SURA & SERA 2026 Competition

Nov 26, 2025

Department of Biology, University of Victoria
UVIC SCIENCE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AWARDS (SURA)
UVIC SCIENCE EMERGING RESEARCHER AWARDS (SERA)
2026 APPLICATION INFORMATION
APPLICATION DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 15, 2026

Introduction

Research is an important and enjoyable component of an undergraduate experience and can be a helpful guide in planning a career. The Science Undergraduate Research Awards (SURA) and Science Emerging Research Awards (SERA) enable undergraduate students to engage in research projects on campus under the supervision of a faculty member (research-stream or teaching-stream) in the Faculty of Science. An adjunct faculty member in any of these academic units can be a co-supervisor.

Six SURA awards are available each year, one per department/school. The SURA is open to all students in the Faculty of Science who meet the eligibility criteria outlined below.

Three SERA awards are available each year (one selected by each of BCMB, BIOL and SEOS in even years and CHEM, MATH and PHYS in odd years). The SERA is intended to support members of one or more under-represented groups.

Award details

The student holding the award must perform research under the supervision or co-supervision of a regular faculty member in the Faculty of Science at If co-supervised, both supervisors must be specified and sign the application.
It is expected that a student holding an award would work full-time on a research project for a term of 14- 16 consecutive weeks over one academic A student may take up the award in the Summer (May- Aug), Fall (Sep-Dec), or Winter (Jan-Apr) term, as agreed between the student and their supervisor.
The awards are not intended to support a student performing research on a part-time basis, or for research performed outside the term during which the student is to be engaged in their research

Value of awards

The SURA provides $4000 from the Faculty of Science, plus a minimum of $4000 from the research supervisor. Funding for these awards was provided by the late Eva Moody.

The SERA provides $5000 from the Faculty of Science, plus a minimum of $3500 from the research supervisor.

Who is eligible for an award?

To be eligible for a SURA or SERA award, at the time of application a candidate must:

be registered as a full-time undergraduate student in the Faculty of Science at the University of Victoria in the current Winter Session (Sept-April) and be in good standing;
have completed at least 30 units of course credits toward a BSc degree;
have a cumulative GPA of 6.0 or higher.

In addition to the above criteria, an applicant for the SERA must belong to one or more under-represented groups as defined by Tri-Agency Dimensions Charter. This includes, but is not limited to:

Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Métis and Inuit)
Persons with disabilities
Members of visible minority/racialized groups
Members of LGBTQ+ communities
Women

Preference for the SERA is given to Canadian or International Indigenous Students.

How are students selected for the award?

Applications are adjudicated by the applicable Department/School Awards committee. A faculty member from the Department/School EDI committee will serve on the Awards Committee to ensure the EDI principles are upheld.

How do you apply?

To apply for this award, students must complete and submit the SURA-SERA Application to the general office of the supervisor’s home department.

Student applicants should complete parts 1A and 1B, save the application on their computer and email the completed electronic form to their proposed supervisor.
The supervisor should then complete part
The application must be signed by the student and the supervisor(s) before being submitted.

A student may submit an application for multiple research awards (SURA, SERA, NSERC USRA, BioCan Rx Studentship, BC Cancer Studentship, etc.) but may only accept one of the awards offered per academic year.

The application must be signed by the student and the supervisor(s) before being submitted to minamin@uvic.ca