About the award
The Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards (JCURA) program was established in 2009-2010 by the Vice-President Academic and Provost. This UVic award encourages undergraduates to pursue innovative and original research and enhance learning while providing a valuable preparatory experience towards graduate studies or a research related career.
The Division of Learning and Teaching Support and Innovation (LTSI) administers the award process on behalf of the Provost’s Office.
JCURA 2023-2024 Research Fair
March 20, 2024 | 11:30am – 3:00pm
Michelle Pujol Room and Upper Lounge, Student Union Building
Visit the fair to see this year’s students’ hard work on display and our webpage to see their biographies and links to their posters, available mid March 2024.
Eligibility
JCURA is directed at undergraduate students from all disciplines and who meet the following eligibility requirements:
Eligible students and projects
- is a full-time third or fourth year undergraduate student (normally registered in 12 or more units* of study in the winter session)
- has a strong academic standing (normally with a minimum sessional GPA of 7.0)
- meets the general regulations of Student Awards and Financial Aid
- be nominated by only one academic unit in a given year
Not eligible students and projects
- A previous JCURA scholar
Important notes
- Three seats are prioritized for Indigenous Students.
- Co-op work terms, while they only have a unit value of two (2), are the equivalent of a full time study term.
- Students registered with the Centre for Accessible Learning (CAL) with an accommodation that includes a reduced load are also eligible to apply.
- Students in their final year of study may also be eligible to participate in this award program if registered in sufficient units to meet their graduation requirements, at the discretion of the adjudication committee and LTSI Executive Director.
- May be eligible for an honours thesis, or directed study research project and can be combined with co-op by being awarded in the non co-op term. Please consult your department for further details.
Value of internship
Successful student applicants receive $1,500 credited directly to their UVic student account.
This award experience allows students to be mentored by a faculty supervisor. Each academic unit is eligible for one to three student nominations per year, depending on the number of students in the unit. Contact us for eligibility for your academic unit.
Application Process
Each Faculty will be assigned a set number of awards. Additionally, there are three seats available as a priority for Indigenous students.
Academic Faculty Eligibility
For any student not eligible to apply for a JCURA through one of the listed units, please enquire at the Division of Learning and Teaching Support and Innovation. Please note that a priority initiative of 3 spots is also available for Indigenous Students.
| Faculty | Department | Awards per year |
| Education | Curriculum & Instruction | 3 |
| Educational Psychology & Leadership Studies | 2 | |
| Exercise Science, Physical & Health Education | 3 | |
| Indigenous Education | 1 | |
| Engineering and Computer Science | Civil Engineering | 2 |
| Computer Science | 3 | |
| Electrical & Computer Engineering | 2 | |
| Mechanical Engineering | 2 | |
| Fine Arts | Art History & Visual Studies | 2 |
| Music | 2 | |
| Technology and Society | 1 | |
| Theatre | 2 | |
| Visual Arts | 2 | |
| Writing | 2 | |
| Gustavson School of Business | 3 | |
| Human & Social Development | Child & Youth Care | 2 |
| Health Information Science | 2 | |
| Nursing | 3 | |
| 3 | ||
| Public Administration | 1 | |
| Public Health & Social Policy | 1 | |
| Social Work | 2 | |
|
Humanities
|
English European Studies |
3 1 |
| French | 2 | |
| Gender Studies | 2 | |
| Germanic & Slavic Studies | 2 | |
| Greek & Roman Studies | 2 | |
|
Hispanic & Italian Studies |
2 | |
|
History Indigenous Studies |
3 1 |
|
| Latin American Studies | 1 | |
| Linguistics | 2 | |
| Medieval Studies | 1 | |
|
Pacific & Asian Studies |
2 | |
|
Philosophy Religion, Culture and Society |
3 1 |
|
| Law | 2 | |
| Medical Sciences (IMP) | 1 | |
| Science | Biochemistry & Microbiology | 2 |
| Biology | 3 | |
| Chemistry | 3 | |
| Earth & Ocean Sciences | 2 | |
| Mathematics & Statistics | 3 | |
| Physics & Astronomy | 2 | |
| Social Sciences | Anthropology | 2 |
| Economics | 3 | |
| Environmental Studies | 2 | |
| Geography | 3 | |
| Political Science | 3 | |
| Psychology | 3 | |
| Sociology | 3 | |
| Undergraduate programs (Chosen from among: Global Development Studies, Human Dimensions of Climate Change and Social Justice Studies) | 2 |
Supervisor criteria
Each application will have a designated supervisor with a stated research project, detailing what the student will be doing during the course of the award, including the learning outcomes for the student.
-
- Students may have a supervisor from another Faculty than their home Faculty
- Supervisors can mentor more than one JCURA scholar at a time
- Students may apply through their home department or through the unit of their supervisor. The supervisor is usually a faculty member at UVic.
- Students will be mentored by the supervisor usually within the context of the supervisor’s or the student’s existing research or creative activity project
- The award does not translate into hours of work. It is an award and not a research assistantship. We recommend that the supervisor uses the opportunity as a focus on student learning (a learning contract). A work contract would not be appropriate in this context.
Application Deadline
Please check with your department/school about your application deadline. Your department/school will submit nominations to LTSI by July 31, 2024.
Project guidelines
There are typically two main approaches to the project; faculty supervisor initiated and student initiated.
Supervisor initiated
In this case, a faculty member may have a research project in mind, or it may be something already underway which seems ideal for the student. In such a case the faculty member might approach the student to see if the student is interested in applying for the award.
Student initiated
In this case, a student may have an idea for a research project and approach a faculty member to see if they would be interested in working with the student should their application be successful.
Other requirements
Using a cohort based model, all scholars will commit to participating in the JCURA Network. This will include a series of online and in-person events/seminars over the time of the award year to build a learning community. Supervisors will also be invited to attend.
All scholars will commit to present their work with a poster and presentation at an in-person Research Fair usually held during the spring term (March).
Are you a current JCURA student or supervisor?
We recommend accessing the JCURA Brightspace course (you will be automatically enrolled) for other useful information regarding the projects and requirements for the research fair.
Timelines
Student Application
Student fills out part 1 of form and sends to potential supervisor. Please check with your department about internal deadline date.
Supervisor Application
Supervisor fills out part 2 of form and sends to department. Please check with your department about internal deadline date.
Adjudication Process
Chair/Director or designate collects and adjudicates the applications then completes Part 3 of form for each nominee and emails the completed form(s) to the Division of Learning and Teaching Support and Innovation (LTSI) by July 31, 2024.
Recipients Notified
Notification of final decisions to students, supervisors and unit heads will be sent no later than August 31, 2024. After LTSI has reviewed all submissions from the first call, academic units will be notified of a second call for nominations if additional awards are available.