NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards
If you are a student enrolled (full- or part-time) in a Science or Engineering program 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).
The NSERC contribution for successful applications is $1500 per month (for a period of four months); the supervisors will supplement each award by at least $550 per month (amount depends on year in program); the total value of the scholarship is more than $8200 over 16 weeks.
How to Apply
Step 1 Find a supervisor and discuss your potential research project and the USRA application process.
Step 2 Prepare your documents:
- Cover letter that states your interests in chemistry and your future plans
- Official University Transcript
- obtain a hard copy of your Official Transcript or an official e-transcript from the Registrar's Office
- for a hard copy, scan and save as a PDF file (the department's photocopier can be used to produce PDF scans)
- upload when completing Part I of NSERC Form 202
- keep the hard copy of the transcript for the application
- NSERC Form 202, Part I: complete this form online at NSERC Online Services, and print a hard copy. Registration is required for first time users.
- A detailed guide to completing the NSERC USRA online application may be found here. (PDF, 1.65mb)
- NSERC Form 202, Part II: ask your supervisor to complete this form online at NSERC Online Services and print a hard copy. The supervisor's Grant Application Number is printed on the letter from NSERC that announced the NSERC Discovery Grant. Research Subject Codes are available here
- One reference letter used for internal departmental ranking
Step 3 Submit your completed application electronically to the undergraduate chemistry office undergrad@chem.ualberta.ca. Reference letters should also be submitted electronically to the same address. The deadline for submission is 4:00 pm Monday, February 6th, 2023.
Additional Information
- the student must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident.
- the student must have completed all the course requirements of at least the first year of university study (or two academic terms) of a bachelor's degree by the summer of 2022.
- the student must be registered as a student in an eligible academic program at the time of the application. Students in undergraduate professional programs (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)
Please consult the NSERC websites below for complete details and for specific information on Form 202.