NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR Black Student USRA & NSERC Indigenous Student USRA

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 deadline date for applications at the institution
• you must be registered, as of the deadline date for applications at the institution, in a bachelor’s degree program at an eligible institution
• 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 for 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, at the present time, exclusively for Black student researchers. To be considered, 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 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.
• Tenure may start on a date acceptable to both you and your host institution.

You must complete form 202 via NSERC’s online system. This system is the unique platform you will use regardless of the agency (NSERC, CIHR, SSHRC) to which you wish to submit your application. 

To create or access an application, log in to the online system. The application for this program (form 202) consists of two parts. You must complete Part I, and Part II must be completed by your proposed research supervisor. Form 202 must be submitted electronically.

Tips:

• Read the instructions carefully to ensure that the form is properly completed.

• Refer to the USRA program description web page before completing your application.

• Read the Undergraduate Student Research Awards program description web page before you complete the application.

• Refer to the frequently asked questions about USRAs web page for more information.

Each USRA is valued at $6,000, plus additional compensation from other sources managed by the sponsoring unit to meet Temerty Medicine's stipend requirement, as indicated in the table below. 

Each USRA awardee is expected to engage in full-time research for 16 weeks. 

Based on 37.5 hours per week, minimum wage of $17.20 per hour plus 6% vacation pay (equivalent to hospital summer student employees) minus 15% income tax (stipends are T4A income which is not taxable). Departments may use the weekly rate should the project duration fall outside of the listed periods. Note that Principal Investigators (PIs) based at hospitals/institutes must abide by the payroll policies of the hospital/institute.