Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA)

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Contact Info �Website: https: //www. med. ubc. ca/current- learners/research/funding/nserc-usra/ �Email: fom. nserc. usra@ubc. ca Fo. M NSERC Coordinator: Dr. Debbie Giaschi Linda Herbert: Student Research and Education Coordinator, Fo. M William Chen: Student Program Assistant, Fo. M

Overview Gain research experience in an academic setting NSERC subsidizes eligible professors to hire students to work on their research projects fulltime for 16 weeks creates interesting research-related jobs and gives you the opportunity to gain valuable work experience

Student Eligibility Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada registered in a bachelor's degree program at an eligible university (full-time or part-time) when you apply (i. e. this term) obtained, over the previous years of study, a minimum cumulative B- (68%) average completed all the course requirements of at least the first year of university study (or two academic terms) of your bachelor's degree at time of application not have started a graduate studies program in the natural sciences or engineering

Student Eligibility continued may be studying toward a second bachelor's degree may hold only one academic USRA per fiscal year (April 1 to March 31). may hold a maximum of three academic USRAs throughout your university career. graduating students may hold an award in 1 of the 2 terms immediately following their final term must be engaged, on a full-time basis for a minimum of 16 consecutive weeks, in research and development activities in the natural sciences or engineering during the tenure of the award

Student Eligibility continued may NOT be pursuing an undergraduate professional degree program in the health sciences (e. g. , MD, DDS, BSc. N, B. Sc. Pharm. ) may NOT hold higher degrees in the natural sciences or engineering. May NOT have graduated last term

Applying through UBC 14 UBC Faculties participate UBC Centre for Student Involvement & Careers allocates a fixed number of awards to each Faculty in January (based on the # of NSERC grant holders) for positions starting in May, Sept or Jan each Faculty has its own application process and method for choosing award winners and deadlines (Feb – March) details available at https: //students. ubc. ca/career/campusexperiences/nserc-undergraduate-studentresearch-awards

Application process student completes an online NSERC USRA application Form 202 part I and uploads a scanned copy of all official transcripts plus 1 copy of the back page legend for each university/college attended(www. nserccrsng. gc. ca/Online. Services. En. Ligne/Index_eng. asp) student sends reference number to supervisor completes an online NSERC USRA application Form 202 part II review the Common Errors checklist download PDF of your application from the NSERC portal (includes form 202 -I, 202 -II and

NSERC USRA – application forms

Finding a supervisor in Medicine must hold an active NSERC grant administered through the Faculty of Medicine list of eligible supervisors for 2020 is available at https: //www. med. ubc. ca/current-learners/research/funding/nserc-usra/ everyone on this list has received updated competition details from the Faculty Coordinator applicants to the Fall 2019 NSERC Discovery grant program who do not yet have a decision, should contact us fom. nserc. usra@ubc. ca if they wish to be considered proposed research project MUST be in an area of natural sciences or engineering supported by NSERC https: //www. nserc-crsng. gc. ca/NSERC-CRSNG/policiespolitiques/Addendum-Addenda_eng. asp expected quality of the training to be received by the student must be indicated

Tips for meeting with a professor contact eligible professors you would like to work with contact info available through the UBC directory www. directory. ubc. ca/index. cfm be prepared to talk about your interests, knowledge areas, and lab or volunteer experience familiarize yourself with the professor's research subject so you can ask informed questions about it bring a copy of your resume and transcripts make sure you understand the NSERC USRA rules and application procedures regardless of whether you get the position or not, thank the professor for their time (a thank you email

USRA competition in Medicine supervisors may apply with only 1 student; students may submit only 1 application most students receiving awards have an average well above 80% (based on all undergraduate courses) last year we received 55 applications for 44 awards; this year we have 34 awards are not made for durations shorter than 16 weeks or to 1 st-year students (not yet eligible when award decisions are made) Faculty Coordinators cannot access your online NSERC USRA application, therefore, applications must be submitted through our Fo. M NSERC USRA submission portal – February 27, 2020 deadline

USRA competition in Medicine submission process https: //www. med. ubc. ca/currentlearners/research/funding/nserc-usra/ name the PDF file of your application from the NSERC portal Student Last Name, First Name – NSERC application files calculate student’s GPA for all post-secondary courses using the Excel GPA calculator. Name this file Student Last Name, First Name – GPA enter student and supervisor details and upload both documents at Fo. M NSERC USRA submission portal

USRA competition in Medicine Coordinator checks for errors, then advises supervisor to ‘submit to LO’ from NSERC website a committee of 3 NSERC grant holders rank the applications based on the excellence of the student (grades and awards), the excellence of the project (clear hypothesis-driven research with supervised student involvement), and the correctness of the application students and supervisors are informed about the outcome in early April UBC NSERC liaison officer does final error check, then forwards winning applications to NSERC supervisor completes UBC student appointment form student starts work after exams (by May 12, 2020 for Summer term; Sept 4, 2020 for Fall term; Jan 11, 2021 for Winter term)

Value and payment of awards $4, 500 is reimbursed by NSERC to your supervisor at the end of your work tenure supervisors are required to supplement the amount of the award to a minimum of ~$8, 000 for the 16 weeks student is paid through UBC direct deposit every 2 weeks UBC Payroll will issue a T 4 or T 4 A slip (Statement of Income) for tax purposes supervisors, not the Faculty Coordinator, can verify awards for grad/med school applications