Eligible faculty members may now apply for the NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) program. Through these awards, you can receive a wage subsidy to hire an eligible student to work on research and development in your lab. Professors gain valuable help in furthering their research while supporting students in their learning.
The LFS quota for the NSERC USRA has been announced by the UBC Centre for Student Involvement and Careers (CIS&C). The Faculty of Land and Food Systems has FOUR (4) NSERC USRA 2021-22 awards. These awards can be held in the summer (May – August 2021), fall (September – December 2021) or winter (January – April 2022) terms.
The LFS internal deadline for the NSERC USRA is Friday March 12, 2021.
New for 2021-22 Competition Cycle:
- Increase in program subsidy: NSERC has announced that effective for the summer 2021 competition, the value of the NSERC portion of the USRA will be increased from $4,500 to $6,000.
- Faculty Eligibility: USRA supervisors are no longer required to hold an eligible and active NSERC grant. UBC will continue to have non-NSERC grant holders receive approval from their Associate Dean or appropriate designate as part of the application process.
Faculty members who intend to apply to the NSERC USRA must ensure that COVID-19 safety measures and considerations as well as contingency plans are included when submitting their applications.
Continuation of accommodations due to COVID-19:
In light of the continuing uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, NSERC will be continuing the following accommodations for the 2021-22 competition cycle:
- Remote supervision of projects will be permitted. Supervisors must hold regular meetings with USRA holders via phone or video calls.
- Work terms do not need to be 16 weeks long, and can be less than 12 weeks.
- NSERC will honour the full value of the award regardless of the length of the work term. For the student’s salary, the minimum Faculty Supervisor top-up of 25% the award value ($1500) is in effect and BC’s minimum wage requirements must be met.
- For faculty members who intend to apply to the NSERC USRA, please ensure that COVID-19 safety measures and considerations as well as contingency plans are included when submitting their application. Questions we would encourage faculty to consider: Will the USRA be feasible given the COVID-19 safety plans as per their Faculty/School/department? Can the USRA be done safely?
Should local public health recommendations allow, the preference is for USRAs to be held in person, but remote supervision will be allowed without additional justification to NSERC. Should the project allow, students who prefer to work remotely should not be penalized.
Additional information about the program can be found on the Faculty and Staff webpage. Student eligibility information is available on Student Services website. LFS evaluation criteria and process is available on LFS Research Support website.
Please contact LFS Undergraduate Student Research Awards lfs.nserc-usra@ubc.ca if you have any questions.