Scholarships & Awards

In-Course Scholarships

There are several in-course scholarships for which St. George Psychology undergraduate students may be eligible. Students are awarded based on their eligibility under each scholarship's criteria.  While three of them are application-based (please see below for the George Mandler Research Fund, the Horace O. Frosty Steer Award in Psychology, and the Robert J. Glushko Senior Thesis Award), five of them are automatically awarded by a committee.  These automatic in-course awards are: The Linda Mamelak Undergraduate Award, The McNab Scholarship in Psychology, The Dept. of Psychology Student Award, The John D. Ketchum Memorial Scholarship, and The John D. Ketchum Memorial Bursary. 

Students can find more awards via ACORN or by using Awards Explorer. Awards Explorer is a centralized, searchable database of awards available the University of Toronto.

George Mandler Research Fund

The George Mandler Research Fund was established to award undergraduate students undertaking research initiatives in the Department of Psychology at the St. George Campus. The value of the award varies from year to year, and can be split between two recipients by the award selection committee.

Conditions: 

Funds will be awarded on the basis of academic merit to Psychology undergraduate students who are engaged in student-led research initiatives in the Department of Psychology during the academic year in which the award is being held.  Students cannot apply unless they are doing research during the fall and winter that they've applied.  Preference may be given to students doing research in labs that do not have funds to support their specific projects.  

Applications: 

Students will describe in one page or less how the funding will support their research. They will also include a brief statement (1-2 sentences) explaining how their research will be supported if they do not receive the funds. Eligible students should fill out the required George Mandler Research Fund Application Form and email it along with a PDF copy of their academic history from ACORN to the Undergraduate Administrator (psy.undergrad@utoronto.ca) by September 30th of each year.

Horace O. Frosty Steer Award in Psychology

This award will go to a graduating student from the St. George Psychology Specialist, Research Specialist, or Major programs, with an 'A' average or higher, who enrols in an approved graduate program in Psychology, concentrating in the area of problems of children.

The value of this award varies from year to year in the range of $3000-4000 CAD. If you will be enrolling in, and starting a graduate program, this coming Fall in this particular area of study, please fill out the Horace O. Frosty Steer Award in Psychology Application Form and return it by email along with your graduate school letter of acceptance, and the concentration of your studies, as well as a PDF copy of your academic history from ACORN. Before funds are distributed to the chosen candidate, proof of your enrolment in the graduate program will be required. 

Completed applications should be emailed to the Undergraduate Administrator (psy.undergrad@utoronto.ca). Deadline to submit each year is May 15th.  

Robert J. Glushko Senior Thesis Award

To be awarded to one or more full-time or part-time undergraduate students in the Research Specialist program in the Department of Psychology, St. George Campus, for an outstanding senior thesis related to the field of Cognitive Science.

Funds (a minimum of $500 per recipient) will be awarded at the discretion of the Chair, Department of Psychology, based on the merit of the thesis. 

Research Specialist students finishing up their PSY400Y1 thesis should apply by no later than April 30th of each year by filling out the Glushko Senior Thesis Award Application Form 2025 and emailing it along with a PDF copy of their finished thesis to the Undergraduate Administrator at psy.undergrad@utoronto.ca.

NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRAs)

The Department of Psychology's internal departmental deadline for 2025 NSERC USRA applications is Monday, March 17th, 2025. Students and their supervisors apply via the NSERC website.  The department's quota for summer 2025 is 4, but self-identifying Indigenous student applicants are awarded above this quota.  Both self-identifying Black and Indigenous students are encouraged to indicate this on their application form.

Applications must then be downloaded into a PDF and submitted to the Undergraduate Program Manager via email to psy.undergrad@utoronto.ca, along with the student's academic history from ACORN.

Please see and read carefully the following for more information:

• Psychology NSERC USRA 2025 Application Information
• NSERC USRA Eligible Supervisors_2025

Department of Psychology Criteria for NSERC Applications:

• We do not accept applications from students registered at other universities
• We do not accept applications from non-PSY Program students or UTM/UTSC students
• Supervisors must only be from the approved list (see above)
• Students must have a current minimum CGPA of 3.0 on their transcript
• Students must be in at least second year to apply
• We do not accept late applications
• Applicants must commit to the full 16-weeks of the work term (40-hours per week)

CIHR and SSHRC Black Student Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRAs)

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) have each introduced their respective Black Student Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRAs) program. Modelled on NSERC’s USRA program, the goal of both CIHR’s and SSHRC’s program is to provide research experience that complements the degree program that undergraduate students are pursuing, which may lead them to consider graduate studies in the fields of health and life sciences (CIHR) or the social sciences and humanities (SSHRC).

CIHR and SSHRC’s Black Student USRA awards are only for Black Students. When students are completing their portion of the USRA application, they will confirm that they self-identify as Black, and confirm their awareness that this declaration will be shared with the institution and the funding agency.

Please see the following link for more information on how to apply:  https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/faculty-staff/research-supports-services/find-funding#cihr-sshrc-black-student-undergraduate-student-research-awards

Students and supervisors must submit a PDF copy of their online application, along with their academic history, in one document to psy.undergrad@utoronto.ca by Monday, March 11th, 2025 where they will be go through an internal review and submission to A&S by their March 25th deadline.

Dept. of Psychology Eligible Supervisors:

CIHR Eligible Supervisors_2025

SSHRC Eligible Supervisors_2025 
 

University of Toronto Undergraduate Excellence Awards (UTEAs)

The application deadline for the Summer 2025 UTEAs (for NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR) is March 21st, 2025. For more details and eligibility requirements please visit the UTEA website.

The UTEAs are for 14-weeks and the time spent is approximately 40-hours per week. This is a full-time committment during the months of May-August, depending on the student's start date. Please see the UTEA Program Guidelines for more information:  2025-UTEA-Guidelines  

How to apply:

Application instructions are on the following website: https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/faculty-staff/research-supports-services/find-funding#u-of-t-excellence-award-undergrad

Application Form:  2025-UTEA-Application-Form

Applications are not to be submitted to the department, but rather by the supervisor through the MRA. 

Eligible Supervisors:

A supervisor/PI must be a PRIMARY BUDGETARY APPOINTEE in the Faculty of Arts & Science (St. George Campus), in the Dept. of Psychology, and must hold an active NSERC, SSHRC, or CIHR research grant (either as principal investigator or co-investigator) at the start date of the UTEA (May 1^st) or have a pending application. A faculty supervisor may hold a maximum of 2 UTEA awards per year. 

NSERC USRA Eligible Supervisors_2025

SSHRC Eligible Supervisors_2025

CIHR Eligible Supervisors_2025

If you have questions about the UTEAs, please contact:  research.artsci@utoronto.ca