Program Link: https://students.ubc.ca/career/undergraduate-student-research-awards-nserc-cihr-sshrc/
Sponsor: The Tri-Agencies: NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council), CIHR (Canadian Institutes of Health Research), and SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council)
Value: $6,000, plus a faculty member funded top-up to create a minimum 4-month stipend of $13,977.60
Description:
Special note: The Faculty of Education’s School of Kinesiology has its own USRA allocation, conditions, and application process. Students who wish to work with faculty in the School should refer to the UBC USRA website for instructions on KIN’s application process (to be posted in early 2026): https://students.ubc.ca/career/undergraduate-student-research-awards-nserc-cihr-sshrc/usra-faculty-school-application-details/
The deadlines and process below pertain to students who wish to work with non-Kinesiology faculty in the Faculty of Education.
USRA Program Objectives
To 1) nurture interest by undergraduate students in developing their potential for a research career in health, natural sciences, engineering, social sciences or humanities, and, 2) to encourage them to undertake graduate studies by providing research work experience that complements their studies in an academic setting.
Award Value and Top-Up Requirement
The USRA award is $6,000 and participating faculty are expected to top up the award to reflect the Faculty of Education’s minimum recommended pay rate for undergraduate RAs, which is $24/hour. As students are expected to work 35 hours per week over a 16-week term, the $6,000 award must be topped up by faculty to a stipend valued at a minimum $13,977.60 (which includes 4% benefits).
Award Term
USRAs can be held for 16-week terms starting either May 2026, Sept 2026 or Jan 2027. Undergraduate student participants typically do not take classes during the work term.
Student Eligibility
Prospective student applicants should refer to the UBC USRA website to understand eligibility requirements and expectations during the research term. https://students.ubc.ca/career/undergraduate-student-research-awards-nserc-cihr-sshrc/usra-eligibility-requirements/
Faculty Eligibility
Open to all tenured and tenure-track Education faculty outside the School of Kinesiology (which has it’s own USRA allocation and process).
Individual Agency USRA Allocation and Eligibility Conditions
SSHRC and CIHR
SSHRC and CIHR have mandated that, at the present time, USRAs are available exclusively to Black student researchers. To be considered eligible student researchers must self-identify as Black in the application. This requirement reflects the Federal Government’s 2022 commitment to provide additional funding to support Black student and postdoctoral researchers.
While UBC has a limited number of Black student research awards to which it may apply, undergraduate students that identify and Black are encouraged to apply to the program.
NSERC
There is only one NSERC USRA award available in the Faculty for students who do not identify as Black or Indigenous who wish to do NSERC-related research. This single award allocation is exchanged back and forth every year between the Faculty of Education at UBC-V and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at UBC-O. 2026 is the Faculty of Education’s year to hold the award. In the event that there is more than one NSERC USRA application submitted that falls into this category, the applications will be adjudicated in order to identify the single candidate.
There are no limits on the number of Indigenous student NSERC USRA applications that the Faculty of Education may submit to UBC. NSERC encourages qualified Black and Indigenous students to apply for this award and specific award pathways have been established for Black and Indigenous students. Please visit UBC’s USRA site for more information on pathways for Black and Indigenous student researchers.
The Process
Undergraduate students should contact a faculty member with whom they’d like to work to express their interest in having a USRA work experience. The faculty member can then decide if this is something that they wish to do, and, if they wish to move ahead, they can work with the student to set the objectives and develop the methods for the project. Faculty may already have an undergraduate student candidates in mind. A one-page Letter of Intent (LOI) is then submitted to the Faculty of Education’s Office of Research in Education by the faculty member that includes a confirmation that they are interested is supervising a USRA student and an outline of the project. The LOI will be checked by ORE to ensure that the project aligned with the intended agency’s subject matter eligibility. With ORE’s go-ahead, full proposals are then developed. NSERC proposals for students who do not identify as Black or Indigenous may also be subject to internal selection through ORE (see NSERC above).
Application Deadlines
Deadlines for applicants to have all their forms completed online through the NSERC portal so proposal may be checked by UBC: March 20, 2026.
February 9, 2026 (Monday)
- The participating faculty member submits a 1-page Notice of Intent to Robert Olaj, which includes:
- The student’s name, home Faculty, undergraduate program and GPA
- Confirmation they are Canadian citizen or permanent resident
- A brief overview of the planed research project, including the 4-month term (starting May, September, of January)
- A description of how the proposal fits within the respective Tri-Agency’s mandate and subject matter eligibility (SME) guidelines.
- A statement noting whether the student identifies as Black or Indigenous.
February 17, 2026 (Tuesday)
NOIs will undergo initial evaluation for the eligibility of the student and subject matter within the respective Tri-Agency. The faculty supervisor will be informed of the decision.
March 4, 2026 (Wednesday)
- Full applications, available on NSERC’s USRA site, submitted to Robert Olaj in the Faculty’s Office of Research in Education (ORE).
- Applications are reviewed by a small ad hoc committee for eligibility criteria: https://students.ubc.ca/career/undergraduate-student-research-awards-nserc-cihr-sshrc/usra-eligibility-requirements/
- Applications will be evaluated to create A and B lists. Evaluation criteria are: Academic excellence of the candidate, research potential, and quality of the research experience.
- For NSERC USRA applicants who do not identify as Black or Indigenous, a decision will be made by an adjudication committee on which single application will be able to move forward to UBC, should there be more than one applicant to this category.
- For SSHRC or CIHR USRA applicants, all applications will be forwarded to the University assuming eligibility criteria are met (e.g., the student researcher self-identifies as Black; the research falls within the specific agency’s subject matter eligibility guidelines).
March 20, 2026 (Friday): Full applications are completed online and are ready to be reviewed by UBC.
For more information, please contact Robert Olaj, Director, Research Development, in the Faculty of Education’s Office of Research in Education (ORE) robert.olaj@ubc.ca