EVP Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 Hi guys, Hope finals are going well for you all! I'm at UBC and would like to apply for a NSERC grant for next summer. My friends have kindly mentioned that those are for upper year students (I am currently in my second year). Anyone here at UBC who has done NSERC before? Please share your experiences with the type of research you did and the application process itself, because I'm really curious! Thanks, EVP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfette Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 I'm at UBC. I did NSERC after my second year. Generally, there is some priority for upper level students over younger students, but if you have good marks and a prof who is willing to take you, then you can still be good to go. The application process depends on your department - it's very decentralized. Some departments involve you applying to get an NSERC and then picking the prof afterwards (some science departments). Some departments involve you finding a prof and then applying with the prof to get the NSERC (at UBC, NSERC's under the Faculty of Medicine are typically done in this way). Your best bet is to contact some of the profs who's work you are interested in - you're most likely to get a placement under those who are in your department and those who have taught you. Make sure you read up on what their research actually is - if there's one thing that separates similar candidates who don't get the job and who do, it's reading up on the prof's research. Tell them you are interested in working in their lab, ask them what projects might be available, and ask them what funding opportunities are available. You can mention the NSERC award then. There are some other awards available through other means too although NSERC is a more common one. In order to be eligible for an NSERC, the prof must have NSERC funding. This is true of most science profs, but this is often not true of many profs in medicine. If they don't have NSERC though, they might be willing to support you in application for other available awards (or they can even fund you themselves if they want you...which given that you're a 2nd year student and you've never worked for them is highly unlikely). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMmd Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 hey i was wondering if anybody knows what the minimum average is needed for the nserc and also i heard that they look at your lest 2 years.. does the year in progress count as one of the 2 years? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a41 Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 As Smurfette mentioned, it all depends on your department. Usually selection occurs after the current fall term marks are in, so they can consider those marks. Essentially, the minimum marks required depends on how many awards the department you apply to has. For example, if there are 7 awards for the department, then as long as you are top 7 then you're good to go. Of course, people can choose not to accept the awards...so then they'll just move down the list. This happened in the math department at Queen's last year. They waited so long to announce the decisions, that something like 9 out of the 11 selected students declined since they found other jobs rather than waiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfette Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 hey i was wondering if anybody knows what the minimum average is needed for the nserc and also i heard that they look at your lest 2 years.. does the year in progress count as one of the 2 years? As I said, it's a very decentralized process. What a particular department chooses to look at is entirely up to them. Some departments may choose to look at your last two years, some may not. In all likelihood, the current year won't count since most decisions are made before the year is up. If you have good first-term marks, it probably won't hurt you though. Also, you can apply for positions outside of your university. So if you see some research that seems really exciting, but it's not at your university you can still apply. ie. if you're from UBC, you can apply for a position at Toronto or Calgary. However, unless you have stellar marks and/or an impressive research record and/or you know contacts, it is much more likely to get something with a prof who's taught you and who is in your own department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfette Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 Oh one more thing to add. There are also industry summer NSERC awards. I've actually never known anyone who's gotten one (who's from science and not engineering), but if that's something that interests you, you could try contacting some people in industry (biotech companies, etc.). Provided you have someone to sponsor you, they might actually be easier to get seeing as no one seems to try for them and they are in a separate pool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antisera Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 I did NSERC last year (after my third), and from what I understand it's pretty tricky to get a position as a 2nd year experience due to UBC's lack of second year labs in the biology department, therefore usually a lack of experience on the second year students parts. My department, Microbiology & Immunology, usually just posts a list of profs with grants - it's announced and then you can email profs you're interested. You can also email your department advisor and ask them to email you the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabz Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 I've heard the pay is not that great, but I think it is worth the experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuantum Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Depending on the supervisor, the pay can be varied. I worked in Microbiology at my university during the summer and made was I thought was reasonable. However, my friends in Engineering and Physics made nearly double what I made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfette Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 There is a minimum pay stipulated by NSERC - I think it is around $5000 for 16 weeks (you can look it up on their website). But individual departments/supervisors may choose to pay you more. Mind you I know some studentships (I'm not sure about NSERC) are treated as awards/scholarships, so you pay less tax on it since there's a tax break for scholarships. That may or may not make a difference. But I would agree that in general, science academia jobs tend to be less than engineering industry jobs. However, people typically choose to get NSERC's for the research experience and not strictly for the pay. If you want a summer job strictly for pay reasons, do something like construction work or tree planting. Those kinds of jobs always pay the most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfette Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Sorry for spamming with posts! LOL Here's a link to info on NSERC's at UBC: http://www.careers.ubc.ca/opportunities.cfm?page=nserc Also a reminder to people that NSERC isn't the only opportunity out there (although it is certainly a common one). There's a number of other oppotunities including the work-study program at UBC, which is a part-time job during the school year. It's for students who are on student loans (which is most people anyways). I believe it pays okay - and it's usually on-campus so it saves on transportation time (which really means you're paid more). I haven't done this, but I remember a prof of mine telling me that she had a great student who did this under her. This is something that is less well-known, so you might have to tell your proposed supervisor about it. They might not know about it. Link: http://www.careers.ubc.ca/opportunities.cfm?page=workstudy Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a41 Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 I've heard the pay is not that great, but I think it is worth the experience. It really depends. The minimum is $5625 for the summer ($4500 from NSERC, minimum 25% supplement from supervisor). You also tend to get more if you are an upper year. After 2nd year I only got $7700 vs. after 3rd year it went up to $8500. But it depends entirely on your department. From what I can tell, $7000-$8000 is usually the norm for after 3rd year, but if you work in a larger department (like Biology), they tend to screw you over and give you the bare minimum. Edit: Uh...I didn't realize this thread got moved to the UBC forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antisera Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 I received the minimum pay (after 3rd year), I'm pretty sure all other Microbiology/Biology positions received the same amount at UBC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubc4life Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 Regarding the NSERC, will a prof be willing to take you on if you are studying in a different department? I.e. I am not currently in microbiology (I'm in another science-related program) but would love to do an NSERC in this department. Is this allowed? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meilin Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 If I do not have an industry supervisor, then I do not need an official transcript? Would I just print off an unofficial transcript? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosco Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 I have had 3 summer NSERCS (the maximum allowable). One with M&I, which paid the bare minimum (standard for any biological science lab) and 2 summers with industry ($7200 for 4 months). To get an industrial NSERC, you need to find a job within a biotech company and then they apply for you once you arrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosco Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 Yes! They look for the best applicants regardless of their background (assuming that you have some experience in a lab). Regarding the NSERC, will a prof be willing to take you on if you are studying in a different department? I.e. I am not currently in microbiology (I'm in another science-related program) but would love to do an NSERC in this department. Is this allowed? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwh333 Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 you just answered someone from 4 years ago haha. i bet he's already in med Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-Doc Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 you just answered someone from 4 years ago haha. i bet he's already in med LOL! I was thinking the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosco Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 Yeah - thought I would reply just incase they hadn't made it in yet. Didn't check the date - thought it was a new thread. My bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meilin Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 Hi, Still wondering if I would just give in an unofficial transcript since it is not industry. Would I just print it off myself? thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sydneyxox Posted May 7, 2011 Report Share Posted May 7, 2011 Does previous research experience matter when applying to NSERC? Or is it entirely based on your grades? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerena Posted May 7, 2011 Report Share Posted May 7, 2011 Does previous research experience matter when applying to NSERC? Or is it entirely based on your grades? Thanks! As long as you fulfill the basic requirements it is all about grades. They don't know about previous research, you do not provide a CV. All they see is the transcript and proposal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psqu Posted May 8, 2011 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 As long as you fulfill the basic requirements it is all about grades. They don't know about previous research, you do not provide a CV. All they see is the transcript and proposal. To clarify this statement: NSERC itself does not care about your previous experience (applications are forwarded to NSERC in July by individual universities for approval), however as stated before, the selection process at each university, even each department, is widely varied. Having experience is definitely an asset when looking for a potential supervisor so be sure to keep that in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerena Posted May 8, 2011 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 To clarify this statement: NSERC itself does not care about your previous experience (applications are forwarded to NSERC in July by individual universities for approval), however as stated before, the selection process at each university, even each department, is widely varied. Having experience is definitely an asset when looking for a potential supervisor so be sure to keep that in mind. Thank you for clarifying this. And in terms of your last statement, I completely bypassed this fact. You are completely correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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