Immunology Summer Student Research Program (ISSRP)

2024 Edition

Last Updated: February 2, 2024

Updated information about UTEA and the NSERC USRA are now posted

How can I participate in the ISSRP?

  • Undergraduate students are responsible for contacting department faculty members, who are not teaching stream or emeritus members, and arranging a placement for the spring/summer.  You can contact any of the appropriate faculty members listed, and should not necessarily rely on the tag of whether a particular faculty member is seeking to bring aboard summer students.  Those tags might not be the most up-to-date when it comes to an individual faculty member's recruitment status.
  • After a placement is secured, students are enrolled in the ISSRP, pending eligibility requirements below.
  • Once you have secured a supervisor, please complete the enrolment form.

Is there a deadline to enrol in the ISSRP?

  • Yes.  You should secure your summer position and submit the enrolment form no later than March 31, 2024.  If you cannot secure a position until after the deadline, please email issrp@utoronto.ca
  • If you wish to apply for any of our available summer awards, you must secure a supervisor and submit a complete award application no later than 9am on February 27, 2024.

Will I get an email confirmation?  When will information about the summer program be communicated to participants?

  • ISSRP participants who have enrolled will receive a communication around early-mid April with additional details.

How long is the ISSRP and are there any deliverables?

  • The summer research program runs from May - July 2024 (12-weeks).
  • At the end of July, a seminar day will be held where ISSRP participants share their work with their peers and departmental colleagues via poster and oral presentations.

What are the eligibility requirements?

  • Students must have successfully completed the Winter 2024 term in a full-time undergraduate program, at a Canadian University.
  • Students must be 3rd year undergraduate student or earlier (if you are a 4th year student - you must be attending a professional undergraduate or a graduate program in the fall)

Is there a stipend?

  • Yes, the stipend for the 12-week period is $5000.

Are there any awards available?

  • Yes, a limited number of awards are available:
    • A few University of Toronto Undergraduate Research Opportunity (UROP) scholarships, valued at $2500.
    • University of Toronto Excellence Awards (UTEA), valued at $7,500
    • NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA), valued at $7,500
  • Please see below about the application process for each

Undergraduate Research OPportunity (UROP) Awards

To apply for a UROP award you must:

  • first secure a supervisor
  • assemble a single PDF consisting of:
    • a copy of your transcript (an unofficial printout/screenshot is fine)
    • a 375-word (max) paragraph of intent on why you are participating in the ISSRP and what you hope to gain from your time in the lab
    • a very brief statement on the aims of your summer project

University of Toronto Excellence Award (UTEA)

To be eligible for the UTEA, you must be a University of Toronto student, and your supervisor must meet the following requirements:

  • NEW for 2024 - supervisors must be campus-based (ie. not based at a teaching hospital) 
  • A supervisor must be a principal investigator (PI) who holds an active tri-agency grant or has a pending application with one of those agencies at the start date of the UTEA (May 1st) (co-investigators are no longer eligible)

Please read the additional program guidelines for more information.

To apply, please submit a completed application form.  Students complete Part I of the form, and supervisors complete Part II.  Please combine both parts, along with a copy of your transcript (unofficial is fine) into a single PDF.

NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA)

For eligibility and details on the NSERC USRA, please consult the NSERC website.

To apply:

  • Complete the latest version of the application form (Form 202, Part I) online. Follow the instructions and adhere to NSERC’s General Presentation Guideline. NSERC refuses handwritten applications.
  • Attach a PDF copy of your transcripts (or the university e-transcripts) to the application form (Part I).  A PDF from your University's Academic portal is sufficient for this phase of the application.  You may be required to provide an official copy later.
  • Once Form 202–Part I has been completed, provide your prospective supervisor with the reference number generated by the system so that they may complete Part II of the form.
  • Once both parts of the form have been completed and verified, the supervisor can submit the USRA application.
  • Students and supervisors must submit their application via the NSERC online system by the Department's application deadline of February 27, 2024.

After submitting your application to NSERC, you will also need to submit a copy to the ISSRP.  Please ask your supervisor to download Parts I and II of Form 202 as a PDF and add your transcript to this document.  The PDF of your Form 202 can only be obtained by your supervisor after they've submitted the application.

IMPORTANT: If you self-identity as Indigenous or Black, make sure you select the appropriate field in form 202-Part I, and please let the ISSRP coordinator know at issrp@utoronto.ca.

If I win an award, do I get a higher stipend?

  • Potentially.
    • The stipend is not higher for UROP award recipients.  The UROP award helps supplement the summer stipend.  The total summer funding remains at $5000, of which 50% is provided by the award.
    • UTEA and USRA award winners receive a stipend of $7,500, which is the value of the award

How do I submit my award applications?

Please upload your application(s) no later than 9am on February 27, 2024.