The Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Certificate - Undergraduate & Graduate Students is designed so that students can meet the educational requirements for National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant proposal submissions and federally funded projects. Eight (8) contact hours is required for these funding mechanisms, with the majority of classes needing to be completed in-person. This certificate is designed for students in all research settings. Participants will become familiar with best practices and proper procedures for conducting RCR, whether they are in health sciences, social and behavioral sciences, or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Participants will be able to articulate how federal and state regulations, professional standards and University policies underscore the need for RCR in the research enterprise.

RCR training of Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Research Associates is a mandatory requirement for many federal research grants. Many departments and colleges across campus already have well developed, mandatory RCR training for graduate students and postdocs appointed in their unit. For academic units that do not have an existing program, the Graduate School and the Office of Research Integrity & Compliance have teamed up to develop an RCR training program that may be completed by Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Researchers at no cost for University of Utah affiliates. The RCR pathway allows students to access the REd’s in-person and/or online classes so that students can customize their RCR certificate to fit their needs.