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.
Call for application
***Deadline: March 15***
General rules
- Applicants are limited to one award throughout their undergraduate studies.
- Only one award can be given per lab 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 15 to 30 awards are available per year.
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.
Eligibility requirements
- Active and full time undergraduate student enrolled in one of the QCBS partner universities
- Supervised by a QCBS coresearcher
The application must contain the following:
- Cover letter with applicant’s contact information
- Up to date transcript(s)
- Applicant’s CV (recipients’ CVs will be posted on the QCBS website)
- Brief explanation of student research and relation to QCBS research axes and themes and of proposed use of funds (one page, or ~400 words maximum)
- Detailed budget indicating proportion of total budget requested as QCBS award.
- Recommendation letter written by the proposed internship supervisor
Detailed application guidelines can be found here.
Evaluation process
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
Award timeline
- 1 application deadline per year
- Period covered : April to March
- Application deadline: March 15
- Decision: Beginning of May
Award obligations
- 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.
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.
Questions regarding the application process should be directed to info@qcbs.ca.
Guidelines for application
Please apply online. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
BSD Awards for undergraduate students 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 you 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 institutions
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.
| Item | Quantity | Unitary cost | Total cost | Amount requested from other sources | Amount requested to the QCBS |
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).
