Responsible Conduct of Research

Michigan Tech has several required responsible conduct of research (RCR) training courses to support researchers at all levels of their professional development: Undergraduate, Graduate, Post-doctoral Researchers, and New Researchers at Michigan Tech, including tenure track faculty, research scientists and engineers, and anyone else whose work includes research, scholarship or creative works. The overall Goal of RCR training is to empower researchers with the ability to make responsible and ethical decisions by providing them with an understanding of common pitfalls that can derail a successful research program.  In addition to supporting the development of researchers, these courses also fulfill the University’s obligations to sponsors or our research programs. 

Undergraduate Researcher RCR Training:  Undergraduate researchers must complete responsible conduct of research training by completing the online course Undergraduate Researcher, RCR Training offered through citiprogram.org  

Graduate Student RCR training:

  • Basic RCR Training: All graduate students are expected to complete basic RCR training during their first semester at Michigan Tech. To meet this requirement, students must complete Orientation to Graduate Studies and Research on Canvas.
  • Advanced RCR training: Graduate students working toward a PhD dissertation or a Master’s thesis/report option must complete the advanced RCR training requirement by taking one of the Pre-Approved Courses for Advanced RCR Training in their second or third semester.
  • Graduate students may not graduate or enter candidacy if RCR training is not complete.

Post-doctoral Scholars: Completion of RCR training is required during the first or second academic semester of a postdoc’s employment.  Beginning Fall 2024 post-doctoral scholars will be enrolled in an advanced RCR training course on Canvas.

New Scholars, Creators, and Researchers RCR Course: Completion of this course is required for researchers who are new to Tech or stepping into a fundamentally new role. It is offered once a year in-person in the fall. The course meets one hour a month and covers all the key regulatory areas briefly as well as some of the resources provided by the Vice President for Research Office to assist with creative works, scholarship, and research. The Research Integrity Office adds new researchers to the course and will be in touch with them directly. For people who took their current role at Tech after December 1st, 2020 course completion is required in order to be eligible to apply for Research Excellence Fund (REF) grants.