Compliance

We are committed to upholding the highest standards of ethics, integrity, and compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and policies. Below are items of reference for research compliance. The University’s primary resource for research compliance is University Research Administration.

Social Sciences Grant Policy

The Social Science Divisional grant policy is designed to provide faculty with the freedom and flexibility to pursue lines of inquiry wherever they may lead, to sustain an institutional environment capable of catalyzing and advancing field-defining research, and to balance the pursuit of faculty research opportunities with other responsibilities (teaching, student advising and mentorship, and departmental service), while at the same time ensuring compliance with University and governmental regulations.

Any grant proposal on which a faculty member with primary academic appointment in the Social Sciences Division serves as Principal Investigator must be submitted through the Social Sciences Division.

Read the full text of the Social Sciences Division Grant Policy.

Ethics Certification

Funders such as the NSF and NIH require applicants to complete ethics certification training. Complete the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training offered by CITI and download the completion certificate here.

Conflict of Interest

The University of Chicago’s Conflict of Interest/ Conflict of Commitment Policy requires that all individuals with the designation of faculty, or other academic appointment, file annually a Conflict of Interest-Conflict of Commitment Disclosure. Furthermore, any individual that is engaged in the design, conduct or reporting of research, or is considered “key personnel,” must comply with the policy. This is a University- wide policy, and applies regardless of whether the faculty or academic is engaged in research, or receives external research funding, and regardless of whether they have a full-time or part-time appointment.

For more information, visit University Research Administration’s COI-COC page.

CITI COI Training

Faculty applying for PHS funding (e.g., NIH, NCI, etc.) must have completed CITI Conflicts of Interest training. Training is valid for four years. Faculty will be notified if their training will expire in the next 120 days to log into CITI (citiprogram.org) and complete the Refresher Course on Conflict of Interest.

Protection of Human Subjects

Research activities conducted by University of Chicago faculty and students that involve the use of human volunteers or analysis of identifiable human subjects data must be reviewed and approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) if the research is designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.

To submit your IRB application, visit the Social and Behavioral Sciences IRB page.

Animals in Research

Using animals in research or teaching requires the prior approval of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). The IACUC works closely with the Animal Resources Center (ARC), which is responsible for the animal procurement, facilities, husbandry, and specialized veterinary services.

For more information, visit the IACUC website.