The granting agencies will not reimburse the institution for any period during which you worked part time. No payment will be approved for any vacation leave awardees take during tenure of the award.

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).

At the present time, Winter 2024 NSERC USRAs are available to student researchers at McMaster who self-identify as Black and/or Indigenous on the application form, while Winter 2024 CIHR and SSHRC USRAs are exclusively for student researchers who self-identify as Black on the application form.

To be eligible to apply for a Winter 2024 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), as of the deadline date for applications at the institution (September 7);
• must be registered, as of the deadline date for applications at the institution (September 7), 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 a USRA since April 1, 2023; and
• must not have already been awarded three USRAs throughout their undergraduate career.

Additional eligibility requirements for CIHR USRAs:

• must self-identify as Black on the application form.

Additional eligibility requirements for NSERC USRAs:

• must self-identify as Black and/or Indigenous on the application form; and
• cannot be currently enrolled in an undergraduate professional degree program in the health sciences (e.g., MD, DDS, BScN).

Additional eligibility requirements for SSHRC USRAs:

• must self-identify as Black on the application form; and
• cannot be currently enrolled in an undergraduate professional degree program in the health sciences (e.g., MD, DDS, BScN).  

Eligibility to Hold an Award:

To be eligible to hold a Fall 2023 CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC USRA, a student:

• must have completed all the course requirements of at least the first year of study (or two academic terms) of their bachelor’s degree;
• must have been registered in a bachelor’s degree program at the time of application and in at least one of the two terms immediately before holding the award;
• must be employed full time (35 hrs/wk) in eligible research and development activities in their proposed field of research during tenure of the award; and
• cannot be registered in a graduate program.  

Notes:

• A student may hold an award during the Fall or Winter term as permitted by their academic program.
• Tenure may start on a date acceptable to both the awardee and their host institution.