Competition

* Unless explicitly noted, all times indicated for deadlines are for the appropriate NL timezone (NST or NDT)

Undergraduate Students who meet the eligibility requirements and are interested in carrying out a 14-16 week (35 hours per week) research/development work term, under the supervision of a faculty member, are invited to submit an application to the 2025-26 Tri-Agency Undergraduate Student Research Awards Program at Memorial.

Normally, projects must fall within the mandate of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council in order to be eligible (for more information on NSERC, see https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/NSERC-CRSNG/Index_eng.asp). If you're unsure whether your project is eligible, please consult the guide at https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/NSERC-CRSNG/Eligibility-Admissibilite/students-etudiants_eng.asp. However, for the 2025-26 competition, applications for CIHR and SSHRC projects are welcomed from student applicants self-identifying as Black. Although they will be supervised by faculty members in one of these disciplines, students may be doing majors or minors in any discipline, however, applicants wishing to work with Humanities and Social Sciences faculty members must apply through the HSS Dean's Office. Students interested in working with faculty members in other faculties or units should inquire with those units. Only one application per student is permitted at Memorial: students applying for USRA may only apply through one academic unit at Memorial. Applicants can also apply directly to competitions at other Canadian Universities; however only one USRA will be awarded per student. Awarded USRA funds can be used on projects occurring in the following semesters: Summer 2023, Fall 2023 or Winter 2024.

For instructions on how to complete the application package, eligibility requirement, etc.,  students should refer to the USRA website or contact Matthew Milner at HSSResearchGrants@mun.ca.

Student Eligibility

• Students must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada

• NSERC USRA recipients must be registered in a bachelors degree program

• Award employment must be done in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (St. John's campus)

• Applicants with Indigenous status will be automatically granted a USRA award given they meet the minimum program requirements

• You must have a cumulative average of at least second class (a grade of "B" or "B-,") as defined by Memorial

Supervisor Eligibility

• Please note that the value of the supervisor’s contribution for the 2025-2026 competition (minimum mandatory top-up of $3,500 - REVISED FEB 21) is an increase from the previous competition. This increase is to keep the USRA program in lock step with the increased Memorial University student rates. However, the unit can choose to increase the USRA supplement further, if it would like to do so. Note also that Tri-Agency funds are NOT eligible to be used for the contribution.

• For USRA awards, NSERC considers anyone who is authorized by their university to independently supervise students to be an eligible supervisor from all disciplines.

• Adjuncts with funding from university sources or a Tri-Agency research grant where the USRA supplement is an eligible expense, are also eligible. USRAs are not industrial internships, and students supervised by Adjuncts must not be employee's of their supervisor's non-university institution, organization, or company.

Value: $6000 plus organization contribution

For full information on eligibility, including supervisor eligibility, please see NSERC's webpage: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/students-etudiants/ug-pc/usra-brpc_eng.asp 

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HSS Submission Requirements: This opportunity does NOT use Memorial's Researcher Portal. Applications must be completed using the web-based NSERC portal and must also go through HSS Faculty adjudication and internal review. In addition, applicants must email the attached Checklist to HSS Grants Facilitator Matthew Milner, at HSSResearchGrants@mun.ca by the HSS deadline listed below. The HSS Faculty will  then forward their selections to RIS for institutional review and submission to NSERC. 

If you plan to apply for any of these or other funding opportunities (as either PI or CI), e-mail an HSS Grants Facilitator, Heather C. O’Brien (HSSResearchAdmin@mun.ca or 864-8603) or Matthew Milner (HSSResearchGrants@mun.ca or 864-8050), to notify the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of your intent to apply. E-mailing the intent to apply as early as possible will help to facilitate an efficient review. A Grants Facilitator can answer any questions you may have about internal or external submission procedures.