Project personnel must take one (1) base required human subjects module in order to be listed on an IRB protocol. Additional add-ons may be required depending on the nature of the research. Protocols will not be approved until all personnel have completed the CITI training.

Personnel includes but is not limited to PIs, researchers, team members, faculty advisors, or anyone having contact with human subjects.

Most researchers looking for a general training should take IRB Social & Behavioral Research. Choose the base course that best aligns with your area of study. CITI certification for human subjects modules is valid for five years. 

See course details and first-time login instructions by clicking a course name in the table below. 

Direct CITI Login

Faculty or Staff Base Requirement - must choose one
Personnel Type
Working with...
CITI Training Name
Protocol Requirement?
Faculty or Staff
Social and behavioral research with human subjects
Base Requirement
Faculty or Staff 
Biomedical research with human subjects
Base Requirement
Faculty or Staff
Data or biospecimens acquired from human subjects. This course is appropriate for researchers who will not have direct contact with human subjects but will be working with secondary samples that are identifiable and private.
Base Requirement

Student Base Requirement - must choose one
Personnel Type
Working with...
CITI Training Name
Protocol Requirement?
Student
Student-led projects involving minimal risk research like surveys; 

Also may be appropriate for students assisting Faculty PIs on research projects
Base Requirement
Student
Social and behavioral research on human subjects
Base Requirement
Student
Biomedical research on human subjects
Base Requirement
Student
Data or biospecimens acquired from human subjects. This course is appropriate for researchers who will not have direct contact wth huan subjects but will be working with secondary samples. 
Base Requirement

ADD-ON Requirements for Faculty, Staff, or Students
Personnel Type
Working with...
CITI Training Name
Protocol Requirement?
Faculty, Staff or Student
Confidential information, Protected Health Information (PHI), or HIPAA associated data obtained from a covered entity
Required add-on if protocol involves Protected Health Information (PHI)
Faculty, Staff or Student
Clinical Trials
Required add-on if protocol meets the definition of a clinical trial
Non-MSU Affiliate Training
Personnel Type
Working With
Training Name
Protocol Requirement? 
Non-MSU Affiliate on Protocol
Any Human Subjects Protocol
Base Requirement
 
These trainings do not replace CITI human subjects research training required for MSU personnel engaged in research requiring IRB approval.

FAQs

RCR training  does not satisfy the IRB requirement to be protocol personnel. RCR training can be beneficial in other ways and covers topics like authorship, data management, mentor-mentee relationships, peer review, and research misconduct. However, a module more focused on human subjects topics is required for IRB protocols - see table above and be sure to take one base required module. 

3 months prior to certificate expiration, CITI will send learners a notification that a refresher course is available to take. Most human subjects courses have a condensed refresher module available. Any modules without refreshers will return the learner to the original course to re-take as the refresher.

Yes, all faculty/advisors overseeing a student-led IRB protocol must have current human subjects training in order to have sufficient background knowledge to guide the student.

 

Other Educational Resources

REDCap offers HIPAA-compliant building and managing of online surveys and databases. The REDCap system is available to MSU researchers as well as system specific training.