¶¡ÏãÔ°AV

Undergraduate Student research awards (USRA)

1. Check that you meet the eligibility criteria.
2. Determine which type of USRA you should apply for:
   1. Canadian citizen or permanent residents should apply for the NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award
      See full eligibility requirements on   
      
   2. International Students should apply for the ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV VPR Sciences Undergraduate Student Research Award
      For more information see ‘Choosing USRA’ summary
3. Interested and eligible students should contact the proposed supervisor to discuss research projects.

Students may take a maximum of 2 courses while holding a USRA.

NSERC USRA

Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents should apply to the NSERC USRA (not the VPR USRA).  Eligible ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV students who apply for an NSERC USRA and are not offered an award will automatically be considered for a VPR USRA Sciences award.

NSERC USRA APPLICATION PROCEDURE

1. Fill out  on-line, including uploading copies of your transcripts (¶¡ÏãÔ°AV students can provide unofficial transcripts, non-¶¡ÏãÔ°AV students must provide official transcripts)
   1. When you submit your application, the system will generate a reference number.  Provide this reference number to your proposed supervisor.
   2. Print a copy (or save pdf) of your application.
2. Ask your proposed project supervisor to complete of the online application using the reference number you provided.
   1. Please ask your proposed supervisor to send you a copy of the completed part 2.
3. Navigate to the *:
   1. Select: ‘NSERC USRA’ from the list of awards.  If the award is not listed ithe competition is currently closed.
   2. Enter your contact information.
   3. Upload a copy of your complete application which includes a copy of the following (combined as a single pdf):
                      i.     Form 202, Part 1
                     ii.     Form 202, Part 2
                    iii.     A current transcript
   4. Since a reference letter is not required, for the referee please enter your supervisor’s last name but instead of their email address please enter biscugra@sfu.ca.  When you finalize this step, you will receive a system-generated email that is sent to you and biscugra@sfu.ca.  You can ignore this email.  NOTE: If the supervisor prefers to provide Form 200, Part 2 directly to Dept. use their email address (instead of biscugra@sfu.ca) and when they receive the system-generated email they will then need use the link provided to upload Form 202, part 2.
      

*Non-¶¡ÏãÔ°AV students should contact biscugra@sfu.ca at least several days in advance of the application deadline to request a lightweight computing account.  The lightweight account will allow you to access the Biology Undergraduate Scholarship Application Site.

Please ensure your application is submitted via the NSERC portal and a copy is uploaded to the Biology Scholarship Application Site by the application deadline.

VPR USRA APPLICATION PROCEDURE

1. Complete the following sections on the VPR-USRA Application form (found on the Dean of Graduate Studies' VPR USRA Page):
   1. Applicant Information
   2. Award Information
   3. Academic Background (attach current unofficial transcript)
   4. Signature of Student
2.  Ask your proposed project supervisor to complete the second half of the VPR application form and return the completed form to you.
3. Navigate to the :
   1. Select: ‘VPR USRA’ from the list of awards. If the award is not listed ithe competition is currently closed.
   2. Enter your contact information.
   3. Upload a copy of your application which includes a copy of the following (combined as a single pdf):
                i.    VPR USRA Application form (both pages complete/signed)
               ii.    A current transcript
   4. Since a reference letter is not required, for the referee please enter your supervisor’s last name but instead of their email address please enter biscugra@sfu.ca.  When you finalize this step, you will receive a system-generated email that is sent to you and biscugra@sfu.ca.  You can ignore this email.  NOTE: If the supervisor prefers to provide page 2 directly to Dept. use their email address (instead of biscugra@sfu.ca) and when they receive the system-generated email they will then need use the link provided to upload page 2.