The 2023 NSERC USRA Program

Each year the Department of Medicine receives an allotment of NSERC Undergraduate Summer Research Awards (USRA) from the Office of Research Services. The NSERC USRA provides undergraduate students the opportunity to work in a research lab during the summer. Details of the program, including eligibility can be found on this website.

NSERC eligibility rules for supervisors have changed. Since 2020, supervisors are no longer required to hold an active grant when applying to supervise a USRA student. There are no restrictions on who can supervise a USRA student, provided the university deems the Queen’s faculty member eligible to supervise students, but our committee will only consider applications from supervisors with appointments in the Department of Medicine. You will find a listing of DOM Faculty and their research interests on the following page: Department of Medicine Faculty

NSERC has increased the value of the award for 2023 to a minimum of $9800.00 (from $6,000). The supervisor must still contribute a minimum of 25% to the award value.

As part of the 2023 pilot Undergraduate Research Grant Program, the VPR will provide an additional top-up to each award to increase the salary rate to $17.50 per hour. However, the minimum supervisor contribution will remain as calculated to meet minimum wage requirements.  Please note an additional 4% vacation pay will be applied to the base salary/hourly rate entered for the contract for employees with less than five years of employment (if five or more years, different rules may apply). 

Typically, USRA award recipients are expected to work full time (35 hours per week) for 16 weeks (from May 1 to August 31). Awards may not be deferred. 

NSERC will honour the full value of the award regardless of the length of the work term. A minimum supplement from the supervisor of at least 25% of the value of the award is still required.

Funding Details:

 Typically, USRA award recipients are expected to work full time (35 hours per week) for 16 consecutive weeks (May 1 to August 31). Furthermore, provincial minimum wage requirements must be adhered to.  The current minimum wage is $15.50 per hour which became effective October 1, 2022.  As part of the 2023 pilot Undergraduate Research Grant Program, the VPR will provide an additional top-up to each award to increase the salary rate to $17.50 per hour. However, the minimum supervisor contribution will remain as calculated to meet minimum wage requirements. As such, students should be paid a minimum of $17.50 per hour x 35 hours x 16 weeks, for a total of $9800.00.

 Please note an additional 4% vacation pay will be applied to the base salary/hourly rate entered for the contract for employees with less than five years of employment (if five or more years, different rules may apply).  For example, contracts processed using the minimum base salary of $9800.00 will have an additional $392.00 in vacation pay applied to the contract, plus fringe benefits, calculated as follows:

 $17.50/hour x 35 hours x 16 weeks = $9800.00 + $392.00 = $10,192.00 + fringe benefits

 As long as all criteria have been met, NSERC will provide a $6,000 award per student, however the Supervisor is responsible for covering the remaining $3,072.00 ($10,192.00 less the NSERC award of $6,000.00 and the VPR top-up of $1120.00), plus all required fringe benefits. They may choose to pay their NSERC USRA students more than the minimum requirement.

 For NSERC USRAs: Institutions may recommend applications from self-identified Black student researchers for USRA’s beyond their allocations of awards (akin to the current process already in place for Indigenous students).

NSERC recommends that applications are evaluated by the following criteria:

• Academic record of the applicant
• Research aptitude of the applicant
• Expected quality of the training to be received; may include suitability of supervision and research environment.

To maintain an efficient, fair, transparent, and equitable process to both the applicants and the sponsoring principal investigators, the following guidelines are provided:

Eligibility

Please view the NSERC website for information regarding eligibility, the application form, and instructions.

 Application Process

1. Eligible students are first required to find a principal investigator who will sponsor their NSERC USRA application.
2. Eligible principal investigators (i.e., DOM faculty) can only sponsor one student applicant per year.
3. The NSERC USRA website includes general information for students and fellows regarding the application process .

Students:

1. Complete NSERC Form 202 – Part I
2. Generate a pdf of an up-to-dateunofficial transcript (if you are a Queen’s student).
3. Briefly describe laboratory/research experience and future research-based goals (1-page maximum including 1-inch margins and 12-point font).

Sponsoring Principal Investigator: 

1. Complete NSERC Form 202 – Part II  and submit online and download a copy to include in your pdf to our office.
2. For the Description of the Project in Part II, please be sure to write for non-experts, clearly define abbreviations, limit jargon, and clearly state a scientific rationale and hypothesis.
3. Provide details of all current operating funding for the host lab (i.e., title, agency, amount/year; 1-page maximum with 1-inch margins and 12-point font). Details of non-operating grants (e.g., NSERC RTI or CFI) are not required.  Please enter all number 9's for the grant number for the online application. 
4. The deadline for submitting an electronic copy of the full application package to Salwa Nihal email: snc1@queensu.ca is Tuesday March 7, 2023, by 4 pm.

Evaluation Criteria

The following criteria will be considered when evaluating and ranking the applications:

1. Academic excellence of the student applicant.
2. Home institution of student applicant (i.e., Queen’s or external).
3. Laboratory/research-related experience and career goals of student applicant.
4. Proposed Project.
5. Currently held funding by host lab (i.e., NSERC funding relative to other sources of research-based operating funds).

*Incomplete applications or those for which guidelines have not been followed will not be considered.

Review Committee

The review committee will be comprised of three DOM members who will review and rank the applications, one of which will chair the review committee.

 How to Apply

NSERC has prepared tutorial videos to summarize the process of applying for a funding opportunity.

These videos provide an overview and general guidance only. For more detailed information, read the appropriate sections in the individual description and specific instructions for the program to which you are applying.

• Tutorial Videos
• Apply online 

Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Competition

The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program is designed to support world-class postdoctoral researchers. The fellowship provides $70,000 per year for two years. The program is open to both Canadian and international researchers who have recently completed a PhD, PhD- equivalent, or health professional degree. Applications must be completed in full collaboration with the proposed host institution.

Please note that Queen's University has its own Banting Internal Procedures. Please click here for more information.

For more information on the program and how to apply, click here. Questions can be sent by email to Banting@researchnet-recherchenet.ca

 The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships program is designed to support world-class students pursuing doctoral degrees at Canadian universities. The scholarship awards $50,000 per year for three years. The program is open to both Canadian and international students. Students must be nominated by the Canadian university at which they plan to study.

For more information on the program and how to apply, click here. Questions can be sent by email to vanier@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

The Office of Research Services (ORS) is a valuable source of information about funding opportunities. Researchers are encouraged to join the Funding Opportunities listserve so they receive timely notices about funding news and opportunities - http://www.queensu.ca/urs/find-funding/funding-opportunity-listserv

ORS Funding Databases

SEAMO Medical Education Development Program

SEAMO AHSC AFP Innovation Fund

CTAQ Endowment Fund

PSI Foundation Funding Programs

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Tri-Council Policy re: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans

CIHR Funding Opportunity Database