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Research and Graduate Studies

NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award

Are you a UFV undergraduate student in the Natural Sciences or Engineering? Get paid to do research over the summer!

NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award Program (USRA) provides an award for undergraduate students in the natural sciences and engineering areas of study to engage in research over a 16-week period over the 2024 summer semester (May to August). These are competitive national-level awards.

Students must be available to work full-time during the 16-week tenure of the award, from May – August 2024, under the supervision of an eligible UFV faculty member. The faculty member must agree to supervise your work and complete the faculty supervision section of the online application located on the NSERC USRA Online System, and complete a UFV Faculty Supervisor Form. Research must align with the NSERC subject matter.

ANNOUNCEMENT from the Government of Canada:  New Pilot Project from the Government of Canada: SSHRC and CIHR USRA program for Canadian Black scholars.

NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR have announced 95 CIHR USRA awards and 95 SSHRC USRA awards for students of Black heritage for the 2024-2025 USRA cycle (May 2024 – January 2025). Each university across Canada has been given one allotment for SSHRC and one for CIHR. NSERC is providing allotments to all successful Black student scholars.


Interested? Here’s what you do:

1

Find a faculty sponsor

Talk to a faculty member in an eligible area (biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, geography and the environment, computing science, and mathematics and statistics) about your interests and see whether they will be able to supervise you. Please ask your chosen faculty supervisor to complete a Faculty Supervisor Form and email it to rgs@ufv.ca

2

Confirm your eligibility

Visit the NSERC USRA webpage and read through the instructions to confirm eligibility.

3

Draft a research project proposal

Work with your faculty supervisor to create a research project proposal. This is basically a detailed plan of the research project you would like to do if you receive USRA funding. 

4

Submit your application by March 18, 2024

Follow the instructions on the NSERC USRA website to create and complete the online application by or before the UFV deadline of March 18, 2024.

Email the following documents to the research office at rgs@ufv.ca prior to March 18, 2024:

  • scanned copies of your Form 202, Part 1
  • a copy of your current CV

Need more help?

  • Read through the Frequently Asked Questions on the NSERC USRA website.
  • Watch a tutorial on how to complete a USRA application. (NOTE: This tutorial was made prior to an increase in funding provided to the USRA program. The funding provided by NSERC is now $6,000 per allotment, with an additional $2,764.00 minimum supplement from one's faculty supervisor.)
  • Contact the Research Office at rgs@ufv.ca.

Kelly Tracey, BA, MA

(she/her/hers)

Grants and Contracts Officer

Research and Graduate Studies

Abbotsford campus, G290A

Phone: 604-851-6389

email Kelly

"(Research has) been a really sweet way to optimize my time at school. Looking back, I’m so grateful that I did this. It has truly been a highlight to work under Shelley (Canning). She has been a wonderful mentor and has impacted me and my nursing practice immensely."

  • – Rosaley Klassen
  •    BSN

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