Training and Education

CUNY subscribes to the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative’s (CITI) research compliance courses to fulfill CUNY’s educational requirements. Required CITI training courses for SPH researchers (including faculty, staff, doctoral and masters students, and postdoctoral scholars) are below:

• All SPH researchers engaged in Human Subjects Research (HSR) must complete:
  • Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course (valid for 5 years)
  • Human Subjects Basic Course (valid for 3 years). There are two course options; please select the one that best aligns with your proposed research activities:
    • “HSR for Social & Behavioral Faculty, Graduate Students & Postdoctoral Scholars” for researchers NOT engaged in biomedical research (MOST COMMON), or
    • “HSR for Biomedical Faculty, Graduate Students & Postdoctoral Scholars” for researchers engaged in biomedical research
• SPH researchers engaged in clinical trials must also complete:
  • Good Clinical Practice (GCP) (valid for 3 years)

• To complete these courses:
  1. Log-in or register to CITI Program online.
  2. Select CUNY as your institution.
  3. Click on “Add a course” (at the bottom of your dashboard) to add the following courses:
     • Select “Take the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Course”
     • Select “Take the Human Subjects Basic Course”
       • On the next screen, select the “HSR for Social & Behavioral Faculty, Graduate Students & Postdoctoral Scholars” course OR “HSR for Biomedical Faculty, Graduate Students & Postdoctoral Scholars” course
     • Select “Take the Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Course”
       • On the next screen, select the most appropriate GCP course option
  4. Once you’ve taken the courses, save PDFs of your CITI completion certificates.

Please note that valid human subjects training documentation must be uploaded to the IRB Manager application for all internal (CUNY) and external (non-CUNY) personnel prior to submission. Documentation requirements are outlined below:

– CUNY research personnel: A valid certificate for the Human Subjects Basic Course (either the biomedical OR social and behavioral course) must be uploaded to the IRB Manager application for all CUNY research personnel engaged in the study.

– Non-CUNY research personnel: For non-CUNY personnel who are affiliated with a collaborating institution, the CUNY HRPP will accept training in the protection of human subjects provided by and in accordance with that collaborating institution’s policies. Additionally, IRB approval from the collaborating institution’s IRB will serve as documentation of completion of such training. Please note that collaborators from institutions relying on the CUNY IRB will be required to complete CITI training described above.