Faculty of Science Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRAs)
Each summer, students have the opportunity to work alongside professors from the Faculty of Science in their research labs. These awards are intended to stimulate the interest of undergraduate students by providing them with valuable experiential learning opportunities in a scientific research environment. Students holding one of these awards will participate in research activities during their work period.
On this page
An overview of awards
The awards described here are for students to work with Faculty of Science supervisors only. If you wish to work with a researcher located in the Max Rady College of Medicine or any other Faculty, please ask directly through their respective Faculty offices.
Your summer research position will be for 16 consecutive weeks beginning in May and ending the last week of August. You will be working daily hours equivalent to a full-time job and the hours you work will be determined by your supervisor. If you wish to take summer courses, please discuss this with your potential supervisor before applying for an award.
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There are six different types of awards for which you may apply:
- NSERC
- NSERC Indigenous
- Faculty of Science Undergraduate Student Research Award
- The Jack Prior Memorial Undergraduate Summer Research Prize
- H.D. Gesser Undergraduate Summer Research Prize in Chemistry
- Philip Hultin Pedagogy Award
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Application process
Please be sure to only apply for the awards that you are interested in (you may apply for multiple awards with one application). You can learn more about the awards in detail.
Apply now using your UMNetID and password
Please note you will be asked to upload your web transcript, so make sure to have it ready.
We acknowledge that some students may not have their final grades and if at all possible, we ask that students wait for their final grades from these classes before submitting their applications and uploading their web transcripts.
Steps to complete before the end of the term:
If you would like to apply for an Undergraduate Student Research Award, you should complete these steps before the end of the term.
- Review the list of eligibility requirements below to ensure that you can hold an award.
- Identify some potential supervisors, review their personal web pages, and email the researcher to arrange a meeting to discuss research opportunities in their lab.
- If the researcher agrees to support your application, be prepared to submit the USRA application form (see instructions below) in January, once the fall term's grades are available.
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Instructions for completing the USRA application form
- Fill in your name, contact information, and program information
- Enter your Cumulative GPA
- Upload your web transcript
- Select the Department you would like to apply to
- Type the name of the professor you wish to be supervised by
- Check the award(s) being applied for (from the questionnaire)
- Fill in the Proposed Area of Study (1 or 2 lines)
- Describe why an undergraduate student research award is important to you in approximately 200 words
- Check the box to declare that all information entered is accurate
- Click Submit
Potential supervisors
Click on each researcher's name to read more about their research interest.
Biological Sciences
Research interests of the potential supervisors in Biological Sciences (PDF)
Gary Anderson
Department Head, Professor
Gary.Anderson@umanitoba.ca
Kevin Campbell
Professor
Kevin.Campbell@umanitoba.ca
Gail Davoren
Professor
Gail.Davoren@umanitoba.ca
Jillian Detwiler
Associate Head, Graduate Student, Associate Professor
Jillian.Detwiler@umanitoba.ca
Margaret Docker
Professor
Margaret.Docker@umanitoba.ca
Kevin Fraser
Associate Professor
Kevin.Fraser@umanitoba.ca
Mark Fry
Associate Professor
Mark.Fry@umanitoba.ca
Darren Gillis
Professor
Darren.Gillis@umanitoba.ca
Kenneth Jeffries
Associate Professor
Ken.Jeffries@umanitoba.ca
Az Klymiuk
Assistant Professor
Az.Klymiuk@umanitoba.ca
Jae-Hyeok Lee
Assistant Professor
Jaehyeok.Lee@umanitoba.ca
Jeffrey Marcus
Associate Head Undergraduate (Student experience), Professor
Jeffrey.Marcus@umanitoba.ca
John Markham
Professor
John.Markham@umanitoba.ca
Patricia Ramey-Balci
Assistant Professor
patricia.ramey-balci@umanitoba.ca
Sylvie Renault
Professor
Sylvie.Renault@umanitoba.ca
Jason Treberg
Associate Professor
Jason.Treberg@umanitoba.ca
Byron Van Nest
Assistant Professor
Byron.Vannest@umanitoba.ca
Jane Waterman
Professor
Jane.Waterman@umanitoba.ca
Dirk Weihrauch
Professor
Dirk.Weihrauch@umanitoba.ca
Steve Whyard
Associate Dean (Research), Professor
Steve.Whyard@umanitoba.ca
Olivia Wilkins
Assistant Professor
Olivia.Wilkins@umanitoba.ca
Anne Worley
Associate Professor
Anne.Worley@umanitoba.ca
Chemistry
Research interests of the potential supervisors in Chemistry (PDF)
Analytical chemistry
Sabine Kuss
Assistant Professor
Sabine.Kuss@umanitoba.ca
Gregg Tomy
Director, Centre for Oil and Gas Development, Professor
Gregg.Tomy@umanitoba.ca
Biochemistry
Ned Budisa
(Tier 1) Canada Research Chair in Synthetic Biology, Professor
Nediljko.Budisa@umanitoba.ca
Mazdak Khajehpour
Associate Professor
Mazdak.Khajehpour@umanitoba.ca
Ute Kothe
Department Head, Professor
Ute.Kothe@umanitoba.ca
Sean McKenna
Associate Dean (Programs), Professor
Sean.McKenna@umanitoba.ca
Hélène Perreault
Professor
Helene.Perreault@umanitoba.ca
Jörg Stetefeld
(Tier 1) Canada Research Chair in Structural Biology and Biophysics, Professor
Jorg.Stetefeld@umanitoba.ca
Zev Ripstein
Assistant Professor
Zev.Ripstein@umanitoba.ca
Inorganic and Materials Chemistry
Mario Bieringer
Associate Professor
Mario.Bieringer@umanitoba.ca
David Herbert
Faculty of Science Research Chair in Fundamental Sciences (Physical Sciences), Associate Professor
David.Herbert@umanitoba.ca
Scott Kroeker
Professor
Scott.Kroeker@umanitoba.ca
Christian Kuss
Assistant Professor
Christian.Kuss@umanitoba.ca
Organic Chemistry
Rebecca Davis
Associate Professor
Rebecca.Davis@umanitoba.ca
Frank Schweizer
Professor
Frank.Schweizer@umanitoba.ca
John Sorensen
Associate Head Undergraduate (Courses and Programs), Professor
John.Sorensen@umanitoba.ca
Physical/Computational Chemistry
Kathleen Gough
Professor
Kathleen.Gough@umanitoba.ca
Georg Schreckenbach
Associate Head Graduate, Faculty of Science Research Chair in Fundamental Science - Physical Sciences, Professor
Georg.Schreckenbach@umanitoba.ca
Computer Science
Sara Rouhani
Assistant Professor
Sara.Rouhani@umanitoba.ca
Andrea Bunt
Associate Head (Graduate) / Professor
Andrea.Bunt@umanitoba.ca
Parimala Thulasiraman
Professor
Parimala.Thulasiraman@umanitoba.ca
Olivier Tremblay-Savard
Associate Professor
Olivier.Tremblay-savard@umanitoba.ca
Mathematics
Julien Arino
Professor
Julien.Arino@umanitoba.ca
Adam Clay
Associate Head (Graduate), Associate Professor
Adam.Clay@umanitoba.ca
Raphaël Clouâtre
Associate Professor
Raphael.Clouatre@umanitoba.ca
Susan Cooper
Associate Professor
Susan.Cooper@umanitoba.ca
Margherita Ferrari
Assistant Professor
Margherita.Ferrari@umanitoba.ca
Karen Gunderson
Assistant Professor
Karen.Gunderson@umanitoba.ca
Kirill Kopotun
Professor
Kirill.Kopotun@umanitoba.ca
Kang-Ling Liao
Assistant Professor
Kang-Ling.Liao@umanitoba.ca
Shaun Lui
Head, Professor
Shaun.Lui@umanitoba.ca
Stéphanie Portet
Professor
Stephanie.Portet@umanitoba.ca
Yang Zhang
Professor
Yang.Zhang@umanitoba.ca
Richard Slevinsky
Assistant Professor
Richard.Slevinsky@umanitoba.ca
Andriy Prymak
Professor
Andriy.Prymak@umanitoba.ca
Microbiology
Research interests of the potential supervisors in Microbiology (PDF)
Matthew Bakker
Assistant Professor
Matthew.Bakker@umanitoba.ca
A. Karen Brassinga
Associate Head (Student Experience & Outreach), Professor
Ann.Brassinga@umanitoba.ca
Silvia Cardona
Associate Head (Graduate Studies), Professor
Silvia.Cardona@umanitoba.ca
Deborah Court
Head, Professor
Deborah.Court@umanitoba.ca
Aleeza Gerstein
Assistant Professor
Aleeza.Gerstein@umanitoba.ca
Georg Hausner
Professor
Georg.Hausner@umanitoba.ca
Ayush Kumar
Associate Dean (Strategic Initiatives), Professor
Ayush.Kumar@umanitoba.ca
Brian Mark
Dean (Faculty of Science), Professor
Brian.Mark@umanitoba.ca
Ivan Oresnik
Professor
Ivan.Oresnik@umanitoba.ca
Pelka Peter
Associate Professor
Peter.Pelka@umanitoba.ca
Gerd Prehna
Assistant Professor
Gerd.Prehna@umanitoba.ca
Richard Sparling
Associate Head (Undergraduate Affairs), Professor
Richard.Sparling@umanitoba.ca
Miguel Uyaguari
Assistant Professor, Indigenous Scholar
Miguel.uyaguari@umanitoba.ca
Hans-Joachim Wieden
Lead for BioSciences Entrepreneurship and Industry Partnerships
Hans-Joachim.Wieden@umanitoba.ca
Other research-focused faculty members may be available. Please see the Department of Microbiology website for further information.
Physics and Astronomy
Jacob Burgess
Assistant Professor
Jacob.Burgess@umanitoba.ca
Wouter Deconinck
Associate Professor
Wouter.Deconinck@umanitoba.ca
Michael Gericke
Professor
Michael.Gericke@umanitoba.ca
Gerald Gwinner
Professor, Associate Head (Graduate)
Gerald.Gwinner@umanitoba.ca
Savino Longo
Assistant Professor
Savino.Longo@umanitoba.ca
Juliette Mammei
Associate Professor
Juliette.mammaie@umanitoba.ca
Stephen Pistorius
Associate Head (Medical Physics), Professor
Stephen.Pistorius@umanitoba.ca
Jessica Rodgers
Assistant Professor
Jessica.Rodgers@umanitoba.ca
Statistics
Elif Acar
Associate Professor
Elif.Acar@umanitoba.ca
Aleeza Gerstein
Assistant Professor
Aleeza.gerstein@umanitoba.ca
Saumen Mandal
Professor
Saumen.Mandal@UManitoba.CA
Po Yang
Associate Head (Graduate), Associate Professor
Po.Yang@umanitoba.ca
Eligibility
Only Canadian citizens and Permanent Residents of Canada are eligible for an NSERC. Visa students are not eligible for NSERC awards but are eligible for the Faculty of Science USRA and the other awards on this page.
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Students
- NSERC applicants must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher.
- NSERC Indigenous applicants must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
- Faculty of Science USRA applicants must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
- Science Co-op students are eligible to apply for NSERC and Faculty of Science USRA during their co-op work term.
- Students must have completed all the course requirements of at least the first year of university study (or two full-time academic terms) of their bachelor’s degree.
- Academic terms:
- Summer term – May to August
- Fall term – September to December
- Winter term – January to April
- Students who intend to graduate in winter 2023 are not eligible for an NSERC or a Faculty of Science USRA.
- Students from other universities are only eligible for the NSERC awards.
- Students must be registered, as of the deadline date for applications at the university, in a bachelor’s degree program at an eligible university.
- Students must be registered in at least one of the two terms immediately before holding the award in a bachelor’s degree program at an eligible university.
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- Students must be registered as full-time students, unless they are in their final term before graduation, in which case, less than full-time registration is acceptable (provided that the penultimate term was fully registered).
- Students may apply to graduate studies but must not have started their graduate program.
- Students 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.
- Students may hold only one university USRA per fiscal year (April 1 to March 31).
- Students may hold a maximum of three (NSERC and/or Faculty of Science) USRA awards throughout their university career.
- Co-op or other students who complete their degree requirements in December rather than April are eligible to hold a Faculty of Science award in the summer following their final term.
- Students already in possession of a Bachelor’s degree who are studying towards a second Bachelor’s degree are eligible to hold NSERC or a Faculty of Science award, provided they do not hold a higher degree in the natural sciences.
- Students may undertake their research project through any department in the Faculty of Science.
- Students with a General Science degree are eligible for the FoS USRA.
Supervisors
- Supervisors for NSERC awards must be NSERC holders themselves.
- Supervisors for the Faculty of Science USRA, H.D. Gesser Prize, Jack Prior Prize, or Phil Hultin Pedagogy award must hold an appointment in the Faculty of Science.
Further details about the NSERC awards can be found on the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada website.
Award details
NSERC and NSERC Indigenous
Minimum Value of $8,500.
NSERC provides $6,000 and the remainder (at least $2,500*) will be provided by the Faculty of Science Dean’s office and the supervisor.
($500 [FoS] + $2,000 [researcher] + $6,000 [NSERC])
- Researchers can increase their contribution beyond the minimum, especially when supporting senior, experienced trainees.
- The supervisor’s portion can be from an NSERC grant or any of their other research grants.
- However, the supervisor of a student holding an NSERC award must hold an active NSERC research grant.
- Indigenous students must have self-declared on the University of Manitoba Indigenous Self-Declaration Form.
Faculty of Science
Minimum Value of $7,560.
The Faculty of Science Dean’s office provides $5,060 and the remainder (at least $2,500*) will be provided by the Department and the supervisor.
($5,060 [FoS] + $2,000 [researcher] + $500 [department])
- Researchers can increase their contribution beyond the minimum, especially when supporting senior, experienced trainees.
The Jack Prior Memorial Undergraduate Summer Research Prize
Minimum value of $8,350.
The donor funds $6,350 and the supervisor $2,000.
($6,350 [donor] + $2,000 [researcher])
- Must have a minimum degree grade point average of 3.5.
- This award is based largely on leadership and volunteer experience. On the application form, you will fill in a section where you must explain your involvement in community, leadership, and volunteer experience.
- Students must be registered in a Science Major/Honours program as well as enrolled in 24 credit hours for The Jack Prior Memorial Undergraduate Summer Research Prize.
H.D. Gesser Undergraduate Summer Research Prize in Chemistry
Minimum value of $7,560.
The donor funds $5,060, the supervisor funds $2,000, and the Department funds $500.
($5,060 [donor] + $2,000 [researcher] + $500 [department])
- Must have a minimum degree grade point average of 3.5.
- Students must be registered in a Chemistry or Biochemistry Major/Honours program as well as enrolled in 24 credit hours for the H.D. Gesser Undergraduate Summer Research Prize in Chemistry.
Philip Hultin Pedagogy Award
Minimum value of $7,560.
The Faculty of Science Dean’s office provides $5,060
($5,060 [FoS] + $2,000 [researcher] + $500 [department])
This is not a research award. This Award is focused on the development of pedagogy tools and curriculum development. If you are applying for this prize, there should already be an understanding in place with your supervisor of choice as to what the project will entail. If you have selected this award, the proposed supervisor will be required to fill out their portion of this application explaining the pedagogy project. If you have not had this discussion with your supervisor of choice, please do not select this award.
This fund will be used to support multiple Faculty of Science students to assist Faculty of Science members in developing any aspect of science pedagogy and curriculum development including but not limited to:
- New laboratory and lecture content.
- Teaching media including digital media and textbooks.
- Student performance evaluation tools.
- Self-learning and self-testing tools for students.
- Web sites and tools for student communication.
- Tools such as software that advances student learning in the Faculty of Science.
- In support of our Wawatay program and Indigenous Initiative in Science, we are also supporting curriculum development for incorporating the ‘two-eyed’ seeing approach in Science (i.e. incorporating both Indigenous ways of knowing and Western knowledge).
The funds are meant to encourage curriculum development and assist Faculty members but also should help enhance and broaden student interest in science education and develop their skills in this endeavor.
Duration of support
The duration of the NSERC, NSERC Indigenous, Faculty of Science USRA, H.D. Gesser prize, Jack Prior prize, and Philip Hultin award is 16 consecutive weeks. If a supervisor wishes to extend this period, the difference will have to be provided by the supervisor’s grant(s).
Location of tenure
Students undertake their research projects through any department in the Faculty of Science.
Selection of students
Ranking will be based on Cumulative GPA for NSERC. Faculty of Science USRA and the H.D. Gesser prize will be ranked by the department. The Jack Prior award is selected by the Prior family and The Philip Hultin award is selected by the selection committee.
Professional workshop and poster competition
All award recipients will be expected to participate in the Faculty of Science lunch hour professional workshops and poster competition.
You may also be looking for
Undergraduate Research Awards (URAs)
For Faculty of Science recipients, the Office of the Vice-President, Research and International provides $5,000 and the remainder ($2,000) will be provided by the Faculty of Science Dean’s office and the supervisor. ($1,000 [FoS] + $1,000 [researcher] + $5,000 [VPRI]). Researchers can increase their contribution beyond the minimum, especially when supporting senior, experienced trainees.
Contact us
Kellee Strom
Confidential Assistant the to Associate Deans
Kellee.Strom@umanitoba.ca
204-474-6803