The Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) is an essential component of the education and training of researchers. As a premier technological university at the cutting edge of education, research, and innovation, the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is committed to providing leadership in the realm of ethics and RCR. RCR education is central to Georgia Tech’s mission to ensure that doctoral students and other researchers are prepared with the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct themselves professionally and with integrity.
The RCR Academic Policy for Doctoral Students applies to all doctoral students with a Catalog year of 2011-12 or later. As part of their degree requirements, doctoral students must complete both: (1) online RCR training and (2) an RCR course for doctoral students.
Online RCR Training Requirement
The online portion of the requirement, RCR training from the Georgia Tech approved vendor, must be successfully completed within 60 days of when students begin the first full semester of their doctoral program. Information about the online RCR training can be found at: https://rcr.gatech.edu/online-training.
If a student goes past the 60 day time frame, a hold will be placed on course registration until the student completes the online RCR training.
RCR Course Requirement Doctoral students are required to successfully complete PHIL 6000 OR an academic program’s approved in-house RCR course(s) for doctoral students. The RCR course requirement must be completed before the Request for Admission to Ph.D. Candidacy form will be processed by the Office of Graduate Education.
The list of approved in-house RCR courses for doctoral students is maintained at: https://rcr.gatech.edu/doctoral-courses.
An RCR course for doctoral students is normally expected to examine the ethical dimensions of a collection of RCR topics; the list of those topics is maintained at: https://rcr.gatech.edu/topics.
The RCR Academic Policy for Doctoral Students applies to all doctoral students with a Catalog year of 2011-12 or later. This Policy does not affect undergraduates, Master’s students, or postdoctoral researchers. Doctoral students or other researchers may be subject to other RCR requirements contained within the RCR Compliance Policy: https://policylibrary.gatech.edu/research/responsible-conduct-research-compliancepolicy.
In-House RCR Courses
In-house RCR courses for doctoral students must be formally approved by the GT RCR Advisory Subcommittee of the Institute Graduate Curriculum Committee. A graduate program’s RCR courses for doctoral students must include no less than eight instruction hours on RCR topics: https://rcr.gatech.edu/topics.
All of the RCR topics must be covered within an in-house approach unless permission has been granted by the RCR Advisory Subcommittee to exclude one or more of the topics.
More information about the process for seeking approval for an in-house RCR course can be found at: https://rcr.gatech.edu/sites/default/files/rcr_msphdinhouseguide.pdf.
The RCR Program
The Administrator of the RCR Program, in conjunction with the Office of Graduate Education and the Registrar’s Office, monitors student adherence to this Policy.
Doctoral Students
Doctoral students must complete both online RCR training and the RCR course requirement delineated in this Policy. Doctoral students can check their RCR completion status in DegreeWorks.
The Office of Graduate Education
The Office of Graduate Education will verify that the RCR degree requirements for a doctoral student have been completed prior to processing the Request for Admission to Ph.D. Candidacy form.
Graduate Programs
Graduate programs must inform their students about the RCR requirements contained in this Policy.
Failing to complete the online RCR training within the aforementioned 60 day time frame for doctoral students will result in a course registration hold. Failing to complete an RCR course for doctoral students may result in the denial of the Request for Admission to Ph.D. Candidacy form by the Office of Graduate Education. RCR completion deficiencies will be indicated in DegreeWorks.
| Revision Date | Author | Description |
|---|---|---|
| April 2023 | Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Education | The 90 day deadline for completing online RCR training was changed to 60 days. Additionally, policy organization and links were updated. |
| May 2019 | Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Education | Policy updated with revisions |
| June 2013 | Graduate Studies | Update to policy |
| February 2012 | Graduate Studies | Posted new policy |