Undergraduate Student Research Awards Program (USRA) – Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)

Students

To be eligible, the student must:

• Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
• Be enrolled in a non-professional bachelor’s program at an eligible university at the time of application (students in undergraduate professional degree programs in the health sciences aren’t eligible for NSERC USRAs, only for CIHR USRAs (e.g., MD, DDS, BScN);
  • NOTE: The University of Ottawa will give priority to students in their 3rd and 4th year of study at the time of application.
• Have a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 7.5;
  • NOTE: Since this is a competitive program, priority will be given to students with academic excellence as demonstrated by their CGPA.
• Not hold a graduate degree nor have been enrolled at any time in a graduate program in the field of study of the award (natural sciences, engineering, health, social sciences, and humanities); and
• Have not previously received more than two USRAs.

To hold an award, students must:

• Have completed all the course requirements of at least the 1st year of their bachelor’s program;
• Have been registered in a bachelor's degree program in the term immediately before holding the award;
• Not be in a graduate program in these fields of study: natural sciences, engineering, health, social sciences and humanities;
• Not take daytime courses during the term of the award in order to dedicate themselves to award activities on a full-time basis; and
• Not do thesis research during the term of the award.

In addition, students cannot hold an NSERC-USRA at the same time as they are in receipt of a Faculty of Science’s Undergraduate Research Scholarship.

Professors

• Professors must have sufficient research funds to be able to pay upfront the full amount of the award of a minimum of $7,500 ($6,000 from NSERC + minimum $1,500 from the supervisor).
• Professors must hold a full-time tenure or tenure track position at uOttawa or a permanent research position at one of the uOttawa’s affiliated research institutes.
• Professors can submit a maximum of two applications per term. Exceptions may be granted based on a research team’s supervisory resources. Requests for an exception are to be directed to International Research and Experiential Learning.

It is the responsibility of the student to identify, contact and obtain approval from a University of Ottawa faculty member to supervise their academic research.

Students are invited to consult the lists of faculty members on the websites of academic units in order to find a supervisor. Most professors also have a personal web page that provides details about their research.

The uOttawa experts page and the uOttawa Research Network page can help students identify potential supervisors according to their research specialization.

NSERC administers the USRA program and the application process on behalf of the three agencies. NSERC, CIHR and SSHRC applications follow the same process. 

Important:

• When applying for funding, you must complete the self-identification questionnaire found on the eConsole page by selecting Maintain user profile under Account Management. If you don’t want to self-identify, you can select “I prefer not to answer” for each question but you must select a response to complete the questionnaire.
• CIHR and SSHRC USRAs are exclusively for self-identifying Black students. You must choose CIHR or SHHRC.
• Self-identifying Black and Indigenous researchers will be recommended for awards above the University’s quota and applications will not be compared to applications within our mandatory quota. There’s no institutional quota for self-identifying Black and Indigenous student researchers.
• A $5,000 supplement by the Canadian Forest Sector Workforce Diversity Undergraduate Supplement is available if you receive a USRA. Learn more about the  Canadian Forest Sector Workforce Diversity undergraduate supplement

Submit the following documents via NSERC’s online application system:

• Form 202, part I:
  To be completed by the student, through their personal account on NSERC’s online application system. Once Part I is completed, the student will receive a reference number, which must be forwarded to the professor. A student may submit only one application per year while at the University of Ottawa. If the student has previously applied to NSERC using Form 202, the student must use the same form for this application. Prior to doing so, the student must be sure to first update the form (including updated transcripts).
• Form 202, part II:
  To be completed by the professor supervising the research, from his or her own account on NSERC’s online application system. Parts I and II of the form are linked by the professor using the reference number provided by the student and are submitted online.
  • Please note: the project start date must be between May 1, 2023, and June 1, 2023. This must be accurately inputted in the Form 202, part II to be considered an eligible project. If your proposed dates aren’t accurate, your application will not be accepted.
  • It is the responsibility of the supervising professor to submit a project in the field of natural sciences or engineering (NSE). If NSERC judges that the project does not fall within NSE fields the professor may be asked to submit further clarification or incur the full costs of the award.
• Transcripts:
  All transcripts must be combined into a single PDF file. Formatting for margins, spacing, font and page numbers are outlined in NSERC’s online presentation and attachment standards (do not apply to the transcript file).
  • University of Ottawa students: Transcripts in PDF format from uoZone are accepted. An official transcript may be required at a later date if you are granted the award. If you have also attended another university, please include a scanned copy of your official transcripts from that institution, including the legend on the back.
  • Students from other universities: Official transcripts scanned into a single PDF file, including the legend on the back of each transcript.

Submit the following documents via email to [email protected]:

• Student’s resumé:
  The resume must include sections on education, awards and research experience. Maximum two pages in length. Please note that students do not need to have research experience to receive the award.
• Statement of interest:
  The student must explain why they want to participate in the proposed research project and the link to their professional goals. Maximum 250 words.
• Student’s must submit their resumé and statement of interest in a single email and confirm that they have completed their application in the NSERC portal.

NOTE: Your application will be processed once the complete admission package and all required documents are received. Applications will not be accepted if they’re incomplete (Form 202 Part I, Form 202 Part II, Transcript, Resumé, Statement of Interest).

Applications are assessed on the basis of the student’s academic excellence as demonstrated by their cumulative grade point average (CGPA). In addition, the University of Ottawa will give priority to students in their 3rd and 4th year of study at the time of application.

Self-identifying Black and Indigenous students’ applications will be assessed based on the student’s eligibility.

The academic or administrative unit of the supervising professor prepares and processes the award contracts. The total amount must be included on one single contract and is paid from the supervisor’s research funds. The office of International Research and Experiential Learning will reimburse the professor the amount of the NSERC award ($6,000) once the NSERC funds arrive.