NSERC / FCS
Undergraduate Student Research Awards
(USRA)
Orientation session
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
17:00
CS 430

Contact person: Angie Bolivar, angie at-sign cs period dal period ca

Each year the Faculty offers a number of awards.

Value of the Awards:

Awards: $1125/month over 3-4 months within an academic term

Supplemented by the faculty member / supervisor by $600/month

Total salary of $1725/month.


Job Description:

You perform research under the supervision of a faculty member.

It is a great opportunity to get involved in cutting edge research and get started early onto a research career.

A research assignment is among the most interesting and challenging co-op experiences possible for an undergraduate student.

A successful research assignment leads to a publication, an honour's thesis, and is a valuable asset on your resume.

It maximizes the probability of acceptance into graduate school with full scholarship.

It maximizes the probability of getting an NSERC Postgraduate or other graduate Scholarship later on.

You can take up to one course during the term of the award, if approved by your supervisor.

Not sure about graduate school? Browse the following:
- Graduate school: why attend, how/when to apply, financial support (by E. Milios)
- Visit the section on Doing Research In Graduate School under graduate resources.
- Talk to the Graduate Director or any faculty member.


Eligibility:

For NSERC USRA: Canadian Citizen or permanent resident (PR) status.
For FCS USRA: Canadian/PR or International

Holding no graduate degree in another discipline.

Minimum B average over your undergraduate studies,
but majority of awards to students in the past with at least A-.

Completion of the first year is a requirement.

Preference is given to students who completed 2nd and/or 3rd year.


Application Forms:

For more information on the NSERC USRAs and the application form,
please consult the following URL:

http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/UG-PC/USRA-BRPC_eng.asp

Part I of the application form is for the applicant's personal data.

Part II is to be filled out by the prospective supervisor.

FCS USRA awards follow the same criteria as NSERC USRAs.

The application forms are only required from the students who receive NSERC USRAs, at a later time (April). Details of the process are here.


Application Process


Step 1:

a. If you are in the Co-op program:
This is one of the jobs eligible for Co-op
The Co-op Office deadlines apply to work term applications and assignments.

Submit two copies of your application:
1. To the Co-op Office.
2. To Angie Bolivar in the main office of the Computer Science Building.

b. If you are not in the Co-op program:
Apply to Angie Bolivar in the main office of the Computer Science Building.

Your application (in both cases) should consist of:
- your resume
- a short cover letter describing your area(s) of interest in computer science research.
- we will add your academic transcript

Application deadline is Friday, January 22, 4pm, for summer 2016 awards.
If unfilled positions remain or by special arrangement, awards can be held in fall 2016 or winter 2017.


Step 2.
Applications will be ranked by the graduate committee, and classified as:
offer, wait-list, reject
.
Students will be notified of the outcome by Friday, January 29.
Notification will be by email. If you do not hear from us, please check with Angie soon after the above date.


Step 3: If you are offered the position, you will be asked to contact faculty members in Computer Science who supervise NSERC/FCS USRA projects (Angie Bolivar will send you the list) and discuss with them your interests, qualifications and possible project topics.
If you need help with this, please ask Angie.

You should submit your ranked list of faculty members (at least 3) you would like to work with to Angie Bolivar by Monday, February 8, 4pm.

If you already have a firm agreement with a supervisor, please indicate so and submit just his/her name.


Step 4: We will process all the ranked lists of supervisors submitted, and assign you a supervisor as close to your top preference as possible.
After confirming with the assigned supervisors, we will send you the official offer (including the supervisor) by Thursday, February 11, 4pm.


Step 5: Students are required to notify Angie Bolivar if they accept or decline the NSERC/FCS USRA job offer by Monday, February 22.
No timely reply is equivalent to declining the offer.

If students previously offered a position decline the award, it will be offered to applicants from the waiting list at that time.


The official NSERC Application forms available on the NSERC web site will be typed up for the final list of awards and forwarded to NSERC at a later time for those students awarded NSERC USRAs.


Questions?

If you have any questions or you need to discuss further the opportunity, please see or email Angie Bolivar.


Process for students who received NSERC USRA Awards
(students who received FCS USRA Awards are not required to go through this process)

The student must
Log onto NSERC's on-line system and complete Part 1 of Form 202:
Go to: http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/OnlineServices-ServicesEnLigne/Index_eng.asp
Select Login to the system or Register as a New User.
Select Form 202 Part 1 under For Students and Fellows
Complete all modules shown on the left hand side of the screen
Verify the form on the My Portfolio screen until the report shows it is complete
THEN:
Forward reference number provided by the system to potential supervisor
Attach transcripts (scan official transcripts and attach pdf)

The supervisor must
Log onto NSERC's on-line system using the same password and username as for NSERC grant
For forgotten passwords, contact On-line Services Helpdesk
Select Form 202 Part II under the heading Forms-Researcher.
Enter the reference number for each student with whom they wish to work, and complete all the modules necessary to create a Part II for each student.
Verify each form using the button on the My Portfolio screen until report states it is complete.
Push the Submit to LO button to send the form to me

The Liaison Officer (Danielle dot Wood at dal dot ca) must submit the on-line form to NSERC between May 1 and May 15.
Late submissions will not be accepted, so both the student and supervisor parts of Form 202 must be complete.

Faculty reps will
Select the winning students from their Faculty
Ensure that potential supervisors are eligible to host USRA awardees and that students are eligible to hold an award
Provide information to students and supervisors on the on-line application procedure
Provide a list of selected students and their supervisors to Danielle Wood in the Faculty of Science by no later than April 15.