This program provides an experiential learning opportunity for undergraduate students enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree program at Queen’s. It is intended to provide students with meaningful opportunities to engage in discovery-based learning and to develop research and presentation skills and is not limited to any one discipline.
Compensation and funding structure
Funding for up to 67 students across the institution will be available, with each fellowship supported by the Vice-Principal Research (VPR) and supervisor contributions. The fellowships are valued at $10,832.64 including vacation pay ($416.64) and other mandatory employer payroll deductions (approximately $1195.36). The hourly wage is $18.60 per hour. Fellowships will be distributed by Queen’s payroll in four equal installments on the last day of May, June, July and August.
VPR contributions are meant to offset a portion of the salary costs to hiring an undergraduate student. The direct costs of research will be supported by the supervisor and students will be hired as full-time (35 hrs/week) research assistants.
The duration for USSRF projects is 16 weeks of full-time work from May 1-August 31. Any revision to this timeline must be approved by the supervisor and will decrease the total value of the fellowship.
Areas of Study: The USSRF program will support applications from all research disciplines. Funding has been allocated to Faculties and each unit will implement their own adjudication and review process. Students may choose to consider projects in disciplines outside of their own academic field of study, as well as those directly connected to their prime area of study.
Students: The program is open to all Queen’s students currently registered in a bachelor’s degree program at the time of application. Preference may be given to students who have not previously held a USSRF and have completed at least one year of study. Please note, some departments may have a cut-off GPA requirement to participate in the program.
USSRF applicants self-identifying as Black or Indigenous students may be eligible for an Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) instead of USSRF. Please see USRA page or speak with your USRA Departmental contact for more information.
Supervisors: Faculty researchers with an appointment as defined in Article 25.1 or 25.2 of the QUFA Collective Agreement are eligible to apply. Supervisors may support and be awarded more than one USSRF (no longer limited to one application and project per supervisor). Supervisor contributions to the USSRF typically come from grant funds that supervisors allocate to support their portion of the fellowship. Supervisors in social sciences, humanities, and creative arts disciplines may wish to consider the SSHRC Institutional Grant (SIG) as a mechanism to meet their contribution requirements.
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Prior to applying, students must identify a faculty researcher (professor) at Queen’s who is willing to be their supervisor, provide training, the necessary resources to complete the research, and provide their required financial contribution.
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Students must meet the research project and employment requirements as agreed upon with their supervising faculty member. Submission of a fully completed application signed by both parties will be taken as an indication that these terms are mutually agreeable.
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Students and faculty researchers are encouraged to develop the research proposals together for submission to the program.
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Students must be eligible to work in Canada.
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Students are expected to fully engage with the research experience, which typically includes joining their supervisor and research group on campus in Kingston. Any alternative arrangements should be discussed directly with the supervisor.
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Students are expected to submit an abstract of their summer research to the Student Inquiry at Queen’s Journal at the completion of their work. This can be done in collaboration with their supervisor. Students are also encouraged, but not required, to present their research at another forum during the academic year (e.g., Inquiry@Queen’s Undergraduate Research Conference or a departmental or discipline seminar or meeting).
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Previous USSRF recipients are eligible to receive another fellowship, even if their proposed research focuses on a different topic. However, priority may be given to students who have not previously held a USSRF.
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During the fellowship period, students are expected to work on their research project at the equivalent of full-time hours. If a student wishes to take on additional part-time work, they should discuss this with their supervisor to ensure it will not interfere with their research commitments.
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Students may enroll in summer courses while holding a USSRF, provided they consult with their supervisor to ensure their academic schedule will still allow them to meet the research objectives.
The application intake process and deadline varies by the home department of the proposed supervisor. Interested applicants should contact potential supervisors and/or departments to learn about the process and timeline for submitting and reviewing applications. Applications will be assessed within each faculty/school/department.
A complete application includes the completed Student Application Form and Supervisor Application Form, both in PDF format. To access application forms, visit the shared folder (Queen's NetID is required to access).
Applications will be assessed within each Faculty/School/Department using the following criteria:
- All eligibility criteria are met and the application is complete.
- Answers to questions are complete, clear, grammatically correct and concise.
- The project will provide the student with a meaningful opportunity to engage in experiential learning as evidenced by a well thought out and clear training plan.
- Supervisor engagement throughout the research term is clear, meaningful and feasible.
- Learning outcomes are clearly defined, tied to the research proposal with high potential to have a significant impact on student learning and development.
- The potential for research impact at a broader level has been considered, is clearly articulated and is feasible.
- The student has a genuine interest in research and has demonstrated the potential to succeed in the proposed project.
- In the event that two or more applications are considered equal, preference may be given to: increasing diversity of the awardee pool, first time applicants (student or supervisor), student record of academic achievement, early career researchers (supervisors only), and/or research that supports strategic research initiatives at Queen’s.
Finding a supervisor
Students looking for a supervisor have several options. They can explore the opportunities and resources on the Undergraduate Research page, attend student poster presentations on campus, and read research stories in the Queen’s Gazette to discover areas and researchers that interest them. Once they find a field they are drawn to, they can reach out to a relevant professor or visit the department office to learn more. If additional guidance is needed, the our team is available by email to help students identify potential contacts.
Questions?
Contact the Undergraduate Research team.
Past participants
- Nicolas Ryan Mesiano
- Madison McPherson
- Sarah Ruiz
- James Czerkawski
- Sean Lucan Clair
- Veronique Berube
- Brendan Garofalo
- Abigail Houlding-Braunberger
- Ameek Bains
- Kristina Arabov
- Jamie Neverson
- Tuan Nguyen
- John McCleary
- Krish Mendapara
- Ana Maria Vera Rodriguez
- Olivia Prince
- William Turner
- Krishkumar Patel
- Gabriel Gupta
- Dhruv Popli
- Talia Economakis
- Catherine Park
- Amelia Nicholas
- Eric Haden
- Teighin Nordholt
- Stuart Logan
- Natalie Viebrock
- Olivia Winslow
- Tanya Koletic
- Emilie Hill
- Kate Greenhow
- Sofia Igel
- Naiara Menezes
- Joshua Kautto
- Rukevwe Inikori
- Camille Dapaah
- Cameron Hare
- Li Yang Qu
- Shanzay Ahmad
- Yixin Ma
- Jeremy Hare-Chang
- Divine Nduka
- Utomobong Essien
- Carter Hyndman
- Kailin Cowan
- Vidhi Patel
- Jing Han (Wendy) Li
- Julia Brachman
- Kevin Gao
- Megan Barker
- Wesley Kwan
- Grace Lee
- Victoria Cassel
- Angelica Doctolero
- Kaiwen Tee
- Samaira Husein
- Emma Gephart
- Karen Guan
- Shah Sarah
- Gigi Juriansz
- Deanne Pinto
- Mason Mazzocco
- Will Linhares-Huang
- Simon Forero
- Lily Hines
- Marcy Simenhoff
- Claire Rinfret
- Adam Saeed (Smith School of Business)
- Amelie Delesalle (Geography)
- Anna Willmott (DBMS)
- Astha Patel (DBMS)
- Avery Marcella (Dan School)
- Benjamin Battye (Mechanical and Materials Engineering)
- Benjamin Madden (Global Development Studies)
- Callum Baxter (Chemical Engineering)
- Camille Dapaah (Kinesiology and Health Studies)
- Charlie McKinney (Smith School of Business)
- Charlotte Bodger (Geography)
- Chloe Earnshaw-Osler (Civil Engineering)
- Chunrui Li (Smith School of Business)
- Coleman Farvolden (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
- Corey Martin (Education)
- Danielle Shibi Rosen (DBMS)
- Don KIM (Mathematics and Statistics)
- Drew Crix (Mechanical and Materials Engineering)
- Emily Martinez-Rivera (Nursing)
- Ethan Razavi Mastali (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
- Genna Guatieri (Psychology)
- Gillian Green (Sociology)
- Hailey Wolfgram (Economics)
- Hanna Harper (Languages, Literatures and Cultures)
- Hayden Royds (Economics)
- Hiroki Yasui (Medicine)
- Imogen Lawford-Wickham (Computing)
- Isidora Ferguson (Geology)
- Izabel Brucaj (Economics)
- Janica Arevalo (Political Studies)
- Jessica Smuk (Biology)
- Julian King (Political Studies)
- Katherine Bot (Geography)
- Keaton Tom (Computing)
- Kirsten van Heusden (Chemistry)
- Lan Van Leeuwen (Mining)
- Lance Schonberg (Physics)
- Lauren McGinnis (Smith School of Business)
- Leo Zhou (Smith School of Business)
- Liam Mcintaggart (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
- Mackenzie Gordon (Biology)
- Madison Moore (Sociology)
- Madison Taylor (English)
- Marasigan Joshua (Education)
- Marcus Tantakoun (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
- Mason Wilson (Biology)
- Maya Latzel (Art History)
- Meagan Mann (Computing)
- Nicholas Abernethy (Philosophy)
- Nicole Li (Medicine)
- Rayna Rosenblood (DBMS)
- Rohaan Syan (DBMS)
- Rory Macdonald (SNOLAB)
- Samuel Ketcheson (Psychology)
- Sandra Malinouskaya (Law)
- Sarah Wong (Psychology)
- Shaji Kripa (Education)
- Shira Greenstein (Psychology)
- Simon NAIR (Mathematics and Statistics)
- Stephanie St-Jean (SNOLAB)
- Taylor Fountain (Political Studies)
- Tiana Wertelecky (Kinesiology and Health Studies)
- Tony Morales (Mechanical and Materials Engineering)
- Victoria Taylor (Kinesiology and Health Studies)
- Vidhi Patel (Nursing)
- H K Vikas (Global Development Studies)
- Wardah Anwar (Law)
- Yuan Zhou (SNOLAB)
- Zain Parihar (Computing)
- Nicholas Abernathy (Philosophy)
- Amor Adolfo (REHAB)
- Devyansh Agarwal (SSB)
- Emily Annis (Political Studies)
- Meaghan Baars (Civil)
- Luke Bailey (SSB)
- Simone Benson (Political Studies)
- Olivia Berry (Psychology)
- Amy Browne (Physics)
- Sabrina Button (ECE)
- Allison Cahill (KHS)
- Ethan Callanan (ECE)
- Jiarui Che (DBMS)
- Claire Cheng (SSB)
- Dillon Chicoski (History)
- Akshaj Darbar (PATH)
- Julian Dodds (Political Studies)
- Lauren Dowling (Chemistry)
- Daniel Dubinko (ECE)
- Jackson Dukart (Chemistry)
- Callissa Dunbar (Sociology)
- Kayla Elliott (Chemistry)
- Lainey Ennett (Chemistry)
- Martin Ethan (MED)
- Dominic Everitt (Dan School)
- Jared Fernyc (Civil)
- Stuart Fong (Computing)
- Melody Garas (Psychology)
- Aviva Gerring (Chemistry)
- Lucas Gordon (Computing)
- Erjia Guan (Environmental Life Sci)
- Mariam Gurguis (SSB)
- Sherry Han (Psychology)
- Cameron Hare (KHS)
- George Hodges-Maley (Geography)
- Olivia Howells (Political Studies)
- Jeremy Hua (SSB)
- Kiera Kenny (Psychology)
- Sheneeza Khan (Political Studies)
- Lauren Kidd (Political Studies)
- Josh Kowal (Biology)
- Noah Lee (SSB)
- Freida Li (BHSc)
- Jiayi LI (Math and Stats)
- Chunrui Li (SSB)
- Poppy Li (Computing)
- Cheryl Liang (SSB)
- Janny Liu (Education)
- Mengyang Liu (Math and Stats)
- Hannah Lord (Global Development and Health Studies)
- Benjamin Ma (Dan School)
- Jordan McEwan (Political Studies)
- Jazlyn McGuinty (BHSc)
- Cristina Misceo (Psychology)
- Mackenzie Moring (Physics)
- Cora Neave (Physics)
- Fatin Noor (SSB)
- Leo Palerm (SSB)
- Emelia Patterson (Global Development Studies)
- Kayla Peckham (Dan School)
- Enze Pei (Psychology)
- Bethany Piekkola (Psychology)
- Daniel Poon (ECE)
- Amy Posel (KHS)
- Benjamin Potter (ECE)
- Richard Oliver Reinhold Sturm (Civil)
- Maddy Ritter (Political Studies)
- Lachlan Robertson (Art History)
- Sarah Robichaud (Psychology)
- Jenylle Rufin (Dan School)
- Ben Salazar (Political Studies)
- Andrea Santalla Escobar (Psychology)
- Catherine Savard (Environmental Studies)
- Heidi Scott (DBMS)
- Isabella Shih (KHS)
- Olivia Smith (KHS)
- Hannah Smith (Geological Eng)
- Leah Smithson (Global Development)
- Kate Starr (Biology)
- Rachel Su (Education)
- Emily Swarts (DBMS)
- Jacob Szutka (Film and Media)
- Mandy Taylor (Education)
- Cassidy Teodoro-Neville (Geological Eng)
- Anastasia Ting (Psychology)
- Sofia Tosello (History)
- Dream Tuitt-Barnes (Computing)
- Matteo Van Der Plaat (ECE)
- Natalee Veisi (Education)
- Jack Walker (Physics)
- Xuanqi Wang (Biochemistry)
- Jade Warren (Computing)
- Sophie Whitehead (Geography)
- Aden Wong (Computing)
- Anne Xie (Physics)
- Christina Yu (MED)
- Victoria Yu (Education)
- Leo Zhou (SSB)
Completed at Bader College
- Carolyn Kane (History and Art History)
- Jacqueline Li (Film and Media)
- Hannah Mescal (Civil Engineering)
- Rebecca Starr (Psychology)
- Angela Li (Health Science)
- Anwar Subhani (Health Science)
- Charlotte Beyries (Art History)
- Claire Lamothe (Health Science)
- Davina Gadkar (Psychology)
- Elena Pinkerton (Kinesiology)
- Elizabeth Litchfield (Kinesiology)
- Hana Ingram (Global Development Studies)
- Jasmyn Lee (Kinesiology)
- Jensen Pletch (Health Studies)
- Jiale Xie (Health Science)
- Katarina Astrom (Psychology)
- Lakshmi Anandaraj (Economics)
- Marla Macinnis (Commerce/Psycology)
- Naomi Healey-Greene (Political Studies)
- Rachel Maloney (Life Sciences)
- Syd Campbell (Economics)
- Taylor Cole (Political Studies)
Completed at Bader College
- Hannah Lord (Global Development/Health Studies)
- Noah Berc (English/Film)