USSRF 2022 Program Guidelines

1. Program Description

The Undergraduate Student Summer Research Fellowship (USSRF) provides an experiential learning opportunity for continuing undergraduate students enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program at Queen’s to participate in social sciences, humanities and/or creative arts research under the supervision of a Queen’s faculty member. The program is intended to provide students with meaningful opportunities to engage in discovery-based learning and to develop research and presentation skills.

Please note: Due to current pandemic related restrictions, the 2022 USSRF program may be conducted remotely. 

The USSRF program has two streams:

1. On campus fellowships: A minimum 19 fellowships at $6,000 each will be offered to students whose projectstake place on Queen’s campus ($5,000 from the USSRF program and an additional $1,000 from the faculty supervisor).
    
2. Bader College fellowships: Additionally, up to 2 fellowships of $5,000, plus return travel, room and board, will be offered to students whose projects take place at the Bader College at Herstmonceux Castle, East Sussex, England.

Stream 1. For projects at Queen’s University campus:

• Prior to applying, students must identify a faculty researcher at Queen’s willing to be their supervisor, provide training and the necessary resources to conduct the research (e.g., supplies, field travel costs, and equipment) to complete the research, and provide an additional $1,000 bringing the total fellowship to $6,000.
  • Need help finding a supervisor? See USSRF FAQs for suggestions.
• Supervisor financial portion must be in place by May 1.
• Research projects will typically take place in Kingston, on Queen’s campus. Projects requiring field work offQueen’s campus are also eligible. Details should be provided in the proposal description (see USSRF Application, Page 2).
• Students and faculty researchers are encouraged to develop the research proposals together for submission to the program.
• Students are expected to commit 350 hrs from May 1-August 31. Any revision to this timeline must be approved by the supervisor.
• Only one application per supervisor will be accepted.
• Only one application per student will be accepted.

Stream 2. For projects at Bader College (formally Bader International Study Centre):

• Prior to applying, students must choose one of the proposed research projects
• Research projects will take place at Bader College.
• Students are expected to commit 290 hrs between May 1 and July 31. Any revision to this plan must be approved by the supervisor.
• Fellowships held at Bader College are valued at $5,000 plus return travel, room and board.
• Only one student and application will be awarded per project.

2. Areas of Study

Fellowships will be awarded to support research in social sciences, humanities, or creative arts (SSHRC subject matter eligibility ). Applications from students in any academic discipline, and supervisors with their primary research in any field may be accepted for the competition. 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. See Eligibility for more information.

3. Duration and Remuneration

Stream 1: Fellowships on Queen’s University campus are $6,000 which will be paid in four equal installments of $1,500 each, on the last day of May, June, July and August (students are expected to engage in the project for a minimum of 350 hours).

Stream 2: Fellowships at the Bader College (formally Bader International Study Centre) are $5,000 which will be paid in three equal installments of $1,666 on the last day of May, June and July (students are expected to engage in the project for a minimum of 290 hours).

• Bader College fellowships also include room and board; return travel (Claimants are expected to book economy air fare when making travel reservations) will be reimbursed in accordance with Queen’s travel policy  uponsubmission of a valid travel claim at the end of the fellowship.
• Submit your travel claim to Susan Richardson ( sue.richardson@queensu.ca) within thirty (30) days following completion of the trip, or the date the expense was incurred, whichever is later.

Both streams: Work schedules are to be agreed upon by the student and supervising faculty member and should be explained in the application.

4. Eligibility

4.1 Students: The program is open to all continuing (currently registered and planning to return to undergraduate studies in the fall) undergraduate students enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program at Queen’s University with at least one year of study completed (as of April 30). Preference may be given to students who have not previously held a USSRF. 

4.2 Supervisors: Faculty researchers with appointment as defined in Article 25.1 or 25.2 of the QUFA Collective Agreement are eligible to apply.

5. Requirements

To receive funding under the USSRF, 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.

Students must be eligible to work in Canada, or in the United Kingdom for Bader College projects.

Every USSRF awardee is required to present a poster of their research at a USSRF celebration event hosted by the VP Research and held in the fall term following the summer research term. Students are also encouraged, but not required, to present their research at another forum during the academic year (e.g., InQuiry@Queen’s or a departmental or discipline seminar or meeting).

6. Application Instructions

A complete application includes:

1. Application documents (Student)
   1. A completed, signed application form
   2. 1 page fully addressing questions 1-3
   3. An unofficial transcript of the student’s recent marks (as of December 2019). (See Office of the University Registrar SOLUS  for instructions). * Be sure to carefully follow all instructions for completing the application.
       
2. Supervisor
   1. A completed, signed application form
   2. 1 page fully addressing questions 1-4

7. Application Submission

The completed application MUST be submitted electronically by 9:00 am EST Monday, March 1, 2021 to Traci Allen:  allent@queensu.ca - following the instructions below:

Combine your portion of the USSRF application into ONE PDF document containing all components in the following order: completed signature page, one-page question attachment, and (for students only) unofficial transcript.

Submit applications using the following format:

For Students:

• File Name - StudentLastName StudentFirstName – Campus or Bader College
• Subject Line - StudentLastName StudentFirstName – USSRF Application

For Supervisors:

• File Name - StudentLastName StudentFirstName – Supervisor Portion 
• Subject Line - StudentLastName, StudentFirst Name – USSRF Supervisor

*Students should submit their portion of the application directly to Traci Allen in Research Services. Supervisors will submit their portion separately.

If you do not receive an email acknowledging receipt of your application within 48 hours of submission please contact Traci Allen at:  allent@queensu.ca.

Your application may not be processed if the application is not submitted according to the requirements described above.

8. Adjudication of Applications

Applications will be assessed using the following criteria:

1. Applications will first be vetted by Research Services to ensure that the research falls within SSHRC subject matter eligibility. All eligible applications will be shared with reviewers.
2. Answers to questions (attachments) are complete, clear, grammatically correct and concise.
3. 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.
4. Supervisor engagement throughout the research term is clear, meaningful and feasible.
5. Learning outcomes are clearly defined, tied to the research proposal with high potential to have a significant impact on student learning and development.
6. The potential for research impact at a broader level has been considered, is clearly articulated and is feasible.
7. The student has a demonstrated interest in research, and has demonstrated potential to succeed in the proposed project.
8. 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.

Please direct enquiries to:

Traci Allen
Research Program Coordinator
​Research Services

Email:  allent@queensu.ca

 Download a PDF version of these guidelines (PDF 255 KB)