Summer Research Internships in Humanities and Social Sciences
The Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS), via the Vice-President of Research and Graduate Studies, supports a summer introductory research internship program in a humanities or social sciences discipline, intended for undergraduate students. The program’s objectives are as follows:
- Getting students interested in this area of research, right from their initial training;
- Fostering recruitment in the various graduate studies research programs in humanities and social sciences;
- Financially supporting undergraduate students with an excellent academic record so they can acquire significant research experience by completing a short research project;
- Setting up ideal conditions for these students in preparation for enrolling in graduate studies, so that they can attain graduate research scholarships with federal and provincial granting agencies.
The people selected will complete a research internship at the UdeS under the supervision of a professor or a team of two professors.
Anyone registered as a full-time undergraduate student[1] at the UdeS for the 2021 winter semester and finishing their bachelor program at the end of the 2021 winter semester is eligible.
The subject matter of the research project submitted as part of the 2021 summer internship must be included in the research fields covered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)[2]. In addition, upon submitting the request, the student must reside in Quebec and have a 3.5 GPA or higher.
At least 15 internships will be funded for the 2021 summer. The financial assistance offered per internship amounts to $5000, including benefits before payroll deductions. It comes from three sources: The VPRGS (50%), home faculty of the intern (25%), and professors responsible for the internship (25%).
The internship must be at least 10 weeks and be completed during the 2021 summer semester (May to August 2021). The intern granted this assistance must devote at least 300 hours to the internship. The number of hours the intern devotes to the internship must be at least 20 hours per week.
This program does not exclude the possibility that an intern may obtain additional financial assistance from a professor. However, combining the financial assistance obtained through this program with a major scholarship from an external agency is not permitted.
Only research projects are eligible for this competition.
Applications must be submitted using the electronic form March 16, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. All mandatory fields (marked with an asterisk) must be filled to submit the application. The file to be attached (PDF) is the applicant’s non-official transcript including the GPA and number of cumulative credits earned. The applicant commits to completing the internship for the specific project if the financial assistance is granted. No internship supervisor change shall be authorized after the deadline.
To select recipients, applicant files are sorted in descending GPA order[3], then awards are distributed until the funding envelopes are used up.
- Any application may be rejected, even when eligible, should sufficient funds become unavailable.
- In the event of withdrawal or breach regarding internship commitments, the internship supervisor shall notify the VPRGS as soon as possible.
- A waiting list will be devised in preparation for potential withdrawals. Should someone withdraw from an internship, the financial assistance offer is cancelled for that internship. The waiting list, sorted in descending GPA order, shall be used to grant the newly available financial assistance to the next applicant.
The intern’s home faculty and the internship supervisor commit to supplementing the financial assistance of the intern. The assistance obtained, combined with the portion of the faculty and the internship supervisor, must cover the amount provided for the internship ($5000).
By accepting the financial assistance for their summer internship, the intern commits to submitting a communication in the form of a science poster as part of the Undergraduate Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Day which will be held on September 15, 2021, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This day is organized in turn by one of the five following faculties: School of Management, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Physical Activity Sciences. For this occasion, prizes are awarded for the best posters presented. The presentation terms and conditions for the Undergraduate Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Day will be sent to the interns selected for financial assistance.
If an intern with an important reason is unable to present a poster during the Undergraduate Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Day, they will need to write and submit an internship report to the VPRGS within one month after the end of the summer internship. The drafting terms and conditions of the report will be sent to the interns selected for financial assistance.
Students registered in a program offering only part-time studies are considered eligible.
Students completing their Bachelor of Law degree will also be considered in the second-to-last year of their program of studies if they intend to continue, in the year following the end of the bachelor’s degree, their studies at the École du Barreau du Québec (Québec bar school) or a master’s in notarial law program to obtain the professional designation of lawyer or notary.
Students in the Bachelor of Kinesiology program whose regular program is ending in the fall semester (December) are eligible for the internship program.
[1] See the “Specific conditions” section at the end of the document.
[3] Candidates’ GPAs are weighted based on the group average in each program of studies to account for this potential variability. The ranking of applications will be based on these new weighted averages
- Application form - The form will be made available during the registration period.