NSERC USRA Program (Medicine)

NSERC UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH AWARDS (USRA) PROGRAM
2023-24 Competition – Internal Deadline and Application Procedures
Administered by Faculty of Medicine – Research & Graduate Studies (RGS) Office

Deadline for submission: February 8, 2023
 
Applications must be completed using the web-based NSERC Application. 

Undergraduate Students, who meet the eligibility requirements and are interested in carrying out a 16 week (35 hours per week) research/development work term in Natural Sciences and Engineering, under the supervision of a faculty NSERC research grant holder, are invited to submit an application to the 2023-24 NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards Program at Memorial. Research awards resulting from Memorial’s annual internal competition may be held in the Summer 2023, Fall 2023 or Winter 2024 semester.

NSERC USRA Program Information

FULL NSERC USRA APPLICATION PACKAGE INCLUDES:

  • NSERC Form 202 Part I – Completed using NSERC’s online system
    • NSERC Instructions for Completing the On-Line Form 202 – Part 1 application for USRA
    • Register (as a First-Time User)
    • Previous applicants should log on to NSERC’s On-Line System and edit the previous year’s form
    • Upload a PDF copy of your Official University Transcript(s) (including one copy of the legend located on the back side of the transcript) and attach it to the Form 202 Part I. For multiple transcripts, they must be uploaded as one PDF
  • Official Transcript(s) including Fall 2022 grades. Applicants are advised to submit an advance request to the Registrar’s Office to ensure that their official transcript includes grades from the noted period.  
  • Faculty of Science NSERC USRA Application - Cover Sheet

Please forward your completed Faculty of Science NSERC USRA Application and Cover Sheet to sciencegrants@mun.ca by February 8, 2023.

VALUE OF THE AWARD

$6,000 (from NSERC) plus the supervisors’ minimum mandatory top-up of $2,900 – for minimum award of $8,900.  Travel allowances are no longer granted.
 

DURATION OF THE AWARD

Mandatory 16 consecutive weeks (35 hour work week) – note that there is one competition at Memorial, but the research project work term can commence in the Summer 2023, Fall 2023, or Winter 2024 semester.
 

MEDICINE – RGS OFFICE CONTACT

Amy Carroll (709) 864-6338; e-mail rgs.funding@med.mun.ca
 

AM I ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?

To be eligible to apply for a NSERC USRA award, the undergraduate student must:

  • Students must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada
  • Applicants must be registered in an eligible undergraduate bachelor's degree program
  • Applicants who self-identify as Indigenous or Black (new for 2023-24) will be automatically granted a NSERC USRA award given they meet the minimum program requirements
  • Students must have a cumulative average of at least second class (a grade of "B" or "B-,") as defined by Memorial
  • Students may hold no more than three (3) USRAs during their undergraduate degree
  • Students may not be working on an honours thesis during the semester for which they hold an NSERC USRA, and the research must be distinct from their honours thesis
  • Students may not be enrolled in, or have completed, a graduate degree in the natural sciences or engineering


NOTE: Undergraduate students holding aboriginal status are encouraged to apply. Awards to aboriginal students are in addition to the university quota from NSERC.
 

HOW DO I APPLY?

At the initial application stage, students must:

  1. Log on to NSERC’s On-Line system (new applicants must register as a first-time user)
  2. Complete the web-based NSERC Application for an Undergraduate Student Research Award - Form 202 - Part 1(Student Personal Data). Forms that are hand-written or typed from the PDF template form will not be accepted;
  3. Upload a PDF copy of your Official University Transcript(s) (including one copy of the legendlocated on the back side of the transcript) and attach it to the Form 202 Part I. For multiple transcripts, they must be uploaded as one PDF. Applicants are advised to submit an advance request to the Registrar’s Office to ensure that their official transcript includes grades from the noted period.  
  4. Once all modules have been completed, go to the My Portfolio page and select Verify. If the Verification Report indicates the verification was successful, please proceed to the next step. If the Verification Report indicates the verification was unsuccessful, follow the instructions to complete the application and select Verifyagain to check for completeness. Repeat until verification is successful;
  5. Print the completed web-based form (Form 202 – Part 1);
  6. Complete the ‘Faculty of Science NSERC USRA Application - Cover Sheet’and forward to sciencegrants@mun.ca.

Note: Students are not required to identify a supervisor at this point in the application process. Once awardees have been selected, the Faculty of Medicine will forward a list with contact information of faculty members who are eligible to supervise students and their research area(s).  However, students applying to the Faculty of Medicine are encouraged to meet with department/academic unit heads and/or faculty where possible to discuss the types of research programs that can be supported.
 

WHAT HAPPENS TO MY APPLICATION ONCE SUBMITTED?

Once all applications are collected, the Faculty of Medicine will work with the Faculty of Science to rank the applications and students will be notified if they are successful.  In past years, competitive awards have been based on: student merit; departmental/unit ranking; year of program; and Committee consensus.  NSERC is continuing with its initiative to encourage Aboriginal students to pursue university studies in natural sciences and engineering.  Any Aboriginal student that meets all of the program's eligibility criteria is strongly encouraged to apply. 

For those students offered an award, the Medicine – RGS Office will assist with identifying an eligible research supervisor for each student, who will meet with the awardees to discuss a suitable research project, and determine the term period and potential start date.  Eligible supervisors will be asked to complete the on-line NSERC Form 202 - Part II (inputting the student’s reference number) and confirm the student supplement amount from their research grant account.
 

For those students who wish to apply for a Science SURA, your NSERC USRA application will be used for that program as well.  For those students who wish to apply for a Medicine SURA, you must apply separately to the Faculty of Medicine SURA program.  The deadline for student applications for the Medicine SURA program is March 8, 2023. 
 

CAN I APPLY TO OTHER UNIVERSITIES BESIDES MEMORIAL?

Eligible students enrolled at Memorial may also apply to and, if offered an award, hold an award at any Canadian University but they must apply separately to another university within that university’s deadline date and comply with that university’s internal policies for the USRA Program. Students interested in applying to other universities should contact the other universities directly to inquire about competition closing dates, and information about the internal process for applying to the USRA program at that university. 
 

CAN I APPLY TO MEMORIAL EVEN THOUGH I ATTEND ANOTHER UNIVERSITY?

Yes, the same application process would be followed as described above in “How Do I Apply?”