NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards

If you are an undergraduate student and you would like to get research experience in an academic setting, consider applying for an Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA). These awards are administered together by Canada’s 3 research granting agencies:

• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)

Through these awards, eligible professors receive a subsidy to hire students to work on interesting research-related jobs and projects.

Where to hold your award

An Undergraduate Student Research Award is tenable at any eligible Canadian university and can allow you to expand your background training at other universities. You must apply online at the institution where you would like to hold the URSA and must comply with the internal selection criteria of that institution and be selected by that university to hold one of their quotas of awards. Once NSERC has approved your award for tenure at one particular institution, you may not transfer to another institution.

Selected applications are submitted to NSERC by institutions through NSERC’s online system. USRA applications cannot be submitted directly to the agencies. Currently, CIHR and SSHRC USRAs are exclusively for Black student researchers.

The information on this page applies to both UBC Okanagan and Vancouver students.

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 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, 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.

You are encouraged to create your own research opportunity by contacting eligible professors you would like to work with and tell them about this program. Many professors will be happy to talk to you about the opportunity to hire you at a subsidized wage. If you find a professor who is interested, ask them to contact their USRA Coordinator for more information.

Below are some tips for contacting professors:

• Know what you are going to say. Be prepared to talk about your interests, knowledge areas, and lab or volunteer experience. Familiarize yourself with the professor's research subject so you can ask informed questions about it. This will show that you are genuinely interested in helping with the research.
• Bring a copy of your resume.
• Read the NSERC program rules for supervisors. Make sure you understand these rules and application procedures.
• Regardless of whether you get the position or not, thank the professor for their time with a thank-you email.

These awards have a value of $6,000 CAD. This amount will be reimbursed to your faculty supervisor's account at the end of your work tenure.

Based on the current BC minimum wage requirements (minimum wage is $15.65 per hour), the minimum pay for the tenure of your award of 16 weeks is $9,000.63, inclusive of 4% vacation pay. If the award is longer than 16 weeks, your pay should increase by a minimum of $569.66 for each additional week, inclusive of 4% vacation pay, or $113.93 for each additional day, inclusive of 4% vacation pay.

Supervisors are also required to fund benefits such as the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Employment Insurance (EI), and Workers Compensation Board (WCB). These benefits amount to approximately 7.48% of the salary.

NSERC USRA application period

Students and supervisors must register or log onto the NSERC online system to complete Form 202 Part I (student application) and Form 202 Part II (supervisor application) starting January 2023. View the Faculty and school application details section above for internal application deadlines.

UBC holds one annual completion a year for Summer 2023, Fall 2023, and Winter 2024 terms. Applications for all terms (from May 2023 to April 2024) must be submitted during this period.

USRA placements

• Summer Term: May 1 to August 31, 2023
  The latest you can start working on your award for the Summer Term is May 12, 2023.
• Fall Term: September 1 to December 31, 2023
  The latest you can start working on your award for the Fall Term is September 6, 2023.
• Winter Term: January 1 to April 30, 2024
  The latest you can start working on your award for the Winter Term is December 8, 2023.

NSERC award notification

Award letters for the summer term will be issued directly to students in July for the Summer term, November for the Fall term, and February for the Winter term.

For application process and general questions, contact your faculty, school, or department USRA Coordinator. You can view the faculty or school application details section above for deadlines and contacts. 

As a second resource, you can also contact the NSERC USRA Liaison Officer at the UBC Career Centre by emailing nserc.usra@ubc.ca.