Research opportunities
Research opportunities at Canadian universities
At Canadian universities, undergraduate research usually starts with an email to a professor. Even the best-known paid route, the Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA), needs a professor to agree to supervise you before you can apply. So the first step is the same everywhere: find the right professor and write to them.
- Universities covered
- 26 Canadian universities, UBC to Memorial
- Best-known award
- USRA, through NSERC, CIHR or SSHRC
- USRA length
- 14 to 16 weeks of full-time research
- When to email for summer
- Fall term, before winter deadlines
How USRA awards work
The USRA funds 14 to 16 weeks of full-time research, usually over the summer, though some universities also run fall or winter rounds. You apply through the university where you want to hold the award, together with a professor who has agreed to supervise you, and the university adds to the award's value. Each university sets its own internal deadline and number of awards, often in the winter term, so you need a supervisor lined up well before then.
To be eligible you need to be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person, have finished at least your first year of a bachelor's degree, and have a satisfactory average, which NSERC says is normally at least a B-. Some universities set a higher bar. Values and deadlines change, so check NSERC's USRA page and your university's research office for this year's details.
Health, social sciences and humanities
NSERC's USRA covers the natural sciences and engineering. CIHR and SSHRC also offer USRAs for health, social science and humanities research, but these are currently open only to students who self-identify as Black. Everyone else should look for summer research awards run by their university, studentships at hospital research institutes affiliated with it, and positions paid from a professor's own grant. All of these still start with a professor who wants you in their group.
Writing to professors in Quebec
At Université Laval, Université de Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke, UQAM and Polytechnique Montréal, many labs work in French day to day. If you can write in French, do. If you can't, a clear English email is usually fine for research-intensive labs; say you are happy to continue in either language.
Canadian universities in Prof Insider
Prof Insider's professor database currently includes these Canadian universities:
- University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, University of Victoria
- University of Alberta, University of Calgary, University of Saskatchewan, University of Manitoba
- University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, McMaster University, Western University, Queen's University, University of Ottawa, York University, Toronto Metropolitan University, Carleton University, University of Guelph
- McGill University, Concordia University, Université de Montréal, Université Laval, Université de Sherbrooke, UQAM, Polytechnique Montréal
- Dalhousie University, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Example email to a professor
The names and papers are made up. Swap in your own details and a real paper from the professor's page.
Subject: USRA for summer 2027: your silicon anode research
Dear Professor Tremblay,
I'm a third-year chemical engineering student at [your university] and I'm hoping to apply for an NSERC USRA next summer (2027). Your group's recent paper on silicon anodes that swell less during charging stood out to me, because I spent my last co-op term assembling and testing coin cells.
I have a B+ average, which the award asks about, and hands-on electrochemical testing experience. I can work full time for 16 weeks from May to August.
Would you consider supervising a USRA application? Our internal deadline is in late January, so I'm glad to send my transcript and resume now or meet briefly this term.
Thank you, Alex Martin BASc Chemical Engineering, Year 3
Common questions
Can international students do research in Canada?
Yes, though not through the USRA, which requires citizenship, permanent residence or protected-person status. International students at a Canadian university can volunteer, take research courses for credit, or be paid from a professor's grant within their study permit's work rules. If you study outside Canada, Mitacs Globalink Research Internships place undergraduates from partner countries in Canadian labs for 12 weeks; they are not open to students already enrolled in Canada.
When should I contact professors about a USRA?
In the fall or very early in the winter term. Internal deadlines for summer awards are often in winter, and professors tend to commit to one or two students early. Check your university's research office for its exact date.
Do I have to email professors at my own university?
It is usually easiest, because you know the courses and can meet in person. Some universities accept visiting USRA students, so check the host university's rules if you want to work somewhere else for the summer.