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Ethics Training

As part of one’s IRB proposal, one must complete a formal human participants research ethics training. The Scripps IRB will accept:

  • Previously completed human participants ethics training from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) until 2026, at which point a new ethics training must be completed
  • CITI training, if it is up to date
  • The original FHI ethics training (completed prior to Fall 2020) until 2026, at which point a new ethics training must be completed.
  • The modified FHI ethics training provided by the Scripps IRB (beginning Fall 2020) until 2026, at which point a new ethics training must be completed

Simply submit your training completion certificate (original FHI or NIH) or completion report (CITI). If you completed the modified FHI provided by Scripps IRB, please let us know to check our records.

If you have not completed one of these courses or something similar, you may choose from one of the following options:

-To complete the OHRP training, please follow the following instructions to complete Lessons 1 and 2 of the OHRP training.

  1. Go to the HHS Humans Research Protection Training website at https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/education-and-outreach/online-education/human-research-protection-training/index.html
  2. Select “Human Research Protection Foundational Training”. While the training is listed as a 5 lesson training, you are only required to complete Lessons 1 & 2 for the Scripps IRB’s requirement for Human Research Ethics Training.
  3. Complete Lesson 1 (approx. 35 minutes in length), including all quiz questions. After completing the entire lesson, you will be given the opportunity to receive a completion certificate. As the OHRP doesn’t keep records of who successfully completed the lesson, we would recommend saving a copy of the lesson certificate in PDF form and/or printing out a copy of the certificate. Then store the certificate in an accessible location so that you can upload the certificate when requested.
  4. Complete Lesson 2 (approx. 1 hour, 35 minutes in length), including all quiz questions. After completing the entire lesson, you will be given the opportunity to receive a completion certificate. As the OHRP doesn’t keep records of who completed the lesson, we would recommend saving a copy of the lesson certificate in PDF form and/or printing out a copy of the certificate. Then store the certificate in an accessible location so that you can upload the certificate when requested.
  5. Submit copies of the completion certificates for Lessons 1 & 2

NOTE: This training will be deemed valid for 4 years after the completion date listed on the above two certificates.

-The CITI training is a longer (possibly 6 – 8 hours), more comprehensive training that is more widely accepted across the country. So if you do not want to have to re-do your ethics training for a position in a research lab or for graduate school, then you may wish to the complete the CITI training as the completion certificate/report is good for 3 years, though the Scripps IRB will accept your certificate/report for 4 years after completion of the training. If you are interested, please use the following instructions to complete the CITI training as a CGU affiliate (Scripps is an affiliate of CGU for CITI training purposes).

  1. If you are new to the CITI Program, please go to citiprogram.org and click “Register” at the top right-hand side of the page.
  2. On the next page, click on “Log-In Through My Institution” and click “Claremont Graduate University” as your organization affiliation.
  3. Read & agree to Terms of Service and Privacy Policy statements and affirm that you are an affiliate of Claremont Graduate University.
  4. Select “Continue to create your CITI program username/Password”
  5. Complete the required information as requested, using your personal information, including your Scripps email address. When asked “Are you interested in the option of receiving Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credit for completed CITI Program courses?” you can select “no”, unless you need the CEU credit for some other purpose.
  6. Select your role in research as researcher. NOTE: The options for this step have changed. Select the option closest to “undergraduate researcher” for student researchers and “researcher” for faculty researchers.
  7. On the “Select curriculum” page, select “Social & Behavioral Research Investigators” for learner group. If you are conducting research with clinical biomedical populations, you should also complete the appropriate Health Information Privacy and Security (HIPS) course.
  8. Click “finalize registration”.
  9. Click “Show courses for “Claremont Graduate University”
  10. Select Social & Behavioral Research – Basic/Refresher (ID: 73610) from the course menu. If you are conducting research with clinical biomedical populations, you should also complete the appropriate Health Information Privacy and Security (HIPS) course.
  11. If you are completing CITI training for the first time, please complete all of the modules for the Basic course. If you have previously completed the CITI training course and are renewing your ethics training, please complete the modules for the Refresher course.

All of the CITI program online course modules are self-paced and may be interrupted and resumed. You must pass the training with a score of 80% or higher. Training time varies depending on your prior preparation and other factors, usually entailing up to nine hours. There is no cost to Scripps-affiliated applicants for use of this site.

Once you have completed the requisite ethics training, please upload your completion report (not the completion certificate) to your IRB Box account.