Through its funding program, the QCBS recognizes, supports, and encourages the most promising undergraduate students to discover and develop their interest in biodiversity science to foster their involvement in research. The BSDA program provides a unique opportunity to outstanding and promising undergraduate students with funding to support their participation in QCBS member’s laboratory or field projects.

Appropriate research activities for the BSD Award

The following research activities are considered appropriate for funding. The research should be closely linked to the research axes and themes of the QCBS:

• Laboratory or field data collection through experiments or surveys.
• Literature reviews or meta-analyses.
• Remote sensing or geographic information systems approaches to data collection and analysis.
• Theoretical research involving mathematical analysis or computer simulation.

Previous years’ award recipients: click here

 Questions regarding the application process should be directed to info@qcbs.ca.

General rules

• Applicants are limited to one award throughout their undergraduate studies.
• Only one award can be given per year.
• Only successful candidates will be notified.
• Applications received outside deadlines will not be considered except for exceptional circumstances.
• Awards can be combined with other awards if allowed by the other funding sources.

Amounts of funding

Between $500 and $1,500 CAD per award. Between 10 to 15 awards are available per year.

Eligibility requirements

• Active and full-time undergraduate student enrolled in one of the QCBS partner universities
• Supervised by a QCBS coresearcher

Award timeline

• Period covered : April to March
• Application deadline: March 15
• Final decisions: Beginning of May

Award transfer  

Award amounts are sent directly to the student’s supervisor. Students must produce a short financial report for the QCBS and are then reimbursed by their supervisor.

Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered.

BSD Awards for undergraduate student’s applications must contain the following items:

• Cover letter (maximum 1 page)

Make sure your cover letter includes the following information: First and last name, academic institution, email address, name of your graduate program.

Your letter should be short and provide a summary of the accompanying documentation.

• University transcripts

Applicants should provide scanned or electronic versions of up-to-date transcript(s) of university grades. Transcripts can be included as part of the PDF file.

• CV (1 to 3 pages)

Note that CVs of award recipients will be posted on the QCBS website.

Your CV should follow the following format:

• A contact section including your academic institution logo, a photo of yourself, and the name of the internship supervisor,
• An education section including your past and present education programs with dates attended,
• A research section briefly describing your research project,
• A publication section (if applicable).

• Description of project (maximum ½ page)

Please indicate the title of the internship research project, even if preliminary.  Briefly describe how the award will help you achieve your research goals and contribute to your professional development. Please include latitude/longitude coordinates (6 decimal degrees) for the place the award will be used.

• Relevance to QCBS research program (maximum ½ page)

Briefly describe how your work relates to the QCBS research structure (axes and themes).

• Use of funds (maximum 1 page)

Briefly explain why you are you requesting an award to participate in the QCBS research program, provide the following information:

• • Project title,
  • Name of institution offering training/internship,
  • Location of training/internship,
  • Date and duration of training/internship,
  • For training workshop, provide overview of course material,
  • For internship, provide details about lab and supervisor, including contact information,
  • Description of why this project is being conducted at this institution.
• Estimated budget (maximum 1 page)

The budget should be a table showing all the costs of the project for which you are applying for funding.  Please use the following table as a template.

• Support letter from the researcher supporting your internship

The letter of support from your internship supervisor is a very important part of the application. The selection jury needs to verify that the internship supervisor strongly supports the proposed project.

• Photo

Please include a photograph of yourself for the QCBS website as a separate file (.jpg or .bmp preferred).

A multi-institution QCBS committee will evaluate applications using the following criteria:

• • Application completeness (includes the following six documents: cover letter, transcript(s), CV, brief explanation, budget, recommendation letter),
  • Student’s eligibility for BSD awards,
  • University transcript(s),
  • Relevance of academic project to the QCBS research program,
  • Feasibility of proposed activity,
  • Innovative and collaborative nature of the project,
  • Adequacy of activity and request for funds.

Scholarship recipients must comply with the following requirements:

• • Award recipients will make their association with QCBS visible on their documents and presentations.
  • Award recipients will allow QCBS to post information about his/her work on QCBS website, in accordance with publication regulations and policies.
  • Award recipients will produce a short technical and financial report and send the report to QCBS within 2 months of the completed activity. Unused funds will be returned to QCBS after the above-determined date.

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