NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards

Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) are opportunities for undergraduate students to consider graduate studies and/or a research career by providing research work experience that complements your studies in an academic setting. Through these awards, eligible professors receive a subsidy to hire students to work on interesting research-related jobs and projects.

These awards are administered by Canada’s 3 research granting agencies:

1. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
2. Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
3. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)

All undergraduate students who are Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents can apply to the NSERC awards. CIHR and SSHRC USRA are exclusively offered to Canadian Black students only through the Black student researchers pathway.

Learn more about the research areas for each of the above agencies on the Government of Canada website. Be sure your research proposal follows the application guidelines of the agency you are applying to.

For more details on student eligibility, please review the Information for Students Handout (pdf) and NSERC USRA FAQ (pdf).

Application requirements

You must meet all the following requirements to be eligible:

• You are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada as of the deadline date for applications at the university.
• You are registered in a bachelor’s degree program as of the deadline date for applications at an eligible university.
• You have obtained a minimum cumulative B- (68%) average over your previous years of study.
• You are not currently enrolled in an undergraduate professional degree program in the health sciences (e.g., MD, DDS, BScN, PharmD). This does not apply for CIHR USRAs.
• You have not started a program of graduate studies in the natural sciences or engineering at any time.
• You are residing in British Columbia, Canada during your work term.

UBC is an eligible university under the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). You can check out other eligible institutions on the NSERC website. Students studying at a foreign institution who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada are eligible for a USRA, provided they meet all other eligibility criteria.

Requirements for holding an award

• You must meet the eligibility requirements to apply, stated above.
• You must have completed all the course requirements of at least the first year of university study (or 2 academic terms) of your bachelor's degree.
• You must have been registered in at least one of the 2 terms immediately previous to holding the award in a bachelor's degree program at an eligible university. The terms of an academic year are Summer from May 1 to August 31, Fall from September 1 to December 31, and Winter from January 1 to April 30. Registration in either one of the 2 summer sessions will count as registration in that term.
• You must not have started a graduate studies program in the natural sciences or engineering at any time.
• You must not have held a previous USRA in the current fiscal year (April 1 to March 31), or have held more than 2 previous USRA awards in total.
• You must be engaged on a full-time basis in research and development activities in the natural sciences or engineering during the tenure of the award.

Additional considerations

• If you already hold a bachelor's degree and are studying toward a second bachelor's degree, you may still apply to this program.
• You may hold only one university USRA per fiscal year (April 1 to March 31).
• You may hold a maximum of 3 university USRAs throughout your undergraduate university career.
• You cannot receive academic credits for the work done during the term of a USRA. Students may take a maximum of 2 courses if special arrangements to make up the time under supervision have been made with the supervisor. Award holders are permitted to take only one course in each summer term. Students wishing to take more than two courses must first discuss the matter with their supervisor and obtain approval. The supervisor then makes a formal request to nserc.usra@ubc.ca, outlining the reasons they require an exception, and including links to the courses, if possible. UBC Career Centre will then forward the request to NSERC for approval.
• Award holders are not permitted to do thesis research during the term of their award.

The eligibility criteria to apply for and to hold a USRA are known to cause confusion. To be eligible to apply, a student must be registered in a bachelor’s program, as of the deadline date for the application at the institution.

To then be eligible to hold the award, the student must have been registered in at least one of the two preceding terms. This allows students who have graduated to hold a USRA in one of the two terms immediately following their graduation. Students who have completed their degree requirements by the application deadline are not eligible to apply.

Review the Canadian government's website for more information about Undergraduate Student Research Awards.

Follow the below steps to apply for NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards:

1. Review the Information for Students Handout (pdf) to better understand the application process.
2. The NSERC USRA program is administered and coordinated through the Faculty/School USRA Coordinators. Each faculty establishes procedures for identifying and ranking applicants and setting deadlines. Make sure you are aware of your faculty’s deadlines before applying.
3. Once you have found an eligible professor, both faculty supervisors and students must complete and submit an online NSERC USRA application Form 202 Part I (student) and Part II (supervisor), by selecting “System Login” or, if you are a first time user, select “Register”. Forward your reference number to the supervisor so they can include it in their part of the application.
4. Follow the instructions online on how to complete the forms. The forms can be found on the NSERC USRA website. View additional resources:
   1. Online Application Portal for Faculty Supervisors and Student Applicants
   2. NSERC USRA Instructions for Completing Form 202
   3. NSERC USRA Program Application Tutorial
5. You must also upload, with your application form, a copy of your official transcripts (for UBC students), including a copy of the back page legend. 
6. Once completed online, a copy of both Part I and Part II forms, as well as your transcript must be submitted to your Faculty, School, or Department USRA Coordinator for review.
7. Your Faculty, School, or Department USRA Coordinator will be in touch with your proposed project supervisor about the outcome of the application.
8. NSERC will not accept hardcopy forms so the official application must be completed and submitted electronically. The copies sent to the Faculty, School, or Department USRA Coordinator are only necessary for the internal review process.

You can view a video tutorial for the NSERC application process. If you experience any technical issues with the NSERC online portal, please contact NSERC.

Check out the specific application deadlines below for your faculty at UBC Vancouver or Okanagan.

The minimum normal duration of the award is 14-16 consecutive weeks of full-time work. The Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) makes no provision for sick leave or other interruption of awards.

Under exceptional circumstances, NSERC may approve awards for periods of less than 14 weeks (prior approval is required). Exceptions will be made for shortened work terms only in exceptional cases where the situation is beyond the control of the award recipient, and where the appropriately justified request is received before the beginning of the work term.

You will receive your payment from the university in accordance with its pay procedures. You will also receive a T4 or T4A slip (Statement of Income) for tax purposes from UBC Payroll.

NSERC will not reimburse the University for any period during which you worked part-time. No payment will be approved for any vacation leave you take during the tenure of the award.

If you’d like to apply for an NSERC award or you are currently an NSERC student, take the Work Learn Fundamentals Canvas course. The first topic, “What is Work Learn”, is not applicable to NSERC students.

The course covers the following topics:

• Finding a Work Learn job
• Starting your work term
• During your Work Learn term
• Wrapping up your work term