Summer Research Internships in Humanities and Social Sciences Program
The Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS), via the Vice-President of Research and Graduate Studies (VPRGS), supports a summer introductory research internship program in a humanities or social sciences discipline, intended for undergraduate students. The program’s objectives are as follows:
- Getting students interested in this area of research, right from their initial training;
- Fostering recruitment in the various graduate studies research programs in humanities and social sciences;
- Financially supporting undergraduate students with an excellent academic record so they can acquire significant research experience by completing a short research project;
- Setting up ideal conditions for these students in preparation for enrolling in graduate studies, so that they can attain graduate research scholarships with federal and provincial granting agencies.
The selected students will receive a scholarship to undertake a research internship at the UdeS under the supervision of a tenured professor or a team of two tenured professors from the UdeS.
Who is this program for?
Full-time undergraduate students at the UdeS or Bishops' University during the 2025 winter semester, who will complete their bachelor's degree by the end of the 2025 fall semester or 2026 winter semester, are eligible.
Applicants must complete the research internship at the UdeS under the supervision of a tenured professor or a team of two tenured professors from the UdeS.
The subject matter of the research project submitted as part of the 2025 summer internship must be included in the research fields covered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). In addition, at the time of application, applicants must reside in Quebec and have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher if they are UdeS students, or a cumulative average of 80% or higher if they are Bishop's University students.
Full-time undergraduate students[1] at the UdeS or Bishop's University during the 2025 winter semester, who will complete their bachelor program by the end of the 2025 fall semester or the 2026 winter semester, are eligible.
The subject matter of the research project submitted as part of the 2025 summer internship must be included in the research fields covered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)[2]. In addition, at the time of application, applicants must reside in Quebec and have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher if they are UdeS students, or a cumulative average of 80% or higher if they are Bishop's University students.
The financial support offered per internship amounts to $6,000, in the form of a scholarship. It comes from three sources: The professors responsible for the internship (25%), the VPRGS and the host faculties of the interns (75%).
The internship must last between 10 and 14 weeks and be completed during the 2025 summer semester (May to August). The intern receiving this financial support must dedicate 290 hours to the internship. In all cases, the number of hours worked by the intern must be at least 20 hours per week.
It is not permitted to combine the financial support received through this program with a major scholarship from an external organization.
Only research projects are eligible for this competition.
Applications must be submitted by the professor responsible for the internship using the electronic form. This form is accessible only during the registration period (from February 1st to March 12th, 2025 at 4:00 p.m).
All mandatory fields (marked with an asterisk) must be filled to submit the application. An application file in PDF format will be attached to the electronic form and must contain the following two documents:
- A copy of the applicant’s transcript including the GPA and number of cumulative credits earned: an unofficial transcript is required for applicants from the UdeS, while an official transcript is required for applicants from Bishops's University.
- The commitment form (accessible during the registration period), signed by the applicant and the professor responsible for the internship.
Only individual research projects are eligible, and no changes in internship supervisor will be allowed after the deadline.
To select recipients, applicant files are ramked in descending order of GPA[3], and scholarships are awarded until the allocated funding envelopes are depleted.
- Any application may be rejected, even when eligible, should sufficient funds become unavailable.
- In the event of withdrawal or breach regarding internship commitments, the internship supervisor shall notify the VPRGS as soon as possible.
- A waiting list will be devised in preparation for potential withdrawals. Should someone withdraw from an internship, the financial assistance offer is cancelled for that internship. The waiting list, sorted in descending GPA order, shall be used to grant the newly available financial assistance to the next applicant.
The internship supervisor commits to contributing 25% of the intern's scholarship ($1,500). The total financial support, including the 75% provided by the VPRGS and the host faculty, must cover the full amount of the internship scholarship ($6,000).
By accepting the financial support for their summer internship, the intern commits to submitting a communication in the form of a science poster as part of the Undergraduate Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Day which will be held on September 16th, 2025. For this occasion, prizes are awarded for the best posters presented. The presentation terms and conditions for the Undergraduate Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Day will be sent to the interns selected for financial assistance.
If an intern with an important reason is unable to present a poster during the Undergraduate Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Day, they will need to write and submit an internship report to the VPRGS within one month after the end of the summer internship. The drafting terms and conditions of the report will be sent to the interns selected for financial assistance.
Contact the VPRGS (concours-vrres@USherbrooke.ca) immediately in the event of any breach of its commitments or those of the intern or the person responsible for the internship.
Students registered in a program offering only part-time studies are considered eligible.
Students registered in 4-year bachelor's degrees may also choose to participate after their second or third year of bachelor's studies. In this case, the application can only be submitted once per student.
Students completing their Bachelor of Law degree will also be considered in the second-to-last year of their program of studies if they intend to continue, in the year following the end of the bachelor’s degree, their studies at the École du Barreau du Québec (Québec bar school) or a master’s in notarial law program to obtain the professional designation of lawyer or notary.
[1] See the “Specific conditions” section at the end of the document.
[3] Candidates’ GPAs are weighted based on the group average in each program of studies to account for this potential variability. The ranking of applications will be based on these new weighted averages
- Application form - The form will be made available during the registration period.