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Summer Research Internships in Humanities and Social Sciences

The Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS), via the Vice-President of Research and Graduate Studies (VPRGS), 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.

Who is this program for?

Anyone registered as a full-time undergraduate student at the UdeS for the 2024 winter semester and finishing their bachelor program at the end of the 2024 fall semester or 2025 winter semester is eligible.

The student must complete the research internship under the supervision of a professor or a team of two professors at the UdeS.

The subject matter of the research project submitted as part of the 2024 summer internship must be included in the research fields covered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). In addition, upon submitting the request, the student must reside in Quebec and have a 3.5 GPA or higher.

Anyone registered as a full-time undergraduate student[1] at the UdeS for the 2024 winter semester and finishing their bachelor program at the end of the 2024 fall semester or 2025 winter semester is eligible.

The subject matter of the research project submitted as part of the 2024 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 20 internships will be funded for the 2024 summer. The financial assistance offered per internship amounts to $6,000, in the form of a scholarship. 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 2024 summer semester (May to August 2024). The intern granted this assistance must devote 295 hours to the internship. In all cases, the number of hours devoted to the internship must be a minimum of 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 by the professor responsible for the internship using the electronic form. This form is accessible only during the registration period (from February 1 to March 13, 2024 at 4:00 p.m). 

All mandatory fields (marked with an asterisk) must be filled to submit the application. An application file in PDF format will be attached to the electronic form and must contain the following two documents:

  • The applicant’s non-official transcript including the GPA and number of cumulative credits earned.
  • The commitment form signed by the applicant and the professor responsible for the internship.

Only individual research projects are eligible and 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 (25% each). The assistance obtained, combined with the portion of the VPRGS (50%) must cover the amount provided for the internship ($6,000).

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 12, 2024. 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.

Contact the VPRGS (concours-vrres@USherbrooke.ca) immediately in the event of any breach of its commitments or those of the intern or the person responsible for the internship.

Students registered in a program offering only part-time studies are considered eligible.

­Students registered in 4-year bachelor's degrees may also choose to participate after their second or third year of bachelor's studies. In this case, the application can only be submitted once per student.

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.

Bishop's University students are considered eligible but must meet additional eligibility criteria. A list of students wishing to complete a summer internship under this program and whose eligibility has been confirmed will be sent to the Vice-Dean of Research of the faculties concerned at the beginning of February 2024. Bishop's University students who are not on this list must contact the VPRGS (concours-vrres@USherbrooke.ca) to confirm their eligibility. As in the case of UdeS students, the person(s) responsible for the internship agree(s) to supplement the financial support of the intern from Bishop's University with a 25% matching contribution (included in the total amount of $6,000). Applications must be submitted by the person responsible for the internship no later than 4:00 p.m. on March 13, 2024, following the procedure indicated in the Application section (see above).

[1] See the “Specific conditions” section at the end of the document.

[2] See http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/apply-demande/background-renseignements/selecting_agency-choisir_organisme_subventionnaire-fra.aspx

[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.