University of Guelph & McMaster University | Undergraduate Summer Research Studentship

The University of Guelph & McMaster University | Undergraduate Summer Research Studentship

The U of G | McMaster Undergraduate Summer Research Studentship offers an experiential research opportunity in One Health for an undergraduate or DVM student. The Studentship supports opportunities for undergraduate and DVM students to engage in a research project(s) during the summer. The summer student will conduct research at the University of Guelph and also spend a minimum of ten days of the summer work term with the research team at McMaster University.

One studentship is awarded annually.


TO APPLY, YOU WILL NEED TO PROVIDE…

To complete this application you will need to provide: 

  • Your name, affiliation and contact information
  • Your proposed McMaster collaborator’s name, affiliation and contact information
  • A 1-page letter from your proposed McMaster collaborator on university letterhead stating that they (1) are aware of this application; (2) have an active collaboration with you, or plan to have one in place by May 1, 2023 **include a 2-sentence overview of this collaboration, including why it is necessary and what each researcher brings to the collaboration**; (3) should the application be successful, commit to training the U of G summer student for a minimum of 10 days during the summer work term at their research space.
  • A brief description of your graduate / undergraduate student research supervision
  • Project title
  • The core problem(s) your project will address
  • At least one project objective, a description of why a One Health approach is necessary to achieve the objective, how the achievement of each objective is enhanced/enabled by collaboration with a faculty member at McMaster University
  • A short description of the role for the student in this project

Faculty members who are successful in Stage 1 may advertise for a student during Stage 2 (“Selection of Students by Faculty Members successful in Stage 1”).


Value and Duration

Student Salary Support: $8,500

Transportation Support: $1,000

A total of $8,500 will be provided as student salary support. This is based on a minimum hourly rate of $16 for a maximum total of 497 hours (14.2 weeks). However, student wages must align with type of work performed, as described in the University of Guelph Student Wage Guidelines. A higher hourly rate or any additional hours over the 497 hours will be paid by the faculty member. Students must work for a maximum of 35 hours per week during the entire 14.2-week period of the research project. As students will receive 4% vacation pay on their hourly rate, it is expected that they will work full-time (35hrs/week) for the entire 14.2 weeks.

In addition to the student salary, $1,000 will be available to offset cost for student transportation between the University of Guelph and McMaster University.

Eligibility Criteria

Faculty applicants must have an active collaboration arranged prior to the start of the summer work term with a faculty member at McMaster University. The collaborator at McMaster University must be willing to allow the student to spend some time in their research laboratory over the summer. Documentation of this agreement must be submitted by the faculty applicant.

Priority will be given to early career/pre-tenure researchers who can clearly demonstrate shared research activities arising from this collaboration.

Applications will only be considered if the student will engage in One Health research.

Award Allocation

The University of Guelph & McMaster University | Undergraduate Summer Research Studentship will be allocated through a two-stage process:

Stage 1: Faculty Submit Project Proposals

  • Selection of projects by the One Health Institute Advisory Board

Stage 2: Students Apply

  • Selection of students by faculty members successful in Stage 1

Schedule of Dates

DateAction Due
Monday, January 30, 2023Call for Project Proposals Opens
Monday, March 20, 2023, at 11:59 PMProject Proposals Due
Tuesday, April 4, 2023Successful Proposal Announced
STAGE 1 – FACULTY

Stage 1 (Project Abstracts – Submitted by Faculty)

How to Apply

Please submit a project proposal.

To complete the application, you will need the following information at hand: 

  • Your name, affiliation and contact information
  • Your McMaster University collaborator’s name, affiliation and contact information
  • A letter (maximum of 1 page) from your proposed McMaster University collaborator on university letterhead stating that they:
    • are aware of this application;
    • have an active collaboration with you, or plan to have one in place by May 1, 2023 **include a 2-sentence overview of this collaboration, including why it is necessary and what each researcher brings to the collaboration**;
    • should the application be successful, commit to training the University of Guelph summer student for a minimum of 10 days during the summer work term at their research space.
      *NOTE: you will be required to upload this letter as part of your application.*
  • The number of students previously and currently supervised in each of the following categories:
    • Undergraduate research students in research courses
    • Undergraduate summer research students
    • Masters students supervised or co-supervised (current | completed)
    • PhD students supervised or co-supervised (current | completed)
  • Project title
  • The core problem(s) your project will address
  • At least one project objective, a description of why a One Health approach is necessary to achieve the objective, how the achievement of at least one objective is enhanced/enabled by collaboration with a faculty member at McMaster University
  • A full description of the role for the student in this project

APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2023 University of Guelph & McMaster University | Undergraduate Summer Research Studentship ARE OPEN!


Evaluation Process and Criteria

The Director, One Health Institute, with members of the One Health Institute Advisory Board, will select the projects for funding based on the following criteria:

  • Relevance / alignment of the proposed research with One Health
  • Clarity and feasibility of the research objectives and experimental plan
  • Suitability of the project for DVM and undergraduate summer research students
  • Faculty record of research student advising, research productivity and availability of operating funds and infrastructure for the summer research project

STAGE 2 – STUDENTS

Stage 2 (Students)

Students interested in working on a specific summer research project will contact faculty members directly to discuss possible involvement with the project.

Applications must be received by the faculty member by Wednesday, March 22, 2023 to be considered. Selections will be made by Friday, March 31, 2023.

Questions can be directed to onehealth@uoguelph.ca

STAGE 3 – SETUP OF STUDENT APPOINTMENT

Award Administration

Once the faculty member chooses a successful candidate, please Cc OHI Program Manager, Katherine Heyland (heylandk@uoguelph.ca), in your email to the student confirming the upcoming appointment for Summer 2023.

Terms and Conditions

Recipients of the University of Guelph & McMaster University | Undergraduate Summer Research Studentship must:

  • Be available to work on the research project for 14.2 weeks full-time (i.e. 35 hours/week) between May 1 and August 31 of the calendar year in which the award is granted
  • Be a full-time University of Guelph student in good standing who is registered in Phase 1 or 2 of the DVM program, or after 2nd or 3rd year of a related University of Guelph undergraduate program and returning in the fall
  • Participate in the summer Career Opportunities and Research Exploration (CORE) program. Advisors are requested to be flexible in research work hours to allow students to participate in this program
  • Participate in the CPHAZ One Health Poster Day in the fall semester of the year in which the award is granted
  • Complete a survey evaluating the research experience and the mentor’s performance

Faculty advisors must:

  • Be available to supervise the summer research student for the entire 14.2-week period (or longer is the student is employed for a longer period)
  • Provide an advisory and mentoring role to motivate and guide the student and to foster an interest in research
  • Complete a survey evaluating the student’s performance and the efficacy of the program at completion

Similar Projects

The 22/23 academic year is the first year for this opportunity, and as such, there are no specific examples of past, funded projects. To see examples of projects funded under a similar model, please check out the Robert W. Woolner Undergraduate Summer Research Studentship.

Note that intra-institutional collaboration is not required for Woolner projects; the criteria differ between the Woolner and this award.

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