• Be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada
• Have completed a minimum of two terms at the time of application and by the start of the USRA term in May
• Have a cumulative average of at least a B-. For reference, please see the U of T Grading Scale for undergraduates.
• Available to conduct research for 40 hours per week for 16 consecutive weeks during the summer

For a full listing of eligibility requirements, please visit the NSERC USRA website.

2025 competition information will be availably early February.

• You must use NSERC Online Services to complete your part of the form (Part I). When you register, you will be given a reference number that you pass on to your supervising professor. Your supervisor will use that number to access and complete their part of the form (Part II).
• Under “Name of discipline,” please enter your undergraduate program of study (e.g., Biodiversity and Conservation Biology; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Environmental Biology, etc.). Under “Department,” please enter the name of the department that sponsors the program you are enrolled in (i.e. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology). Do not put the Faculty of Arts and Science under “Department.”
• It is your responsibility to complete Part I and your supervising professor to complete Part II. When both parts are completed, the supervisor can verify the forms, but they should NOT “Submit to LO” yet.
• The most recent academic history report from ACORN is an acceptable form of a transcript and can be uploaded to the NSERC Online system and included in your application package.
• Digital signatures are accepted.
• Institutions are permitted to recommend an unlimited number of self-identified Indigenous and Black student researchers to the USRA program, above award quota. To be considered for this, Indigenous and Black student researchers must provide consent within their application form to share this information with their institutions and NSERC. These applicants will granted an NSERC USRA given they meet the eligibility requirements. If you are applying as a black student researcher or indigenous student researcher, please let us know when you email in your application package.
• It is highly recommended that you review the Program Guidelines and Application Procedures prepared by U of T Research Services to ensure your application is complete.

• Priority is given to U of T St. George students.
• Students in their second, third or fourth year of study are eligible. However, it is recognized that students in their second year have other chances to apply, and this is the last chance for a student in their final year.
• Please note that cGPA is not the only criterion used in selection. Therefore, if your marks are high enough to be eligible and you feel positive about other selection criteria, do not hesitate to apply.
• Applicants who have held a previous NSERC USRA receive lower priority.
• A maximum of two applications per lab will be accepted. The sponsoring researcher will be asked to rank both applicants. The second-ranked applicant receives lower priority.
• Keep in mind that the applicant pool varies from year to year and the outcome varies as well. Therefore, if you are interested and eligible, please apply.
• In order to have more to base a decision on, we ask each student to write a Letter of Intent. This is where you can inform the committee about why you want this award, your academic interests, and how this award will benefit your career goals. This is to be written by you alone, not in collaboration with your supervising professor.