Search Website
Undergraduate Summer Research Internships
Western’s Undergraduate Summer Research Internships (USRI) Program provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to gain hands-on research experience by working closely with faculty mentors on short-term research projects. The program supports experiential learning, the development of research skills, and meaningful contributions to faculty research.
The USRI provides a paid, full-time, 16-week internship running from May to August. Students receive a stipend set annually by Western University. During the internship, students work under the supervision of a faculty member on a defined research project, participate in four or more professional development workshops focused on research skills, and produce a final research output to showcase their work.
USRI projects are designed to be completed within the 16-week internship period and should both advance the supervisor’s research program and provide meaningful learning experience for the student. Projects introduce students to research methods and creative or scholarly practices relevant to music research. Depending on the nature of the project, final research outputs may take a variety of forms, including a research poster, presentation, lecture-recital, performance, recording, composition, digital resource, podcast, short video, website, or another format determined in consultation with the faculty supervisor.
Student Eligibility
All Faculty of Music undergraduate students enrolled in the Winter 2027 term and returning to Western in Fall 2027 are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to students entering their final year in Fall 2027. Current final-year undergraduate students who plan to return to the Faculty of Music for graduate studies are also eligible.
Annual Timeline
|
Time |
Activity |
|
Mid-February |
Faculty submit project proposals |
|
March |
Approved projects advertised to students |
|
March |
Students apply directly to faculty supervisors |
|
Late March–Early April |
Interviews and offers |
|
Early May |
Internships begin |
Please note that this timeline may vary slightly from year to year. Detailed information, available projects, and application instructions are circulated each year by email.
Past USRI Projects
- assist with a summer festival in Romania
- conduct a corpus study of music in reality TV shows
- research climate-themed repertoire
- research Canadian opera repertoire suitable for auditions and training
- study the reasons why trained musicians abandon a music career
- develop new processes and strategies for Nota Bene (student research publication)
- research vocal works by Black composers
- research existing repertoire listings and resources that support diversifying and expanding programming
- organize recorded audio/video media from the Magisterra archive
- research new solo viola repertoire composed over the past 35 years by underrepresented composers
- examine concerts currently being organized in support of Ukraine in North America, following the 2022 Russian invasion
- digital music editor for the supervisor's commercial audio (music) recording
- translate late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century documents
- a study of the rock music scene in Toronto during the period 1965–70
- update and diversify Western University's audio engineering curriculum
- The Loudness of Popular Music Recordings in the Digital Age, 1985–2020
- comprehensive compilation to aid technical requirements for current violin students in the studio
- co-design a large-scale cross-faculty outdoor performance
Black student researchers may be eligible to apply for a SSHRC Undergraduate Summer Research Award (USRA), if they can collaborate with a research-eligible faculty member who can provide the required supplementary funds.