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NSERC, CIHR & SSHRC Undergraduate Summer Research Award (USRA)

Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRAs) are meant to nurture your interest and fully develop your potential for a research career in health, natural sciences, engineering, social sciences or humanities. These awards are also meant to encourage you to undertake graduate studies by providing research work experience that complements your studies in an academic setting. 

*The following information pertains to the Tri-Council Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) Program for 2026, which is a separate competition from the Western-led USRI program.

The duration of the USRA award is 14 to 16 weeks on a full-time basis.

The Tri-Agency provides a stipend of $6,000 per award. This must be supplemented by a minimum supervisor top-up of $3,856.

The selection process is done by the institution based on the following three criteria:

  • Academic record;
  • Research aptitude; and
  • Expected quality of the training to be received

Tri-Agency support for underrepresented groups: Black student researchers funding

For NSERC USRAs:

  • New policy for NSERC Black student scholars: NSERC provides supplementary allocations for additional awards for Black student scholars.
  • NSERC has confirmed a supplementary allocation of 8 Awards for Black student researchers at Western.
  • All Faculties will be invited to submit their top three candidates for the NSERC Black student USRAs.
  • As with our prior allocations, the final selection will be determined centrally via a lottery process.
  • Note: The supplementary allocation for Black student researchers is not a limit. There is no limit on the number of Black student researchers that can be offered an award within an institution’s allocation. NSERC expects institutions to use their awards allocations to support applicants from all underrepresented groups, including Black student researchers.
  • NSERC USRAs for Indigenous student will not count towards Western’s allocation. Students will be asked to self-identify in the NSERC portal.

For CIHR and SSHRC USRAs (exclusively for Black student scholars):

  • CIHR and SSHRC USRAs are exclusively for Black student scholars who meet the program eligibility requirements under the supervision of a research-eligible supervisor in any faculty.
  • Western has been allocated 4 CIHR USRAs and 4 SSHRC USRAs.
  • All Faculties will be invited to submit their top three candidates each for the CIHR USRA and SSHRC USRA awards.
  • The proposed research project must align with that specific Agency mandate.
  • As with our prior allocations, final selection will be determined centrally via a lottery process.

Eligibility

NSERC requires that students be registered in a Bachelor’s degree program at an eligible university in at least one of the 2 terms immediately previous to the award. Therefore, undergraduate students who wish to hold an NSERC USRA in the Summer of 2026 must have been registered students in either Fall 2025 or Winter 2026, or both. Please visit the NSERC USRA overview page (see link below under "Resources") for details on student eligibility.

Indigenous and Black student scholars applicants

For NSERC only
Institutions may continue recommending applications from self-identified Indigenous students beyond their allocation of awards.

New policy for Black student researchers: NSERC provides supplementary allocations for additional awards for Black student researchers.

Indigenous and black student researchers who are recommended for the USRA awards must self-identify and provide consent within the application form for this information to be shared with Western and NSERC. If this is not indicated on the NSERC form, they will be counted as part of the institution’s quota. NSERC will not accept replacement applications.

For CIHR and SSHRC
At the present time, CIHR and SSHRC USRAs are exclusively for Black student researchers. To be eligible to apply for these awards, applicants are asked to disclose within the application form that they self-identify as Black and to confirm that they understand that this information will be shared with the institution to which they are applying and, if awarded, publicly.

Key Application Details

A Western student can upload: 
  • an official transcript (optional), or
  • a copy of the most current ‘Academic Record’, accurate to Dec. 31, 2025

Western students must request the Academic Record from their Faculty/department; they cannot access it themselves. NSERC provides more details on transcripts in “Instructions for completing an application – Form 202”.

(N.B. you can't access the Academic Record on your own; transcripts such as those printed from a student's account do not meet NSERC's requirements as there is insufficient identifying information.)

Every student must be working under the supervision of a research-eligible faculty member who can oversee the project and obtain applicable certification approvals. Supervisors can hold grants from NSERC, CIHR or SSHRC, provided the research proposed for the USRA project falls within the selected agency’s mandate.

Faculty supervisors are responsible for communicating clear expectations and guidance on the research project, including required training, anticipated outcomes, and outlining hours per week. 

The deadline to apply for a CIHR and SSHRC USRA is Monday, February 16 at 11:59 PM.

The deadline to apply for an NSERC USRA is Monday, February 23 at 11:59 PM.

Submission process: Complete applications must be sent to Lelanya Milley before the listed deadline dates. Due to the competative nature of the program, late or incomplete applications will not be accepted. 

All vetted applications must be finalized and submitted using NSERC’s Online System. For reference, Form 202 and its instructions are available as PDF documents.

Regardless of the granting agency, students must create their application using the NSERC online system and must select the agency whose mandate aligns best with their field of research (NSERC - natural sciences and engineering, CIHR - health, SSHRC - social sciences and humanities).

NSERC is acting on the evidence that achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is essential to creating the excellent, innovative and impactful research necessary to advance knowledge and understanding, and to respond to local, national and global challenges. This principle informs the commitments described in the Tri-agency statement on equity, diversity and inclusion.

NSERC is in the process of integrating sex, gender and diversity considerations into its evaluation criteria. Our community will be informed of changes and effective dates in advance of application deadlines. Applicants should refer to the following for more information:

Considering equity, diversity and inclusion in your application

For general USRA program information, please contact socsci-researchofficers@uwo.ca