2024 Summer Student Research Positions
The Department of Computer Science is now accepting applications for NSERC and Departmental Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRAs), an opportunity for academically strong undergraduate students to get involved in computer science research activities within the Department, while at the same time providing summer employment from May to August.
*** Student Application Deadline: Monday, January 15, 2024 ***
The Undergraduate Summer Research Awards (USRA) competition is an opportunity for talented and motivated undergraduate students to gain leading-edge research and software development experience by working during the summer on a research project under the supervision of a Computer Science faculty member. Top applicants will be entered into the NSERC USRA competition and a number of departmental awards are available to students who are not eligible for NSERC awards.
Students of Indigenous or Black heritage will have additional quota and are encouraged to apply. We welcome top applicants from other departments (or even from other Institutes) who are interested in being supervised by a Computer Science faculty member.
International students are also encouraged to apply since there will be department awards available on a later date for which they might be eligible.
This is a great opportunity to be exposed to research in Computer Science. Driving a research project builds a lot of skills, is great for the resume, and can result in publications, which help with scholarships and applications to graduate school. But for those moving directly into the industry after graduation, the USRA is also a valuable opportunity. Managing a project and working on the cutting edge of computer science looks good to any employer.
Finally, for those students who are currently in at least their 3rd year of an 4-Year Honours Computer Science program (either Computer Science, Applied Computing, or the Software Engineering Option) at the University of Saskatchewan, there is a new opportunity to use your summer research towards speeding up a future Master’s degree after your undergraduate degree is completed. This new method is called the Accelerated Master's Admission Pathway. This has the potential to allow the Master’s to be completed in as little as one year instead of two years. For those that might be interested, information is available here. One of the questions on the USRA application form is regarding whether you are interested in the Accelerated Master's Admission Pathway this year (which would require that you be at least in your third year of an Honours program). For those that indicate that they are, we will contact them separately after the application deadline.
TIMELINE
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Application Form Deadline (You should have most grades for Fall 2023 term by this time and you can also make use of new MyCreds system for your transcripts) |
January 15, 2024 |
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Notification of student who match with faculty supervisors (International students will be notified on a later date) |
January 22, 2024 |
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Full application to NSERC |
January 31, 2024 |
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
- Completed at least 1st year by the time the award is activated
- Must be a full-time student (students in their final year are eligible)
- Grade average of at least 75% (but competition is such that will need at least 80%)
HOW TO APPLY
If you are interested, please fill out this online form.
See the detailed Call for Applications for the 2024 NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) Program here.
If you have any questions, please email Dr. Ian McQuillan at mcquillan@cs.usask.ca with the following subject header: "Re: 2024 Summer NSERC/USRAs".