Explore new research
Participants in the Undergraduate Summer Research Program (USRP) spend the summer conducting research under the supervision of a Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty member. Participants will attend an orientation session, laboratory safety training sessions and seminar presentations by faculty members. In mid-August, students will have the opportunity to present their research projects, in the annual Poster Day, to their peers and the rest of the Faculty. Presenters will be judged, and the winner will receive the Summer Undergraduate Student Research Program Award.
Undergraduate students are offered a unique opportunity to participate in research in the following areas:
- Molecular basis of drug targets and diseases
- Drug development and disease diagnostics
- Drug safety
- Health Services research
- Clinical Pharmacy research
Duration
- May 5 to August 25, 2025
- Individual projects will run from 12 to 16 weeks as arranged between participants and supervisors.
- Students completing their 4-week EPEs are able to participate by doing a 12-week project.
Eligibility
- Students must be registered in a bachelor’s degree program at a Canadian University or Institution or enrolled at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy in either the PharmD, PharmD for Pharmacists or Pharmaceutical Chemistry program;
- Students must have completed at least one year (4.0 credits) in a full-time undergraduate degree program prior to the application deadline, January 19, 2025;
- Students who complete their undergraduate degree in the spring of 2025 are eligible for the 2025 USRP program; students who have completed their undergraduate degree earlier than 2025 are not eligible to apply;
- Students must be supervised by a Pharmaceutical Sciences graduate faculty member;
- Students must have a cumulative GPA of 75% or higher to be eligible (equivalent in the U of T grading system is ‘3.0’ or higher);
- The program is open to students from any undergraduate program at the University of Toronto and from other Canadian Universities.
- Students who have been accepted into the Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Program beginning September 2025 are eligible to participate in the 2025 USRP program;
- You may hold only one award (USRP, USRA, etc.) per fiscal year
Funding
- Normally, students are paid $4,350 – $5,800 for the summer (depending on eligibility for external awards and the length of the project);
- Students who apply for the undergraduate summer research program will automatically be considered for other awards (e.g. CIHR, NSERC, etc.).
Application Procedure
Students are required to apply through the CNLx portal (website) and complete a Questionnaire, then apply for individual opportunities (limit of 5);
Students must submit the following for each opportunity:
- Letter of Intent
- Curriculum Vitae/Resume
- An unofficial transcript
Application Deadline is Sunday, January 19, 2025.
All applicants will receive notification of the results of their application in mid-March 2025.
Inquiries about the Undergraduate Summer Research Program can be directed to Sam D’Alfonso at sam.dalfonso@utoronto.ca
For assistance with the CLNx applications site please contact cln@utoronto.ca