Responsible Conduct of Responsible (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.

The “Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Certificate – Undergraduate & Graduate Students” is designed for students in all research settings and that the completion of this certificate ensures that all students are trained in the eight (8) subject matter areas that NIH and NSF include in their training requirements. 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. This certificate requires five (5) REd RCR training class completions that add up to a total of ten (10) contact hours. All students MUST complete the four (4) required classes and one (1) additional class from either the offerings for “bioscience students” or “non-biosciences students.”