Undergraduate Student Research Awards nurture interest in and fully develop the potential of undergraduate students for a research career in the Humanities and beyond. The Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) program supports more than 3,000 students annually and 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).
Tri-Agency USRAs have a value of $6,000 to cover 14 to 16 weeks of full time, student-initiated research. This opportunity also encourages undergraduate students to undertake graduate studies by providing research work experience that compliments their studies in an academic setting.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) program supports more than 3,000 students annually across Canada. Read more about the awards on their website.
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for a CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC USRA, a student:
- 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),
- must be registered in a bachelor’s degree program at an eligible institution;
- must have obtained, over the previous years of study, a satisfactory cumulative average (normally at least B);
- cannot be currently registered or have been previously registered, at any time, in a graduate program in the same field of study;
- cannot have completed all degree requirements. However, applicants who already hold a bachelor’s degree and are studying toward a second bachelor’s degree are eligible to apply;
- must not have already been awarded three USRAs throughout their undergraduate career.
Summer 2025 CIHR and SSHRC USRAs are exclusively for student researchers who self-identify as Black on the application form.
How to apply
Applications for a Tri-Agency USRA program must be completed and submitted to the Canadian institution where the applicant wishes to hold the award through NSERC’s online system. More information about the application process can be found at Instructions for completing an Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) application – form 202.
Applications are due by the internal Faculty of Humanities deadline of March 1, 2025.
If you have any questions regarding Humanities USRAs, please contact Annamaria Skrtic.