NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards

Overview

If you are a full- or part-time third year University of Alberta student in the bachelor of commerce program, or another program with a business minor, with a cumulative "B" average, you may be eligible to apply for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA).

This is an excellent opportunity for an undergraduate student to receive research experience in an academic setting.

Through this award, eligible professors (supervisors) receive a subsidy to hire students to work on interesting research-related projects. The USRA award must be for a project that involves NSERC-relevant research. The NSERC contribution for successful applications is $1500 per month (for a period of four months); the supervisor must supplement the award by at least $550 per month. The total value of the award is more than $8200 over 16 weeks.

The University of Alberta is an eligible university under the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Please consult the NSERC websites below for complete details.

Eligibility and Award Requirements

  • The student must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident.
  • The student must have completed their first year of study for a bachelor’s degree and
    they must not have completed all of their degree requirements, as of the start of the
    summer of 2024.
    • Eligible candidates for this award will have completed and performed well in Mgtsc 212/312, BTM 211/311, OM 252/352, a course involving computer programming, and some 400-level Mgtsc, BTM, or OM courses.
  • The student must be registered in an eligible academic program at the time of the application. Students in undergraduate professional programs in the health sciences (nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, medicine) and those students who hold higher degrees in the natural sciences and engineering are not eligible.
  • NSERC's instructions state that the student must have attained a cumulative GPA of at least 2.7 (on the scale of 4.0) in their program up to the time of application. However, depending on the quality of applications received, it is unlikely that an applicant with a cumulative GPA of less than 3.0 (on the scale of 4.0) will be accepted.
  • No student may hold more than three USRAs in their academic career, nor may any student hold more than one award in a given fiscal year (May 1 to April 30).

What Types of Research will be Conducted?

Students are encouraged to create their own research project which should be NSERC-relevant and related to business statistics, business technology management, or operations management.

You can create your own research opportunity by contacting an eligible professor you would like to work with and discuss this opportunity. If you find a supervisor who interested, ask them to review the application (Part II) requirements for supervisors.

If you do not have your own project identified, below is one possible project being offered in
2024 at the Alberta School of Business.

  • Project Title: The impact of weather on the availability of helicopter rescue service
  • Description: The project involves a comparison of two options for the operation of helicopter rescue service in Iceland: Option (1) having two helicopters in the capital, Reykjavik, or Option (2) having one helicopter in Reykjavik and one in the town of Akureyri. Option (2) could improve availability because weather conditions in the two locations might be negatively correlated, meaning that when weather prevents a helicopter from flying in one location, the weather could be good in the other location.
  • Student Research Work: Review of related literature, preparation and analysis of weather data and other relevant data, programming a simulation model, likely using R or Python, drafting a manuscript for publication, and regular meetings with collaborators.
  • Supervisor: Armann Ingolfsson, Professor, Department of Accounting and Business Analytics, Alberta School of Business.

How to Apply

  • The deadline for application submissions is midnight MST on Monday, February 5, 2024.
  • If you experience any technical issues with the NSERC online portal, please contact NSERC.
Step 1
Once you have found an eligible supervisor, complete and submit an online NSERC USRA application Form 202 Part I (student) by selecting the button “On-line System Login” or, if you are a first time user, select the link “Register”.
Step 2
Print and save a PDF copy of all your online application Part I (student) documents. See Frequently Asked Questions for details.
Step 3
Forward your reference number to your supervisor so they can include it in their part of the application. Ask your eligible supervisor to complete NSERC Form 202, Part II (supervisor) online at NSERC Online Services.
Step 4
Ask your supervisor to print and save a PDF copy of all their online application Part II (supervisor) documents.
Step 5

Submit your completed application before the application deadline to d.hoffman@ualberta.ca and include:

  • Part I application document (PDF format);
  • Part II application document (PDF format);
  • Official University transcript (PDF format); and
  • Cover letter (Word or PDF format).

Contact

If you have any additional questions or require more information, please contact:

Armann Ingolfsson
Professor, Department of Accounting and Business Analytics
Alberta School of Business
University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB T6G 2G2
aingolfs@ualberta.ca