Undergraduate Research Awards

• Note: this program is for undergraduate students
• Must be enrolled in at least 24 credit hours at the time of the Voluntary Withdrawal deadline (Fall term 2024 and Winter term 2025)
• Minimum GPA of 3.0, based on all credits completed at the time of application  
• Cannot be held in conjunction with other competitive summer research awards such as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s Undergraduate Research Summer Award
• Students who will be graduating in the Spring of 2025 (May/June convocation) are not eligible for this award
• This award cannot be held more than twice by any recipient during their undergraduate program(s) at UM
• Students who hold a master’s degree are not eligible for this award
• Co-op students are eligible to apply, however, the student must be enrolled in 12 credits of course work for one of the terms. Co-op students may need to provide a statement from their program coordinator stating that it is a full-time co-op program. The URA work term cannot also be used as a co-op summer work term.
• Note: some exceptions may be made in regard to meeting the eligibility requirements (i.e., reduced course load through registration with Student Accessibility Services or similar circumstances). If you are uncertain about your eligibility, please send an email.

To be eligible to apply for an award:

• you must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada or a Protected Person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada), as of the deadline date for applications at the institution
• you must be registered, as of the deadline date for applications at the institution, in a bachelor’s degree program
• you must have obtained, over the previous years of study, a satisfactory cumulative average (minimum 3.0 GPA)
• you cannot be currently enrolled in an undergraduate professional degree program in the health sciences (e.g., MD, DDS, BScN) (does not apply for CIHR USRAs)
• you cannot be currently registered or have been previously registered, at any time, in a graduate program in the same field of study
• you cannot have completed all your degree requirements

Note: CIHR and SSHRC USRAs are, at the present time, exclusively for Black student researchers. To be considered, you must self-identify as Black (see the Black student researchers section for more details).

In addition:

• if you already hold a bachelor’s degree and are studying toward a second bachelor’s degree, you may still apply for this award
• you may hold only one USRA per fiscal year (April 1 to March 31)
• you may hold a maximum of three USRAs throughout your undergraduate career (regardless of the granting agency)

To hold an award:

• you must have completed all the course requirements of at least the first year of study (or two academic terms) of your bachelor’s degree
• you must have been registered in a bachelor’s degree program at the time of application and in at least one of the two terms immediately before holding the award
• you must be employed full time in eligible research and development activities in your proposed field of research during tenure of the award
• you cannot be registered in a graduate program

Note: tenure may start on a date acceptable to both you and your host institution.

Please note that the URA is a two-part process, which includes a Part 1 (Student) Form and a Part 2 (Researcher) Form. The instructions below are for the Student Form; the Researcher Form is only generated for the Proposed Supervisor once the Student Form is successfully submitted into our system.

Students (and Proposed Supervisors) are expected to communicate with each other throughout the application process to ensure that both Part 1 and Part 2 are completed by the respective parties.

• Interview a professor that you hope to be supervised by, to learn about the research, scholarly work or creative activity they are undertaking, and how you may both possibly benefit from a research experience. Be sure to discuss possible hours/commitment requirements should you receive an award placement.
  • Students (and professors) are to use these opportunities to build networks with each other and explore the ways they may both benefit from the URA.
  • Proposed Supervisors must be full-time UM faculty members (instructors and adjunct professors are not eligible)
  • Students may interview a professor from any faculty, as long as they meet our criteria
• Complete the online application form and submit by the date and time listed above. Further steps, for the Student and the Proposed Supervisor, will be provided to applicants upon completion of the form.
  • The online application form includes sections for:
    • student-related information + transcripts
    • researcher-related information
    • a 150-word brief of your interview and proposed research
    • 250-word rationale for your choice, indicating how this research, scholarly work or creative activity fits with your own long-term career aspirations, and why you are interested in holding the URA.
• If you are a successful recipient of the award, you are encouraged to present the results of your research, scholarly work or creative activity at the annual Undergraduate Research Showcase.

Please note that Faculties are currently in charge of NSERC USRA applications within their respective fields.

For those interested in the NSERC USRA:

• Apply for the NSERC USRA by following the instructions on the webpage of the Faculty you're interested in.
• Ensure that you and your intended NSERC USRA supervisor fit all the criteria listed by the Faculty and by NSERC
  • Each faculty that runs their own NSERC USRA process will have instructions on how to properly prepare for and submit NSERC USRA applications
• Please note that the NSERC USRA application process takes place through both the Faculties and through NSERCs web-portal. Each faculty will have further instructions on how to properly submit applications on NSERCs portal. Supervisors are required by NSERC to also submit a form as part of their process.