The Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) program is administered jointly by Canada’s three research granting agencies: the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Eligible faculty members may apply for the USRA program. Through these awards, you can receive a wage subsidy of $6,000 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 (CSI&C). The Faculty of Land and Food Systems has 5 NSERC USRA 2023-24 awards. These awards can be held in the summer (May – August 2023), fall (September – December 2023) or winter (January – April 2024) terms.
NSERC encourages qualified Black and Indigenous students to apply for this award. Specific award pathways have been established (see the Pathways to USRA for more details)
The LFS internal deadline for the USRA program is Friday March 10, 2023; the LFS evaluation criteria and process are available on the LFS Research Support website.
Program requirements
- Similar to last year, UBC will continue to have non-NSERC grant holders receive approval from their Associate Dean or appropriate designate as part of the application process.
- 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.
- Full value ($6,000) of the award will be honored once application is approved by NSERC.
- NSERC requires that the supervisor pays a minimum salary of $6,000 regardless of the length of the award term and BC’s minimum wage requirements must be met. The minimum wage in BC is currently $15.65 per hour.
- In accordance to UBC HR hybrid work guidelines, NSERC USRA students are required to work in British Columbia, Canada. Remote and on-campus work are subject to the same regulatory and statutory obligations.
- Students are allowed to take a maximum of two (2) courses during the tenure of award.
CIHR USRA and SSHRC USRA
At the present time, CIHR and SSHRC USRAs are currently exclusively for Black student researchers. To be considered, the applicant must self-identify as Black by checking the relevant box within the application form. Visit the Pathways to USRA for more details.
Additional information about the program can be found on the Faculty and Staff webpage. Student eligibility information is available on Student Services website.
Please contact LFS Undergraduate Student Research Awards lfs.nserc-usra@ubc.ca if you have any questions.