University of Toronto Excellence Awards (UTEAs)

Overview 

Opportunities for research experience at the undergraduate level in the Natural Sciences & Engineering (NSE), Social Sciences & Humanities (SSH), or Health & Life Sciences (HLS) are available through two award streams:

• University of Toronto Research Excellence Award (UTEA)
• Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA)

These programs are designed to augment the University’s formal research courses and provide undergraduate students with opportunities to gain direct research experience, learn investigative methodologies, and consider career paths in research.

The two programs – UTEA and USRA – are harmonized as much as possible to ensure a single application process for either award. Each student awardee must be supervised by an eligible faculty member, and applications are submitted to the Division at which the supervising faculty member holds their primary academic appointment.

Note: The Division of Engineering Science administers its own awards. Contact the Division for more information.

Eligibility for Students 

Citizenship Status

• Must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
• International students with a valid summer work‑term study permit are also eligible.
• Note: We encourage Canadian/Permanent Resident students who are working with ECE professors to apply for the NSERC USRA instead of the UTEA.

Work Requirements

• Must commit to 14 weeks of full‑time work in the summer between May 1^st and September 30^th.

Number of Awards

• Maximum one UTEA per year.
• Maximum three UTEAs total during your university studies, with priority given to first-time applicants.

Academic Registration

• Must be registered in a bachelor’s degree program at the University of Toronto at the time of application and in at least one of the two terms immediately before holding the award.
• Graduating (i.e. 4th year) students may hold an award in the summer term immediately following the completion of their undergraduate program, as long as they have not started a graduate program.
• Students pursuing a second bachelor’s degree are eligible.
• Ineligible if currently enrolled in an undergraduate professional degree program (i.e. M.D., D.D.S., B.Sc.N.)
• Ineligible if you hold higher degree above Bachelor’s

Student Registration Status

• Must be registered full-time in a U of T bachelor’s program in NSE, SSH, or HLS at the time of application.
• Priority given to second- and third-year students and first-time applicants.
• First‑year students are eligible; TrackOne students should apply through their intended Year 2 department (or PI’s department if different).
• Must have been full-time at U of T from the start of your program (exception: final term may be part-time if needed to complete degree).
• If you have graduated, the UTEA must be held immediately in the term following your final session and before starting any graduate program.
• PEY Co-op students are NOT eligible for this award.

Academic Standing

• Must have obtained a cumulative average of B‑ (2.7) or higher. Exception letters may be considered.
• For third- and fourth-year students, the average may be based on your best two academic years.

Course Load During UTEA

• Allowed to take up to 2 courses (0.5 FCE per summer term) with supervisor approval.
• Must make up work hours if classes conflict with UTEA hours.
• UTEA duties take priority; students may need to drop a course if workload becomes too heavy.

Academic Credit

• UTEA projects do not carry academic credit.

UTEA Restrictions

• May be nominated by only one department and one supervisor.
• Cannot apply for both an NSE, SSH or HLS UTEAs in the same year.
• Cannot hold a UTEA concurrently with an NSERC USRA.

A supervisor may support a maximum of two UTEA applications.

A supervisor must be:

• A full-time faculty member:
  • For UTEA: whose primary employer is the University of Toronto (i.e. campus-based)

• A principal investigator (PI) on an active Tri-agency grant or has a pending/recent Tri-agency application at the time of UTEA/USRA application.

To be eligible, a supervisor must hold an active NSERC or SSHRC research grant (either as the principal investigator or co-investigator) while their student holds the UTEA award. An exception is made if the supervisor is actively seeking funding — that is, the supervisor has submitted an application to an eligible NSERC or SSHRC program as defined by the UTEA guidelines (see below) — and the results are pending.

A member of U of T faculty who holds exclusively NSERC Research Tools and Instruments, Canada Research Chairs, Canada Excellence Research Chairs or Infrastructure Grants are not eligible.

For complete details, please see here.

How to Apply  

For the UTEA (NSE), applications will be collected by the Vice-Dean Undergraduate Office and adjudicated by the department.

For the UTEA (SSH or HLS), applications will be collected and adjudicated by the Vice Dean Undergraduate Office on a faculty-wide basis.

To apply for a UTEA, you must create an application package that consists of:

1. A completed 2026 UTEA Application Form
   • Part I: Student Profile
   • Part II: Proposed Supervisor and Research Project

2. Combine the following into the application package as a single PDF with the following naming convention: "LastName, FirstName – UTEA.pdf" (file size under 10 MB only). Please include:

• Your completed UTEA Application Form (Part I [student profile] and Part II [proposed supervisor and research project])
• Unofficial ACORN Academic History (with your name visible on the print-out)

3. Complete the Application Submission Form by Monday, February 23, 2026. Please upload your entire application package you created in the previous step.

After Applying

Your application will be reviewed both for eligibility and by a divisional expert committee. Evaluative criteria include: the quality of the research project, the student’s academic excellence, clear learning outcomes, and the degree of supervisor engagement.

Award decisions will be sent in April, with expected May start dates.

Contact

If you have general questions or require additional information about the UTEA program, please contact Samantha Clarizio at undergraduate.research@utoronto.ca.