The Lay of the Land: An Overview of Canada’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities within the Life Sciences

This article reviews the state of Canada’s undergraduate research opportunities (UROs) in the life sciences across various institutions. Survey data gathered in 2019 from 20 departments in 14 universities show that all responding departments offer well-established forms of research that include credit-based directed studies or honors-thesis courses. Paid research opportunities are offered by 80–95 percent of the responding departments. Newer-generation UROs such as course-based undergraduate research experiences and inquiry-based lab courses were found to be offered by more than half of responding departments. Additionally, 60 percent reported having co-curricular and student-driven URO initiatives. Overall, the survey data reflect a well-established and growing portfolio of UROs at universities across Canada.