Undergraduate Student Research Awards (2024)

CIHR USRA, SSHRC USRA, NSERC USRA (2024)

The information below pertains to Summer 2024. Main change from last year: Increase in value. This webpage is for applications with a professor from one of the Faculty of Science departments listed in #2 below.

What is the USRA program?

The Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) program is meant to nurture your interest and potential for a research career, and to encourage you to undertake graduate studies. It is an opportunity to gain research experience in an academic setting, while receiving financial support. Recipients engage in a research and development activity, under the supervision of a McGill Faculty of Science professor.

The Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) program is funded jointly by Canada鈥檚 three national research granting agencies: the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

CIHR and SSHRC USRAs are, at the present time, exclusively for students who self-identify as Black.

NSERC continues to encourage all eligible candidates to apply for NSERC USRA, especially women, Indigenous students, and students who self-identify as Black.

The Faculty of Science invites applications from all eligible candidates, and especially those who are members of underrepresented groups, including Women, Persons with Disabilities, Indigenous People, Racialized people/Visible Minorities, and LGBTT2SQ* People (sexual orientation and/or gender identity minorities).

This page is for USRAs with Professors from the Faculty of Science. If your proposed supervisor is from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, or another McGill Faculty, please start here instead. If you are interested in a USRA with a professor at another Canadian university, start at that university's website instead.

What are the key differences between the NSERC USRA, CIHR USRA, and SSHRC USRA programs? Which program is right for me?

The CIHR USRA and SSHRC USRA work largely the same as the NSERC USRA; here are the main differences between these programs. This is not complete, so please read the rest of this Faculty of Science webpage, as well as which addresses all three USRA programs.

Details/Programs	NSERC USRA	CIHR USRA	SSHRC USRA
Field of student's research project:	Natural sciences, engineering.	Medicine, health.	Social sciences, humanities.
Field of student's research project:	(.)
Students:	Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or protected persons.	At present, the CIHR USRA and SSSHR USRA are exclusively for students who self-identify as Black, who are also Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or protected persons. (Black students may apply to any one of the three USRA programs. Non-Black students may only apply to NSERC USRA at this time.)
Supervisors (Professors):	NSERC grantholders* from the Faculty of Science**	CIHR grantholders* from the Faculty of Science**	SSHRC grantholders* from the Faculty of Science**
Eligible for FRQNT Supplement:	Expected***	Not expected***
Applications:	To Department of supervisor (in February)	To Faculty of Science (in March)
Selection:	By Department of supervisor (expected in March)	By 香蕉视频 (expected in April)
Lead agency:	NSERC: students and professors use the , and can refer to , even for CIHR USRA and SSHRC USRA.

* "Grantholder" in this context means a Professor who holds, has held, or is applying for an eligible research grant; more information is below on this page.
** If your supervisor is from another Faculty (or University), contact that Faculty (or University) for details.
*** The FRQNT Supplement for the NSERC USRA program is expected but not guaranteed.

How to apply for a USRA

Students and Professors: Review student & supervisor eligibility, deadlines, contact persons, and other details on this webpage as well as on the .

Why should you apply?

Each summer, dozens of students receive funding for a full-time research project through this program. Students develop new skills, learn a lot about how science works, get a better sense of whether they want to pursue research at the graduate level, meet new friends and mentors... and receive financial support. Many undergraduates say that their summer research award allowed them to understand their courses better, changed their academic and professional direction, or was the best part of their undergraduate degree.

Value and duration

When: The Faculty of Science offers USRAs in the Summer term (May through August). We do not generally offer USRAs in other terms.
Duration: 15 consecutive weeks on a full-time basis. (16 weeks: optional, if agreed upon with the supervisor.)

Value in 2024:

Duration:	15 weeks (default)	16 weeks (optional)
NSERC/CIHR/SSHRC contribution:	$6000	$6000
Professor contribution (minimum):	$2700	$3250 (corrected)
Total value (minimum):	$8700	$9250

Supplements (not guaranteed)
- $1500 - FRQNT Supplements of the NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards: You may be eligible to apply for this at a later date. More details below: "FRQNT Supplements."
- $1000 - . You may be eligible to apply for this at a later date.
- $5000 - . Students who meet the eligibility criteria are automatically considered when they apply to the USRA program. Part of the supplement may be used to defray the supervisor鈥檚 costs. Contact the Faculty of Science for more details.

Student eligibility

You must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or a protected person under , as of the deadline date for applications at the institution.
- Note: CIHR and SSHRC USRAs are, at the present time, exclusively for students who self-identify as Black. (In other words: Black students may apply to any one of the three USRA programs. Non-Black students may only apply to NSERC USRA at this time.)
You must be registered, at the time you apply, in a bachelor's degree program.
To hold an award, you must have been registered in a Bachelor鈥檚 degree in at least one of the 2 terms immediately previous to the award.
You may hold a maximum of three USRAs throughout your university career.
Students from other universities may also apply.
First year students are eligible to apply (provided they meet all other requirements). At the time you apply (typically February), you must provide transcripts that show your fall grades and winter registration. To hold the award, first year students must provide transcripts (in early May) that show successful completion of one year of university study (minimum 24 credits).
You may apply to one of the following: NSERC USRA, CIHR USRA, or SSHRC USRA.
You cannot concurrently hold more than one of the following: NSERC USRA, CIHR USRA, SSHRC USRA, SURA, Arts ARIA, Schull Yang International Experience Award, McGill International Experience Award, McGill Biomedical Research Accelerator award, FRQS or FRQSC Undergraduate Introduction to Research Award, or similar award.
Individual departments may set higher requirements than the minimum requirements, and this award application process is competitive.
There are other requirements too: please consult the .

Selection criteria

NSERC has stipulated that institutions should select USRA recipients based on the following three criteria (which the Faculty of Science expects for SURA as well):

Academic excellence;
Research potential;
Expected quality of the training and mentorship to be received.

Unsure if your application will be competitive?

Applying for the award does not guarantee that you will receive it. The only guarantee is that if you do not apply for an award, you will not receive it. However, even if your application seems unsuccessful, many good things can still happen!

First, read the eligibility information on this page, for both you (student) and your supervisor. Consult your supervisor's department if you have questions about eligibility; refer to "Departmental contacts, deadlines, how to submit" further below.
A department may be able to give you information such as the number of applicants and awards last year, or the average or minimum CGPA; however applicant pools and the number of awards vary from year to year. A comparable dossier may be uncompetitive one year, but successful the next. If you are clearly ineligible, that is one thing; but if you are unsure how competitive you might be, consider applying.
If your award application is unsuccessful, sometimes supervisors can provide other sources of funding, or find other ways to involve you in research, for the summer itself.
An unsuccessful summer award application may open other doors later: a research course for credit next fall, or a successful award application next summer, for example.
Please also consult "Other sources of funding" below.

Are you thinking of taking summer courses?

For all projects: Whether the project is remote or 鈥榠苍-辫别谤蝉辞苍鈥�, students are expected to pursue their projects on a full-time basis, for 15 weeks.

Students may take one course during the USRA period, but permission cannot be presumed. This requires a written plan that estimates lost time and a strategy to make it up; and approval from the Supervisor, Department/School, and Faculty. (The Faculty of Science expects the same for SURA.) Additional flexibility may apply in exceptional cases, such as required courses that are only offered in the summer. Ask your supervisor's department to contact the Faculty of Science for more details.

Other sources of funding

If you are not eligible for a USRA, or if you apply but do not receive the award, here are a few suggestions. Application deadlines vary.

Other similar summer undergraduate research awards or sources of funding:
- Science Undergraduate Research Awards (SURA) are for McGill Faculty of Science students with McGill Faculty of Science professors; however, there are neither restrictions for citizenship (international students may also apply) nor restrictions on the supervisor's grant type.
- SURE (Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering: for research with McGill Engineering professors)
- ARIA (Arts Undergraduate Research Internship Awards: for McGill B.A. and B.A.聽& Sc. students)
- , for research in the area of health.
- , for research in social and human sciences, arts and letters.
, for projects that contribute to the understanding and conservation of the Gault Nature Reserve's unique ecosystems.
McGill Biomedical Research Accelerator, for students in the second to last year of their undergraduate degree who hold an interest in the field of biomedical research.
McGill Global Health Scholars - Undergraduate Program
NSERC Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE): undergraduate studentships are available through some of the CREATE training programs. and then search for existing CREATE programs at McGill or .
McGill Work-Study Program (for students with demonstrated financial need)
Schull Yang International Experience Awards (for research abroad)
(to attend or host academic conferences or competitions)
McCAIS Undergraduate Research Awards (McURA), for interdisciplinary research in the realm of AI and Society.
Funding from your supervisor (professor)
Departmental funding or awards (where applicable)
External funding
- Funding from your country (if you are a citizen or resident of a country other than Canada; e.g., NSF REU).
- Other Canadian and international programs: MITACS Globalink (various countries), DAAD RISE (Germany), etc.
- Some foundations (cancer, liver, wildlife, etc.) or scholarly associations (physiology, etc.) have summer studentship programs. Brainstorm with your supervisor or lab members to determine which associations might be relevant, then check if they have funding for which you are eligible.

Students: Find a supervisor. Your supervisor must be willing to provide the minimum financial contribution described in "Value and Duration" above.

Where and with whom to apply

To submit a complete application, you need to identify an eligible professor (see below) to serve as your proposed supervisor and to submit a project proposal for you. If you start at the webpages for Science departments, you can browse each unit's site to find professors' research websites. Here is some advice.
For Physics projects/professors, .
For NSERC USRA: Apply through your proposed supervisor's school or department, not necessarily your own. Each Faculty of Science unit has a quota of available awards, and has its own selection process and deadlines.
For SSHRC USRA and CIHR USRA: Apply through the Faculty of Science. The Faculty of Science will receive applications. After, a University committee (all Faculties) will rank dossiers and select the recipients.
You will find the departmental/faculty contacts and deadlines further below.

Supervisor eligibility

In the Faculty of Science, the proposed supervisor must be a professor who has held, currently holds, or has applied for an eligible NSERC grant (for NSERC USRA), SSHRC grant (for SSHRC USRA), or CIHR grant (for CIHR USRA).
The supervisor may be the principal investigator or the co-investigator of the grant.

My proposed supervisor is an Assistant Professor /Associate Professor / Full Professor / Jointly Appointed professor / Associate Member / Adjunct Professor. Does it matter? What do these terms mean?

Please note that the following is specific to USRAs in Faculty of Science departments. Professor eligibility for SURAs is different.

Title	Explanation or definition	Relevance for your NSERC USRA application
Assistant Professor	Professors typically start their academic career as Assistant Professor.	It does not matter whether your proposed supervisor is an Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or (Full) Professor, as long as they meet all other eligibility requirements. What does matter: Ask your professor the department(s) in which he or she is appointed. At least one of the professor's departments should be listed below. For NSERC USRA check that her or his name is on the departmental list (for CIHR & SSHRC USRA, please read on).
Associate Professor	Associate Professor is a promotion from Assistant Professor. This is not the same as Associate Member status (see below).
Professor (or Full Professor)	(Full) Professor is a promotion from Associate Professor.
Joint appointments	Some McGill professors (whether assistant, associate or full) hold an academic appointment of substantial weight in more than one academic unit.	As above, check that at least one of the professor's departments is on the list under "Departments, contacts and deadlines" and check if her or his name is on the list. Especially for Associate Members, ask the contact for that department if they expect you to apply through the supervisor's other department.
Associate Member status	Some McGill professors (whether assistant, associate or full) hold this affiliation with a secondary unit, where a joint appointment is not appropriate. Associate Member status is in addition to their primary appointment. This is not the same as Associate Professor rank (see above).
Adjunct Professor	The individual is primarily employed outside McGill - for example, by government, in industry, as a professional, or at another university or institution - but participates in the academic activities of the McGill unit where he or she is appointed as Adjunct Professor.	Typically not eligible to apply through McGill, since NSERC requires you to apply for a USRA through the supervisor's primary institution. (Example: your supervisor holds her or his main appointment at Universit茅 de Montr茅al, but has an additional appointment at McGill as an adjunct professor. In this case, apply for an NSERC USRA through the Universit茅 de Montr茅al, not through McGill.) If you are uncertain, ask the departmental contact, who can check with the Faculty of Science.