If you are an undergraduate student and you would like to get research experience in an academic setting, consider applying for an Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) administered by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
Through this award, eligible professors receive a subsidy to hire students to work on interesting research-related jobs and projects 16 weeks of research over the Summer 2023 term.
Please note awards made to self-identified Indigenous and Black students are in addition to the department's allocation.
Please review the list of available research projects and potential faculty supervisors at the bottom of this page.
Duration: 16 consecutive weeks
Value of the award: Each award is $6000 NSERC (USRA) + a minimum of $1500 provided by the NSERC grant holder (supervisor).
Application Deadline: March 31, 2023
Application instructions:
Review the list of potential supervisors and their research projects at the bottom of this page.
Review the USRA Application Checklist. n.b. There are separate sections for students and faculty supervisors to complete.
Register for an account at NSERC's online system
Follow the instructions online on how to complete the forms. View additional resources:
Online Application Portal for Faculty Supervisors and Student Applicants
NSERC USRA Instructions for Completing Form 202
NSERC USRA Program Application Tutorial
You must also upload, with your application form, a copy of your official transcripts, including a copy of the grade legend on the last or back page.
Once completed online, scan a copy of both Part I and Part II forms, as well as your transcript to submit electronically to the Department of Physical and Environmental Science for review.
Submit completed application package to:
Attn: Rose Jones, Assistant to the Chair
dpes-undergrad.utsc@utoronto.ca
2023 Potential NSERC USRA Faculty Supervisors & Research Projects
- Swarms of Earthquakes in the Atlantic Ocean: when, where, and why? Please contact Prof. Phil Heron at philip.heron@utoronto.ca
- Investigating heat loss from the Earth's core using numerical thermochemical models of mantle convection. Please contact Prof. Julian Lowman at julian.lowman@utoronto.ca
- Quantum computing for simulating quantum chemistry. Please contact Prof. Artur Izmaylov at artur.izmaylov@utoronto.ca
- Levels of organophosphate triesters in the Qanuilirpitaa 2017 health survey: comparison with the general Canadian population. Please contact Prof. Elyse Caron-Beaudoin at elyse.caronbeaudoin@utoronto.ca
- Assessing differences in bacterial evolution to changing temperatures. Please contact Prof. Terrence Bell at terrence.bell@utoronto.ca
- Estimating live and dead wood carbon dynamics in Ontario’s forests. Please contact Prof. Adam Martin at adam.martin@utoronto.ca
- The physiological basis of grapevine responses to climate extremes. Please contact Prof. Adam Martin at adam.martin@utoronto.ca
- Tracing Transboundary Flows of Trade-Embodied Emissions of, and Exposures to, Commercial Organic Chemicals Along Global Supply Chain. Please contact Prof. Frank Wania at frank.wania@utoronto.ca
- LiDAR mapping of glaciated terrains across Southern Ontario: towards a new Glacial Map of Canada.Please contact Prof. Nicholas Eyles at nicholas.eyles@utoronto.ca
- Connecting the dots in databases of endangered species: Development of a modelling framework for Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Please contact Prof. George Arhonditsis at george.arhonditsis@utoronto.ca
- How does long-term warming of a forest change the environmental chemistry of soil? The candidate will work with a PhD student to study specific compounds in soil to determine how the chemistry of the soil is impacted by 18 years of warming in the Harvard Forest. The candidate will be involved in the isolation of specific compounds and then use gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry to identify and quantify isolated compounds. The candidate will be included in the scientific publication of this research later in 2023. More information about the MSimpsonLab: http://individual.utoronto.ca/msimpsonlab/ and contact Prof. M. Simpson for more details at: myrna.simpson@utoronto.ca
- How do long-term changes in land management and litter deposition change the environmental chemistry of soil? The candidate will work with a PhD student to study specific compounds in soil to determine how the chemistry of the soil is impacted by 50+ years of land management methods. The candidate will be involved in the isolation of specific compounds and then use gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry to identify and quantify isolated compounds. The candidate will be included in the scientific publication of this research in 2024. More information about the MSimpsonLab: http://individual.utoronto.ca/msimpsonlab/ and contact Prof. M. Simpson for more details at: myrna.simpson@utoronto.ca