Applications for the Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) are now open.

Administered by the federal government’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), USRA grants are meant to nurture students’ interests in, and fully develop their potential for, a research career in the natural sciences and engineering.

The grant program also aims to encourage undergrads to pursue graduate studies in those fields. NSERC and Brock University are encouraging qualified Indigenous students to apply for this award.

“This funding sets the stage for mentorship, where gifted researchers share and model fundamental research skills and knowledge with those starting their research journey,” says Brock’s Vice-President, Research Tim Kenyon.

“This opportunity gives undergraduate students valuable professional experience that can launch them into a career in natural sciences and engineering,” he says.

Many students have made great strides with their USRA grant.

For instance, Michael Finch (BSc ’20), along with senior graduate students, was able to publish an article in the Journal of Applied Physiology that reviewed an earlier paper. He and his team were supervised by Assistant Professor of Health Sciences Rebecca MacPherson.

The funding, valued at $6,000 plus supervisor contribution, provides 14 to 16 consecutive, full-time weeks of research employment that complements students’ undergraduate studies in an academic setting. There are 23 grants available in this year’s competition.

The application is a two-part process. Students fill out the USRA Application Form Part A. Supervisors fill out the USRA Application Form Part B. More details can be found in the USRA Applicant Guidelines for 2022-23.

The application deadline is Friday, Feb. 18 at 5 p.m. Recipients will be announced in March.

For more information or assistance, contact Research Officer Danusha Kalinga at dkalinga@brocku.ca