Research Security Training
Federal regulations concerning Research Security continue to mature as cloud computing, AI, and digital records become the primary method for using, storing, and publishing funded research data. Most federal agencies now require research security training for all researchers who are named or paid on sponsored research funding.
To comply with these requirements, all researchers named on proposals to federal agencies (including pass-through awards and subawards funded by federal agencies) are required to take CITI Program’s “Research Security” course starting October 1, 2025. This course satisfies current research security training requirements for federal agencies such as , the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the National Institutes of Health.
CITI program offers two research security training modules:
- "Research Security Training (Combined)" - a 1 hour/1 module condensed version
- "Research Security Basic Training" - a 4 hour/4 module version
Trainees are encouraged to take the full "Research Security Basic Training" module if time allows, but currently either module complies with federal agency regulations.
Instructions for using the CITI Program site and selecting courses is available here - https://www.rit.edu/srs/collaborative-institutional-training-initiative-citi-training
Important for NSF proposals: Beginning Oct. 10, 2025, Rochester Institute of Technology will be unable to submit a proposal to NSF until all PIs, Co-PIs, and key personnel on the proposal have completed the updated course.
Important for NIH researchers: Effective Oct. 1, 2025 all faculty and researchers identified as Senior/Key Personnel on an NIH-funded project must have completed the course prior to submitting an Other Support document to NIH, including submission via just-in-time and research performance project reports (RPPRs).