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Outstanding Scholars

Last updated on 2022/10/09

UWindsor offers the Outstanding Scholars program for students to get involved in research projects. Student will get paid for each placement under the supervision of instructors. The program requires students to complete 6 placements in order to complete the OS program. Most students will start their placement from 3rd semester until the last semester to complete all 6 placements.

Pros and Cons of Outstanding Scholars​

Pros​

  • Paid placement: $16.35/hour (2nd/3rd year) and $17.30/hour (4th year).
  • Flexible total hours: 45-100 hours per placement.
  • Great experience to put on resume or grad school application.
  • A lot of machine learning and cyber security research projects focusing on different areas (ex. social network analysis and document and network analysis).
  • Placements are not limited in your department. OS program is a golden key that can open any research doors for you.
  • Outstanding Scholars Medal & Golden Maple Leaf Medallion will be awarded.

Cons​

  • Time consuming.
  • Depending on the research project, there is a lot of reading material.
  • Depending on the research project, do not expect to code a lot. Unless you are buidling a training model for a machine learning algorithm or simulating model.
  • Weekly or Bi-weekly meetings. Must keep close contact with professor with your progress.
  • If your supervisor is too busy, and many of them are, then you are mostly on your own. That's why finding a good supervisor is very important.

Applying to Outstanding Scholars​

During high school, you can apply to become an OS Candidate for your first year at UWindsor. However, regardless if you are an OS Candidate or not, you must apply again after your first year in order to enter the OS program as a full scholar and perform research.

Applying to be an Outstanding Scholar Candidate:

High school students can apply to the OS Candidates Scholarship. The selected students for this scholarship will be known as OS Candidates. During their first year, OS Candidates will receive $750 / semester, interact with other Outstanding Scholars, and have opportunities to network with professors. After their first year at the University of Windsor, OS Candidates need to re-apply to the OS Program to formally get involved with research projects.

The application will be done through the Student Awards Profile at UWinsite Student, and the top 100 students applying for admission to any first-entry program at the University of Windsor will be accepted.

Students are eligible to apply if their GPA, based on the top three to six Grade 12 U/M courses, is least 85%.

The deadline for applications for Fall 2022 admission will be Thursday, March 31st, 2022.

Applying to be a Full-fledged Outstanding Scholar:

Every summer, invitations will be given out to prospective second-years to apply to the OS program to become a full scholar. Invitations will be given by email to the top 250 first-year students with the highest cumulative GPA. If a student is already an OS Candidate, then they will be invited if they are in good academic standing and has maintained a cumulative average of 80%+.

Every year, the OS program will admit the top 80 second-year students as Outstanding Scholars. These Outstanding Scholars will start to find their research placement during the Fall semester of their second year.

Students are eligible to apply if their cumulative GPA ranks among the top 250 first-year students. If a student is already an OS Candidate, then they will be invited if they are in good academic standing and has maintained a cumulative average of 80%+.

note

  • If you complete only 9 courses for 2 semesters in first year, then you will not receive an invitation to apply for the program. However, do not worry! you can contact Dr. Tim Brunet to inform him about your interests in the program.

  • To graduate as an OS student, you must complete 6 placements, which is 6 semesters or 3 years of your study. If you have completed more than 10 courses, you won't be able to meet the requirement. However, if you plan to take extra summer courses and do a research placement, then you are eligible to apply. Contact Dr. Tim Brunet and explain your goal to complete the program.

Selection Criteria for Outstanding Scholars​

  • Academic accomplishments: GPA 85% or higher (high school) / top 250 cumulative GPA (second-year).
  • Evident desire to do research or original creative work.
  • Evidence of community service.
  • Leadership, through excellence in athletic, creative, or other fields, or through serving in a formal leadership role.
  • Specific research project that you are interested in.
  • A reference letter from a faculty member or instructor. To get a greate reference letter, you could get to know more about a professor's research project during their office hours. This will show that you are curious and willing to learn. They will put a good word in for you.

Extra Note​

For more information about Outstanding Scholars, see here:

[1] https://www.uwindsor.ca/outstandingscholars

Furthermore, if you have any questions about the OS program, send the following CSS members an email!