Work Learn International Undergraduate Research Awards

To be eligible to apply for an award, you must:

In addition:

• Graduating international undergraduate students are eligible only for the academic term directly following the completion of your program requirements (regardless of your graduation date). 
• Students who finish their courses in Winter Term 2 (April) and graduate in the spring (May) will be eligible to hold a Work Learn in the summer term.
  • UBC students who have completed program requirements and whose program completion letter is not yet available are considered by UBC to be “full time for immigration purposes.”

  • If your letter of completion is available, you must have applied for a post-graduation work permit or have some other form of authorization to work in Canada. If you have questions about your eligibility, please speak with an International Student Advisor.

  • It is your responsibility to ensure you have the necessary work authorization documents to work after completing your studies.

• You may hold only one Work Learn International Undergraduate Research Award per fiscal year (April 1 to March 31) and hold a maximum of three Work Learn International Undergraduate Research Awards throughout your university career.
• You must be engaged in research activities on a full-time basis (35 paid hours/week plus a 1-hour unpaid lunch break) for a minimum of 16 weeks at the UBC Vancouver campus. 
• You must work under the supervision of a faculty member.
• At the end of the award, you will be asked to complete an evaluation, which will be initiated by the Work Learn program office. 
• Students are not eligible to hold a Work Learn International Undergraduate Research Award position in the same term they are holding an NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award or a Work Learn placement.
• Additionally, students are only permitted to hold a Work Learn International Undergraduate Research Award as their Co-op placement if the following conditions are met:
  • Letter from their Faculty Co-op Office confirming that the award will be used towards their Co-op placement,
  • Brief description of the research project the student will be working on in this placement, and
  • Project supervisor is able to financially top up the award to meet minimum wage requirements (plus vacation pay and benefits).
  • Please submit this documentation to the Workplace Learning Program Office. 

• These awards have a value of $4,500. This amount will be reimbursed to your project supervisor's account.
• Project supervisors are required to supplement the amount of the award using other sources such as university funds or other funds from research grants to meeting BC’s minimum wage requirements. 
• The minimum pay for the tenure of your award of 16 weeks is $7773.22 (inclusive of 4% vacation pay).  If the award is longer than 16 weeks, your pay should increase by a minimum of $504.14 for each additional week (inclusive of 4% vacation pay) or $100.83 for each additional day (inclusive of 4% vacation pay).
• In addition, supervisors are required to fund benefits (Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Employment Insurance (EI), Workers Compensation Board (WCB)) amounting to approximately 7.48%.
• 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.
• We will not reimburse 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.

Each Faculty, School or Department will have its own adjudication process for identifying and selecting eligible award recipients. Please contact your Faculty/School/Department Coordinator regarding the application process and submission deadlines for each individual Faculty/School/Department.