Responsible Conduct of Research Training

At this time, three federal agencies that provide research funding require responsible conduct of research training as a condition of accepting those funds.  Note: if you are not sure who sponsors your research project, ask your research supervisor.

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

• For research funded by an NIH CAREER award or NIH Fellowship or training award: NIH requires RCR training as follows:  NIH CAREER Awardees must follow the plan and frequency of training as described in their grant proposal’s attachment, “Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research.”  NIH Fellowship and Training Awardees must receive instruction that meets NIH’s requirements for topics and number of hours. At Rutgers, these requirements can be satisfied by taking School of Graduate Studies Course 16:115:556, “Ethics Training (Responsible Conduct of Research)." NIH requires that instruction must be taken “at least once during each career stage, and at a frequency of no less than once every four years.” Training to meet this NIH refresher requirement can be satisfied by taking School of Graduate Studies Course 16:115:558, “Ethical Science Conduct Refresher.”

National Science Foundation (NSF)

• For research funded from an NSF award: The National Science Foundation (NSF), by mandate of the United States Congress in the America Competes Act, Section 7009 and the CHIPS + Science Act, section 10337, requires all faculty, senior personnel, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students supported by NSF funding to receive training in the responsible and ethical conduct of research (RECR). At Rutgers, all principal investigators, co-investigators, faculty, key persons, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students supported by NSF funding must fulfill this obligation in any of the following ways:
  • Taking any two of the following RECR courses in-person via the S.P.A.C.E. program:
    • Research Compliance (RRA)
    • Export Control
    • Risk Management Privacy & Ethics
    • Intellectual Property
    • Creating and Communicating Public Trust in Research
    • Data Security and Management
    • Safe and Inclusive Research Environments
  • Taking online RECR training from CITI
  • Taking a course such as “Ethical Scientific Conduct,” School of Graduate Studies Course No. 16.115.556 for New Brunswick/Piscataway or GSND 5001Q for Newark Health Sciences. Note that ALL Rutgers staff, faculty and students may take this course; fill out the “registration form for RCR training” available at that link and follow instructions there for submitting the form.

National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA - NIFA)

• For research funded from USDA – NIFA:  Responsible Conduct of Research training required by USDA-NIFA must be completed for all persons paid from this source.  At Rutgers, this requirement can be satisfied by a variety of in-person and online training opportunities including online CITI training in RCR, as well as workshops, seminars and courses. 

Research Funded by Non-Federal Sources

• At this time, mandatory RCR training is not required for research funded from non-federal sources.  However, you are encouraged to complete CITI online training and to make use of the resources in the Rutgers Responsible Conduct of Research Toolkit.  These resources can help you to improve yourself as a research scholar at Rutgers.

If You Are Not Sure About What Kind of Research Funding You Have

• If you aren’t sure who sponsors your research project, ask your research supervisor.  She or he is the best person to be able to tell you whether you have federal funding or non-federal funding.

Overview: Many academic courses include teaching about research.  This can include discipline-specific research and/or best practices for research in any discipline.  Your instructor can tell you what is required in regard to research integrity and responsible conduct of research (RCR) education for your course and program.  Regardless of whether you are doing research now or are only planning on doing research someday, keep in mind that responsible conduct of research education can improve you as a scholar.  See the Rutgers Responsible Conduct of Research Toolkit for additional resources in this regard.

Below is a partial list of RCR-related courses.  For more information on these courses, please contact the director for the program or the instructor of the course. 

• Biomedical Sciences Graduate Programs in New Brunswick/Piscataway (Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Pharmacology, Exposure Science, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Neuroscience, Physiology, Toxicology) - RCR Training: School of Graduate Studies Course 16:115:556, “Ethical Scientific Conduct (Responsible Conduct of Research);” and School of Graduate Studies Course 16:115:558, “Ethical Scientific Conduct Refresher.” and Rigor and Reproducibility Training CTSC 5103S / SGS Course 16:115:557; SGS Course 16:125:578; and SGS Course 16:960:501

• Biomedical Sciences Multidisciplinary PhD Program at Newark Health Sciences Campus [Molecular Biosciences (MBGC), Integrative Biosciences (CBNP), Infectious Disease and Immunity (I3), and Biomedical Engineering (BME)] - RCR Training School of Graduate Studies Course 16:115:556, “Ethical Scientific Conduct (Responsible Conduct of Research);” and School of Graduate Studies Course 16:115:558, “Ethical Scientific Conduct Refresher;” - Rigor and Reproducibility Training GSND 5135Q "Research Design and Statistics"

• Civil and Environmental Engineering: Professional Issues in Civil Engineering, Course 14:180:482

• Communication and Information: Research Design, Course 16:194:623

• Ecology and Evolution: Ethics and Development in Ecology and Evolution, Course 16:215:602

• Education, Graduate School of: Qualitative Research Methods Sequence, Courses 16:300:509-513

• Geography Master’s and Doctoral Programs: Research Design, Course 16:450:602

• Genetic Counseling: Research Methods for Genetic Counseling, Course 16:681:598

• Landscape Architecture: Research Methods, Course 16:550:582; Social and Cultural Aspects of Design, Course 11:550:301; Professional Practice, Course 11:550:435

• Mathematics: Qualitative Methods I and II (includes research ethics), Courses 49:977:631 and 26:977:621

• Microbial Biology: Scientific Conduct and Ethics, Course 16:682:530

• Microbiology: Ethics and Issues in Microbiology, Course 11:680:401

• Music Education: Master’s Research in Music Education (includes ethics), Course 08:702:514:01

• Political Science: Research Design in Political Science, Course 16:790-532-533

• Professional Science Master’s Program: Ethics for Science and Technology Management, Course 16:137:500

• Psychology: The Psychology of Scientific Integrity (Psych 421). Contact Cremilde Roman to register.

• Statistics Department: Statistical Theory for Research Workers, Course 16:960:501