Undergraduate Summer Research Internships (USRI)

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Information for Faculty of Health Sciences Faculty Members and Students

Western Undergraduate Summer Research Internships (USRIs) provide undergraduate students with engaged research experiences under the mentorship of a faculty member and are intended to stimulate undergraduate students’ interest in research through direct exposure and hands-on experience conducting research.

The USRI program was originally launched in 2020 as a pilot program and expanded to include professional development opportunities in 2021. Following the overwhelming success of the program in 2021 and beyond, Western Research, in partnership with Student Experience and Western Libraries, now offers the USRI fellows an expanded suite of professional development offerings. The professional development opportunities, which complement the engaged research-learning project, include sessions on scholarly writing, literature searches/reviews, citation management, GIS tools, knowledge exchange, resumes and CVs, research posters, equity, and diversity. Students have the opportunity to share their research with the broader community during a virtual exhibition event.

Program Objectives and Outcomes

This program seeks to provide undergraduate students with first-hand experience in undertaking an exciting research project under the direction of a qualified faculty mentor/supervisor.

Program Outcomes

  • Provide a comprehensive and supported undergraduate student research experience.
  • Increase undergraduate student confidence in research fields of interest.
  • Pave the way to graduate study and future research careers.
  • Provide opportunities for undergraduate students to expand their networks, enhance their student experience, and connect with other student researchers and members of the Western research community.
  • Help defray the costs in supporting undergraduate student research work.
  • Advance research, scholarship, and creative activity across Western.

Student Objectives

  • Co-develop and execute a short-term research project, to be completed in the 16-week program time frame, under the supervision of a faculty member.
  • Co-develop a learning and development plan with a Faculty mentor based on institutional and individual needs.
  • Learn about open access and Western’s repository through storage of a copy of the research output in Western’s Institutional Repository Scholarship@Western
  • In consultation with their faculty supervisor, develop and produce a multimodal research output oriented to lay audiences. Students can select the most appropriate format for their research output based on their summer research project.
  • Participate in a minimum of four professional development workshops that aid in the creation of their research output and will support the summer research experience. This will be based on individual learning plans co-developed with their supervisors.
  • Participation in student reflection opportunities, end of program surveys including a program evaluation and a demographic survey); note that this is a condition of funding

Faculty Supervisor Objectives

  • Participate in a summer research program providing mentorship for an undergraduate student that will further enhance research goals and the student's research and professional skills.
  • Co-develop a learning and development plan geared towards the needs of your research program and your USRI fellow, with clear expectations to ensure an equitable working environment.
  • Participate in at least one EDID workshop shared as part of the Professional Development sessions.
  • Support the development of the research output (required deliverable of USRI students) throughout the summer.
  • Attendance at the virtual exhibition is highly encouraged and welcomed.
  • Participate end-of-program surveys including a program evaluation and demographic survey; note that this is a condition of funding.

Value and Duration of Award

USRIs are valued at a minimum of $9,632 for a 16-week term through May to August 2025. Western will contribute $7,224 toward each Summer Internship with a required minimum match of $2,408 from other sources (e.g., researcher, department, Institute, and/or Faculty). Supervisors are strongly encouraged to provide all or a portion of the minimum matching funds. FHS will contribute to matching funds on a case-by-case basis.

Students are only allowed to hold one USRI for the summer and the USRI should not be held concurrently with another paid student position. Faculty supervisors are responsible for communicating clear expectations and guidance, including anticipated outcomes and deliverables, and outlining hours per week to be agreed upon in the student's individualized learning plan. Hours should be consistent with the Supervisor's research group members and allow for the successful completion of research objectives.

Faculty Allocation

FHS has been allocated 43 USRIs for 2025. Note that there will not be a separate allocation for cross-faculty application, i.e., undergraduate students from a Faculty outside of FHS counts as a part of the FHS USRI allocation.

Supervisor and Student Eligibility

Supervisor

  • The lead supervisor must hold a research-eligible appointment at Western and a primary or joint appointment to FHS.
    • Faculty members who hold a primary appointment in another Faculty at Western must apply via the USRI program of their home Faculty.
    • Co-supervision is acceptable under this program and co-supervisors do not need to hold a research-eligible appointment in FHS.
  • Participation in program evaluation and demographic survey (at the end of the program) is a condition of funding.
  • FHS supervisors must have a named student co-applicant on their USRI application.
  • Student-Supervisor Matching Support: FHS supervisors who have not yet identified a student co-applicant ("unmatched") have the option to submit a short description of their summer research opportunity to fhsresearch@uwo.ca. We will facilitate student-supervisor matching before the USRI deadline (see UNMATCHED SUPERVISORS tab for more information).
  • Participation in at least one EDID workshop as part of the Professional Development sessions is strongly recommended.
  • Participation in the end-of-summer virtual student exhibition is encouraged and welcomed.
  • Faculties are encouraged to give preference to students completing 3rd year and/or returning students, but final decisions about internships are up to the Faculty.
  • Faculties are encouraged to give preference in their adjudication of applications to students from equity deserving groups, economically disadvantaged, and/or first-generation students.

Student

  • Students must have been enrolled at Western in an undergraduate program in Winter 2025 and should be planning to attend Western in Fall 2025 as an undergraduate or graduate student.
  • Students must be available to participate full-time in research activity as described in the proposal for 16 weeks between May 1 and August 31, 2025.
    • Specific dates of research engagement will be determined collaboratively with the faculty supervisor through the individual learning plan.
  • The USRI award should not be held concurrently with another paid student position.
  • Students must be selected by a supervisor and be named as co-applicants on the supervisor's USRI application.
  • Students will work with a faculty supervisor to co-create a research project. The hours per week devoted to this work are based on scholarly outcomes and should allow for the successful delivery of research objectives. Vacation and sick days are not built into the internship and should be discussed with respective supervisors.
  • Participation in program evaluation and demographic survey are a condition of funding.
  • Participation in program objectives including attending/viewing four Professional Development sessions, completing a research output, and attendance of the end of summer research showcase are also a condition of the funding and for students to receive Co-curricular credit on their transcript.

Key Dates

March 3, 2025: Deadline for FHS supervisors to apply to the USRI award with their selected student co-applicant.

March 10, 2025: Notifications of FHS USRI awards are released. March 14, 2025: Deadline to accept FHS USRI offers.

 

May 1, 2025: Earliest start date of the USRI program.

August: Virtual Summer Exhibition, deadline for Professional Development session credits towards USRI certificate, deadline for the student and supervisor program evaluation and demographic survey submission.

August 31, 2025: Latest possible end date of the 16-week internship.

Professional Development for Students and Supervisors

A template for a learning and development plan will be provided by Western Research & Student Experience to be distributed to successful USRI fellows and their supervisors. Students will be expected to attend/view a minimum of four Professional Development sessions and/or workshops throughout the summer from the suite of offerings to be posted on the USRI 2025 OWL course. Workshops should complement their learning plan and contribute towards the successful completion of the research output.

A workshop focused on EDID will be available for supervisors to share experiences and develop strategies on how to implement the principles of EDID into their supervision practices with diverse students.

Workshop details will be finalized and provided by the end of April on this site (Suggestions for workshops are welcome): https://www.uwo.ca/research/funding/students/usri.html

Applying for a USRI

Please note that the application process has been updated from previous years:

Prospective supervisors are required to apply with an undergraduate student

FHS supervisors who are seeking a student co-applicant have the option of soliciting expressions of interest from prospective students by sending a brief description of the proposed project and preferred skills to fhsresearch@uwo.ca.

All Student-Supervisor teams will prepare the application together through the following form, which includes a 250-word research activity plan with a timeline.

Applications must be submitted by the supervisor by Monday, March 3, 2025.

 

Application Form

  • To be submitted by the Supervisor
  • The application must include a research activity plan with a timeline (250 words)
  • Deadline to submit application form: Wednesday, March 3, 2025
  • Please complete the Microsoft Forms FHS USRI Application Form 2025 (uwo credentials required): USRI FORM

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a student submit a USRI application?

No. Only supervisors are allowed to submit a USRI application.

Can a student who is not currently enrolled in a FHS program apply for a FHS USRI?

Students are not allowed to submit a USRI application. However, FHS supervisors can submit a USRI application for a student not enrolled at FHS.

I have a student at another institution who would like to work with me this summer. Is this student eligible to apply?

USRIs are reserved for students registered in an undergraduate program at Western in the current year. Preference will be given to students who are planning to return to Western in the subsequent Fall semester whether as an undergraduate student or graduate student.

I have a 4th-year student who would like to apply for this opportunity. Would they be eligible?

Yes, although preference will be given to students who expect to enroll in the subsequent Fall semester (as an undergraduate or graduate student).

Will students be taxed on this funding?

The award is categorized as a fellowship and will be reported to the student on a T4A tax slip (non- employment income) at the end of of the year. There are no statutory deductions required to be withheld from the payments.

What is an individual learning and development plan?

A template will be provided which outlines the program requirements. The learning and development plan will help guide the goals for the summer and will encourage students to think about how to integrate what they learn in the workshops into their research output. The learning plan will establish an agreement between the student and faculty supervisor concerning expectations of research activity, attendance, communication, and the final research output.

Can a faculty mentor oversee more than one USRI award?

Yes, a supervisor can oversee more than one student or USRI project during the summer program.

Can a student hold more than one USRI award?

An undergraduate student can only hold one USRI award during the summer. However, the program welcomes returning students who participated in previous summers.

As a supervisor, do I have to attend the EDID workshop?

The EDID workshops are not mandatory but given the importance of EDID among research funders and the critical contribution to research creativity and excellence, participation is strongly encouraged.

I supervise other undergraduate students who are not USRI students. Are they allowed to participate in the professional development workshops?

Undergraduate students working through other summer research opportunities offered at Western are welcome to register for any USRI workshops being offered.