Winter Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) for Black and Indigenous Scholars

Winter Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) for Black and Indigenous Scholars 

Deadline – December 19, 2025 (complete form 202 via NSERC’s online system)

Program Overview

Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRAs) are meant to nurture interest and fully develop the potential of undergraduate students for a research career in health, natural sciences, engineering, social sciences or humanities. These awards are also meant to encourage undergraduate students to undertake graduate studies by providing research work experience that complements their studies in an academic setting. You are permitted to hold a USRA during a co-op placement.

The Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) program supports more than 3,000 students annually and is administered jointly by Canada’s three research granting agencies:

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

At the present time, Winter 2026 NSERC USRAs are available to student researchers at McMaster who self-identify as Indigenous on the application form, while Winter 2026 CIHR and SSHRC USRAs are exclusively for student researchers who self-identify as Black on the application form.

Number of awards available

There is no limit on the number of NSERC USRAs for Indigenous student researchers at McMaster. For Winter 2026, the remaining number of SSHRC USRAs available for Black student researchers at McMaster is three (3). There are no remaining CIHR USRAs available for Black student researchers as our allocation has been fully utilized following the summer competition.

If the number of applications for SSHRC USRAs submitted by Black student researchers at McMaster exceeds the remaining available allocation of three (3), an internal selection committee will be established. The committee will select the awardees based on academic excellence, research potential, and expected quality of the training and mentorship to be received

Value and duration of awards 

USRAs have a value of $6,000, and the host institution is required to supplement the award. The duration of the award is 14 to 16 weeks on a full-time basis (35 hrs/wk, e.g. co-op placement).

The agency’s contribution is paid directly to the host institution and is included in the funds that awardees receive.

The granting agencies will not reimburse the institution for any period during which you worked part time. No payment will be approved for any vacation leave awardees take during tenure of the award

Eligibility to apply 

To be eligible to apply for a Winter 2026 NSERC or SSHRC USRA, a student: 

must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada or a Protected Person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada), as of the deadline date for applications at the institution (September 1);

must be registered, as of the deadline date for applications at the institution (September 1), in a bachelor’s degree program at an eligible institution; 

must have obtained, over the previous years of study, a satisfactory cumulative average (normally at least B-); 

cannot be currently registered or have been previously registered, at any time, in a graduate program in the same field of study; 

• cannot have completed all degree requirements. However, applicants who already hold a bachelor’s degree and are studying toward a second bachelor’s degree are eligible to apply; 

• must not have already been awarded a USRA since April 1, 2025; and 

• must not have already been awarded three USRAs throughout their undergraduate career. 

Additional eligibility requirements for NSERC USRAs: 

• must self-identify as Black and/or Indigenous on the application form; and 

• cannot be currently enrolled in an undergraduate professional degree program in the health sciences (e.g., MD, DDS, BScN). 

Additional eligibility requirements for SSHRC USRAs:

• must self-identify as Black on the application form; and

• cannot be currently enrolled in an undergraduate professional degree program in the health sciences (e.g., MD, DDS, BScN).
  

Eligibility to hold an award

To be eligible to hold a Winter 2026 NSERC or SSHRC USRA, a student: 

• must have completed all the course requirements of at least the first year of study (or two academic terms) of their bachelor’s degree; 

must have been registered in a bachelor’s degree program at the time of application and in at least one of the two terms immediately before holding the award; must be employed full time (35 hrs/wk, e.g. co-op placement) in eligible research and development activities in their proposed field of research during tenure of the award; and cannot be registered in a graduate program.

Application procedure

Applications for the USRA program must be completed and submitted to the Canadian institution where the applicant wishes to hold the award through NSERC’s online system. More information about the application process can be found at Instructions for completing an Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) application – form 202. 

A student can apply to more than one institution. However, please note that it is the institution’s choice whether to accept candidates from other institutions.

Contact 

For researchers with project ideas who are searching for eligible students, please contact your Faculty for assistance. 

Below is the list of the faculty contact

For more information about the USRA program, please contact Corinne Vernon at vernonc@mcmaster.ca in ROADS.