Home Page	Student Research Projects Students at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) who are conducting research that involves human subjects must go through the same process as faculty members or other UMCP employees to secure IRB approval for their research. Master’s theses projects and doctoral dissertation projects involving human subjects research require prior IRB approval. The student cannot be the Principal Investigator. That role belongs to the student's faculty advisor or another faculty member. When filling out an IRB application form (MS Word doc), the student investigator is listed on the student investigator line; and the student's advisor or other faculty member is listed on the Principal Investigator line. When research projects involve no more than minimal risks, the student may, in some cases, be listed as a co-investigator if the project is wholly generated and carried out by the student with little input or oversight by a faculty advisor. If the student wants to be listed as a co-investigator, he/she should provide a rationale for this role. Important Message for Students Completing Dissertations or Theses The Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School issued a memo in 2000 that stated: “Any research project using animals or humans must be approved by the appropriate Campus committees prior to the initiation of research. This applies not only to research conducted on campus but also to all research conducted under the auspices of the University of Maryland, that is by UM faculty, students, or staff at other sites anywhere in the world. During the past several years both the IRB and IACUC have encountered a growing number of graduate students who seek protocol reviews well after research has started ,and sometimes after it has been completed. This is in direct violation of all regulations. I have therefore instructed both committees to not approve such after the fact protocols in the future. Please be aware that this policy change could prevent a student's graduation.” In essence, what this memo means is: All requests for permission to use human subjects in research must be obtained before beginning the research. Retroactive approval from the IRB will not be granted. The Graduate School will not clear a dissertation that involves human subjects without IRB approval.
IRB Staff Contact Information
When is IRB Review Required
IRB Policies and Procedures
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IRB Membership Roster
IRB Liaisons
IRB Applications, Consent Forms and Addendum Requests
Student Research Projects
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HIPAA Information
NIH Certification
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Federal Wide Assurance
Federal Regulations and Codes and Requirements for International Research
Information Resources

This page is maintained by the UM Division of Research and Graduate Studies. 

Questions, comments, and/or suggestions should be directed to IRB@deans.umd.edu

Institutional Review Board, 2100 Lee Building, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA

This page last modified 24 September 2008
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