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Université du Québec en Outaouais | 15 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Université Laval | 111 | 11 | 5 | 5 |
| Université Sainte-Anne | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| University of Alberta | 171 | 17 | 6 | 5 |
| University of Calgary | 122 | 12 | 7 | 4 |
| University of Guelph | 72 | 7 | 2 | 3 |
| University of Lethbridge | 21 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| University of Manitoba | 59 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| University of New Brunswick | 23 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| University of Northern British Columbia | 18 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| University of Ontario Institute of Technology | 21 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| University of Ottawa | 81 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| University of Prince Edward Island | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| University of Regina | 21 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| University of Saskatchewan | 67 | 7 | 3 | 3 |
| University of the Fraser Valley | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| University of Toronto | 227 | 23 | 25 | 13 |
| University of Victoria | 58 | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| University of Waterloo | 145 | 15 | 2 | 4 |
| University of Windsor | 32 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Vancouver Island University | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Wilfrid Laurier University | 21 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| York University | 52 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| Total | 3,000 | 311 | 165 | 180 |