Human Subjects RCR

Human Subjects Responsible Conduct of Research Course

The Fall 2025 Human Subjects RCR course will run for eight weeks between Wednesday, October 1 and Friday, November 21, 2025. The registration deadline is Friday, September 12, 2025. 

REGISTER HERE

Course description

The Human Subjects RCR course is administered by UCSF Bioethics. It is offered twice a year during the Fall (Oct- Nov) and Spring (April–May) quarters. This course is designed for researchers who work with human subjects or data derived from human subjects (e.g. clinical, survey, EHR, or ethnographic data). It addresses requirements and regulations for human subjects research, including IRB approval and consent. 

Time Commitment

Week 1 features an in-person introductory seminar led by the course director. Weeks 2-8 consist of weekly discussion groups meeting over Zoom, facilitated by a moderator. In addition to the weekly small group discussions, the work consists of readings, case studies, and short reflection essays. Participants are expected to devote at least four hours per week to individual work and small group discussion. 

Weekly Group Discussion Groups

This is a pass/fail course. Receiving a passing grade in the course requires weekly attendance to a one-hour discussion group, and weekly posting to the class forum website within the Collaborative Learning Environment (CLE). There will be a wide variety of days and times, Monday through Friday, for learners to attend weekly discussion sections. Learners will select their discussion section day/time during the first week of the course. 

Attendance Policy

One excused absence is allowed. A make up assignment must be submitted for this absence. If a learner is unavailable to join their regular discussion group due to a scheduling conflict, they may drop in to another discussion group occurring that week. This would not count as an absence. An absence is defined as not attending any discussion groups in the module week. A learner with more than one absence will not pass the course. 

In-person Week 1 Kickoff Seminar

Attendance is not tracked, but is strongly encouraged, for the in-person kickoff seminar in Week 1, as we are understanding of the many contraints that might prevent a learner from being on-site. The course director will give a broad overview of research ethics and outline what you can expect in the course. This event will give you a chance to meet your group leaders and peers in person. The in-person seminar will be recorded and posted to the class forum website for on-demand viewing. 

Week
Dates
Mode
Mandatory
Module Theme
1Wed, Oct 1, 10:30-11:30am

In-person; video recorded session

Byers Auditoruium / Genentech 

No, but very strong encouragedIntroducton: Impetus for Ethical Oversight
2Mon, Oct 6 – Fri, Oct 10ZoomYesAddressing Scientific Racism
3Mon, Oct 13 – Fri, Oct 17ZoomYesConsent and its Discontents
4Mon, Oct 20  – Fri, Oct 24ZoomYesEthics of Learning Health Systems
5Mon, Oct 27 – Fri, Oct 31ZoomYesEmerging AI Ethics: Data Sharing and Governance
6Mon, Nov 3 – Fri, Nov 7ZoomYesResearch in Low-Resource Settings
7Mon, Nov 10 – Fri, Nov 14ZoomYesPublication Politics: Authorship (Dis)orders & Knowledge Dissemination
8Mon, Nov 17 – Fri, Nov 21ZoomYesCultures of Culpability & Responsibility
Am I eligible to take Human Subjects RCR?

This class is open to all UCSF faculty, fellows, and postdoctoral trainees whose research is primarily conducted with human subjects or the data (clinical or otherwise) derived from human subjects. This includes both researchers whose methods are quantitative and whose methods are qualitative. 5th year graduate students who need to take an RCR refresher course are also eligible but should enroll in the RCR course that best fits their research agenda (Basic Science or Human Subjects). If you have questions about your eligibility, please contact the course administrator.

Am I required to take Human Subjects RCR?

The NIH, NSF, and other federal funders require all individuals on training or career development awards to take Responsible Conduct of Research at least every four years and at least once per career level. This applies to all levels of training awards (e.g. T32 for postdoctoral scholars or K awards for faculty).

Postdoctoral scholars are strongly advised to take RCR in their first year of training, even if you received training recently as a graduate student. 

Faculty and postdoctoral scholars not funded by NIH or NSF are still strongly encouraged to enroll. If you are not sure if you are required to take RCR, please contact us

I am an established researcher on a career development award. Do I need to take Human Subjects RCR?

Any faculty funded on a training or career development award is subject to the NIH requirement for RCR Training. This includes K and F awards for mid- and late-career researchers. However, NIH recognizes that RCR training may look different for scholars with a more established research agenda. Given that, midcareer and senior scholars at UCSF are invited to serve as small group facilitators for the Human Subjects RCR course, rather than enrolling in the course as learners. If you are interested, please contact the course administrator. 

I took the CITI Human Subjects Protection Training. Do I need to take Human Subjects RCR?

The CITI Human Subjects Protection Training is required by the UCSF IRB for any Key Study Personnel at UCSF or at affiliated institutions to engage in human subjects research. IRB approval of a study is contingent on study personnel having fulfilled this requirement. However, the CITI training does not meet NIH requirements for RCR and does not replace the need for formal RCR instruction for anyone funded on an NIH training or career development award.

Contact Us


Sara Ackerman, PhD, MPH
[email protected]
Associate Professor, UCSF Bioethics 
Associate Professor, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Spring RCR Course Director

Julia Brown, PhD
[email protected]
Assistant Professor, UCSF Bioethics
Assistant Professor, Humanities & Social Sciences
Fall RCR Course Director

Chanel Matney, PhD
[email protected]
Program Manager, UCSF Bioethics
RCR Course Administrator