NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRAs)

Overview  

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is Canada’s largest supporter of discovery and innovation. It looks to fund innovative scientific and technical breakthroughs that will benefit Canada and will help our research community thrive.  

As an undergraduate student, you will be applying for Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRAs) in the NSERC Discovery grant stream.  

Eligibility 

You must be a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident to apply for an NSERC USRA.  

You must commit to work — consecutively — the full 16 weeks in the summer. NSERC considers USRAs it to be full-time work, and there’s no provision for vacation time or other interruptions. 

You may hold only one USRA per year and are allowed maximum of three USRAs throughout your university career. 

Year of study 

At a minimum, you must have completed two academic terms at the time of applying, which would be in February or March. First-year students are not eligible. 

Currently registered second- and third-year students are given priority for NSERC USRAs. 

Fourth-year students who will complete their graduation requirements immediately before the USRA begins — that is, who apply during their last term of fourth year — are eligible, provided that they do not begin graduate studies while holding the USRA. They will be considered for an award after second- and third-year applicants. 

PEY Co-op students can also apply for the award if they are able to begin full-time USRA research by the May start date. 

Academic standing and credits 

You must have a cumulative average of at least second class (B-, or 2.7).

You are permitted to take up to two courses during your USRA (i.e., 0.5 FCE in each summer term) — but only if your USRA supervisor agrees. If your classes are during USRA working hours, you will need to arrange to make up the time. (The USRA should be the priority. If the workload becomes unmanageable, you will need to drop the course.) 

You will not receive academic credits for your USRA project. 

How to apply  

To apply for an NSERC USRA, you must first provide preliminary information on the NSERC website. Follow NSERC’s instructions.  

For students who self-identify as Black or Indigenous: You may mention this in the body text of your email when submitting the below attachments. As long as your supervisor is a professor appointed to ECE, you are encouraged to apply regardless of NSERC GPA requirements.

Then, you must submit these three documents to ugta.ece@utoronto.ca: 

1. Form 202 – Part I (Filled out by the student) 
2. Form 202 – Part II (Filled out by the supervisor)  
3. Academic transcript:
   • An official transcript is not required for U of T students. You can generate an e-transcript or Academic History report directly from ACORN.
   • Non-U of T students must submit an official transcript. 

Your application will only be considered once all three required documents have been submitted. 

Note: Do not submit any extra documents or information (e.g., cover letters).  

Where do I apply? 

Before the deadline, email your application package to ugta.ece@utoronto.ca.

Note: Do not submit multiple applications. Only one application per student will be accepted. 

Form 202 instructions  

Form 202, Parts I and II, should be completed online on the NSERC web page. Follow the instructions provided by NSERC.  

Use the NSERC USRA Application Checklist (doc) to make sure you’ve checked off all the steps for a completed application. 

Note: Handwritten applications will not be accepted. 

Form 202, Part I 

Part I is the section that must be filled out by the student. Below are guidelines to specific fields in the form: 

• Name of discipline: This refers to the name of your program (e.g., Electrical and Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, etc.). 
• Institution: Students from U of T should put “University of Toronto.” 
• Department:  ECE students at U of T should put “Electrical & Computer Engineering, Edward S. Rogers Department of.” Engineering Science students should put “Engineering Science, Division of” 
• Expected degree completion: Use the YYYY/MM format. The month will either be June (06) or November (11). 
• Email address: Use your U of T email address, if you are a current student. 

Once you have finished filling out the form:

• If you are a U of T student, attach a PDF copy of your academic transcript (or the university e-transcripts, or the most recent academic history report from ACORN) to the application form. Please note that the Undergraduate Office will verify your grades.
• If you are a non-U of T student, you must submit an official transcript. 

Form 202, Part II 

Once you have completed Part I, you will be given a reference number. Send this number to your supervisor, who will then fill out Part II online. After Part II has been completed, ask your supervisor to send you a PDF for your application package.

Helpful resources 

• NSERC USRA Application Checklist (doc)
• 2024 NSERC USRA FAQs (doc) 
• NSERC Initial registration for new users 
• NSERC PDF Forms and Instructions 
• NSERC USRA Page 
• NSERC Research Subject Codes (for supervisor reference)