- Admission
- Programs
- Learning
- Community
- About
- Research
- Research Priorities
- Strategic Research Plan
- Implementation Plan
- Supporting Health and Wellness of Individuals, Populations and Communities
- Expanding the foundations of knowledge and understanding our origins
- Strengthening Democracy, Justice, Equity and Education
- Supporting Research Graduate Students
- Supporting Postdoctoral Fellows
- Valuing and Measuring Scholarly Impact
- Incorporating Indigenous Perspectives into Research Ethics
- Building World-Class Research Space and Infrastructure
- Involving Undergraduate Students in Research
- Supporting Early-Career Researchers (Faculty)
- Funding Research Chairs
- Reducing Administrative barriers to Research
- Transforming industry and economies through technology, management and policy
- Implementation Plan
- Performance & Excellence
- Innovation
- Knowledge Mobilization
- Researcher Resources north_east
- Institutes, Centres & Facilities
- Leadership & Departments
- Dashboard
- Campuses
- Contact Us
- Emergency
Undergraduate Student Research Awards
VPRI Social Science and Humanities USRA
The Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to participate in a paid research project in their field of interest, supervised by a university professor.
On either a full time or a part time basis, undergraduate students have the opportunity to work for a period of 16 weeks (one semester) in a graduate level research capacity. Research must be done under the guidance of a supervisor. Together, the student researcher and their supervisor will submit a joint application to the office of the Vice President of Research and Innovation at SFU (VPRI).
Award Value and Duration
Full-Time USRAs
Duration: 16 weeks, 35 hours per week
Award Portion: $6,000
This USRA is derived from two sources; the 'award' portion and a Faculty supplement. The award portion and the faculty supplement that you receive, before benefit deductions, will not be less than minimum wage.
USRA payments are considered employment income. Visit this page for more information.
Part-Time USRAs
Duration: 16 weeks, 17.5 hours per week
Award Portion: $3,000
This USRA is derived from two sources; the 'award' portion and a Faculty supplement. The award portion and the faculty supplement that you receive, before benefit deductions, will not be less than minimum wage.
USRA payments are considered employment income. Visit this page for more information.
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for a VPRI Social Science and Humanities USRA students must:
- Be registered in a Bachelor's degree program at SFU. Both domestic and international students are eligible to apply
- Have obtained a GPA of at least 2.67 or a B- average
- Have completed at least two academic terms of a bachelor's degree
- Will not be enrolled in a thesis course during the USRA term
- Will have been registered in at least one of the two terms immediately before the term they will hold the award
- Have not completed their undergraduate degree
- Have not started a graduate studies program, including a concurrent program
- Have not held more than two USRAs (note: only one USRA is allowed per fiscal year April 1-March 31)
VPRI USRA
| Citizenship | Eligibility | ||
| CDN/PR | International | SFU Student | Non SFU Student |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Application Procedure
- Review the eligibility requirments
- Contact the supervisor you wish to hold the award with and your department representative
- Submit the VPRI USRA application form and transcripts directly to the undergraduate research coordinator ugradres@sfu.ca by March 15, 2026. Applications may be accepted after the deadline if there are remaining awards available.
Award offers/updates are typically emailed within two weeks of submitting your application. Please note that this is a general overview and some application procedures may vary by department.
CIHR & SSHRC USRA
The Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to participate in a paid research project in their field of interest, supervised by a university professor.
Presently, CIHR and SSHRC USRAs are exclusively for Black student researchers.
Award Value and Duration
Full-Time USRAs
Duration: 16 weeks, 35 hours per week
Award Portion: $6,000
This USRA is derived from two sources; the 'award' portion and a Faculty supplement. The award portion and the faculty supplement that you receive, before benefit deductions, will not be less than minimum wage.
USRA payments are considered employment income. Visit this page for more information.
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for a Tri-Agency (CIHR & SSHRC) USRA students must:
- Be reigistered in a Bachelor's degree program at an eligible instituition
- Identify as a Black student and be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
- Have obtained a GPA of at least 2.67 or a B- average
- Have completed at least two academic terms of a bachelor's degree
- Will not be enrolled in a thesis course during the USRA term
- Will have been registered in at least one of the two terms immediately before the term they will hold the award
- Have not completed their undergraduate degree
- Have not started a graduate studies program, including a concurrent program
- Have not held more than two USRAs (note: only one USRA is allowed per fiscal year April 1-March 31)
CIHR and SSHRC USRAs
| Citizenship | Eligibility | ||
| CDN/PR | International | SFU Student | Non SFU Student |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Application Procedure
- Contact your department representative for specific application details and ugradres@sfu.ca
- Create an NSERC E-Console account
- Complete form 202
- Supervisor completes form 202 part II
- Once completed, notify department and undergraduate research coordinator (ugradres@sfu.ca) before March 15, 2026.
For more information
If you have any questions about the USRAs, please contact the undergraduate research coordinator ugradres@sfu.ca.
Please note that departments have varying processes for USRA applications. Please reach out to your department contact for details on departmental deadlines and procedures.