Undergraduate Research at Smith Engineering

Full time during the summer or part time during the semester
Possible at any point, but more typical for third and fourth year students
Get paid as undergraduate research assistant or conduct the research during the term as an undergraduate research thesis for credit
Your faculty supervisor and/or graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the research group will train you
Examples include assisting with experiments, field work, collaborating with industry, data collection and analysis, writing code, running simulations or developing models.

Why conduct research as an undergraduate?

It's exciting! Play a small part in solving the world's pressing challenges such as reducing green house gas emissions or protecting our water resources. Help to advance the state of the art, develop better models, new device prototypes, or entirely new capabilities.
It's a great way to find out if research and graduate school is right for you.
Many undergraduate research assistants learn to use advanced equipment, software and techniques in high demand by employers.
Diversify your professional skills
Undergraduate research experiences give you a significant advantage when applying later for graduate school or for research-oriented positions in industry.
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Mechanical and Materials Engineering offer Accelerated Master's programs (aka "4+1") in which students can obtain a Master's degree one or two terms faster by starting a research project during their undergraduate degree, often in the summer after the third year. Contact those departments' graduate assistants for details.

How does it work?

Find supervisor: All undergraduate research projects require a faculty supervisor.Therefore, the first step is to identify professors who conduct research that you find interesting -- see the next section. Research poster sessions are also great opportunities to find out about interesting research projects.
Contact supervisor: Next, talk to these faculty members to let them know that you are interested in conducting research under their supervision, e.g., after class or during office hours. You can also send a faculty member an email to express your interest in undergraduate research and to find out if they have funding and time to supervise you. Check out the 2023 Queen's undergraduate research guide with tips for writing such emails.
Funding: There are quite a few funding programs, see below. For some programs like SWEP, the faculty members post undergraduate research positions that you can apply for. Other programs like USRAs are a good opportunity to approach faculty members several weeks before the deadline.

Questions? Feel free to email Vera (vmk@queensu.ca).

Research at Smith Engineering

Our researchers are dedicated to discovering forward-thinking solutions for the challenges of our rapidly changing world.

Find a Supervisor

Browse our faculty profiles to find a supervisor in your area of research:

Funding programs for undergraduate research

NSERC USRA: The USRA program requires a faculty supervisor to provide part of the student’s salary, so talk to professors you would like to work with. Only Canadian citizens, permanent residents or protected persons under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) can apply for an NSERC USRA. Each department at Queen’s is given a certain number of USRAs each year and sets their own internal deadline, typically in January or February. The 5 Smith Engineering departments will have a deadline of February 14, 2025 for USRA and USSRF applications for most departments (Chemical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Mining). Feb 3 is the deadline for Civil Engineering. Follow your department's application process.
There is an unlimited number of NSERC USRAs for Black and Indigenous students , see Queen's USRA page.
Queen's has an undergraduate research program called USSRF. Each department receives an allocation of USSRFs each year. Same deadlines as for USRA, see above.
NEW: Apply for a Matariki Network Fellowship to conduct research at Durham University in the UK this summer. List of available projects and more information on the Fellowships
Queen's QES 2025, Colombia Opportunity: Exciting Opportunity for 2-3 Third-Year Engineering Students: Join a Life-Changing 8-Week Research Experience in Colombia! The application deadline is on January 10, 2024.
Charles Allan Thompson Research Award: similar to an NSERC USRA, but international students are eligible and will have higher priority since they are not eligible for the USRA program. Deadline: March 4, 2025.
Queen’s Summer Work Experience Program (SWEP): faculty members sometimes fund research projects for undergraduate students through SWEP, so check the list of SWEP positions for next summer -- they have been posted since December 16, 2024 on MyCareer, and the application deadline is February 13.
Mitacs Accelerate: these are industrial research internships where undergraduate or graduate students spend about half the time at the university and half the time at an eligible company, non-profit or municipal partner organization, working on the same research project. Each 4 month internship unit requires a faculty supervisor and $7,500 in co-funding from the partner organization that is matched 1:1 by Mitacs. Mitacs contact: Kristin. No deadlines.
Women in Engineering Summer Research Grants: these are smaller grants, one per undergraduate program. Information will be distributed through the departments closer to summer or email Heidi Ploeg, the Queen’s Chair for Women in Engineering.
Queen’s STEMInA undergraduate research program: a new pilot initiative for Indigenous students who are interested in research.
Cross-Disciplinary Internship Program | Arthur B. McDonald Institute: this program is specifically for students not enrolled in Physics or Engineering Physics programs. Deadline: January 24, 2025.
Work-Study: the university subsidizes experiential learning opportunities for students with financial need, including research-related opportunities.
Some faculty members have included a budget for undergraduate research projects in their grant applications and will not require co-funding from one of the programs listed above

Undergraduate Research Experiences

Justin Sandrasagra

Kate Sheppard

Brigitte Gaudert

Events

The 19th Inquiry @ Queen’s Undergraduate Research Conference will be held March 6-7 in the 1966 Reading Room in Douglas Library. Courtesy of the Office of the Vice Principal (Research), the top two selected oral presentations will receive $1,000 awards. Students may also submit poster presentations.

You can also submit an abstract for this conference by February 14. Paper, presentation, and poster abstracts will be included in the I@Q conference proceedings. This journal is open access and will serve as a record of all contributions to the Inquiry@Queen's Undergraduate Research Conference. You can refer to it on your résumé and it can be cited by other researchers. See the I@Q website for details.

EngSoc Master's Networking and Info Night, March 11, 7-10PM at the Grad Club for undergraduate students considering graduate school. Learn how it works and connect with professors who are currently looking for new Master's students. Please RSVP by filling out this registration form as well as this mandatory AMS waiver form.

EngSoc Master's event graphic