Guidance for Applying to the IRB

Overview of the Full-Committee Review Process

The IRB application process starts with your submission of the application form, consent forms and other required appendices/materials. The HRPP staff pre-reviews your application to make sure all of the necessary materials are there for IRB review. We then send you a letter with the IRB study number that has been assigned to your study, the committee number that will review your study, and the date it will do so.

Two weeks after the application deadline the IRB will convene and make a decision about your application. Seven to ten days after the meeting you will receive a letter from the HRPP detailing the outcome of the IRB meeting in regards to your research.

Follow the lifecycle of your study as it goes through the IRB process

Help Applying for Review

• Which projects/studies must be reviewed by the IRB?
• How to apply for review - from the Protecting Human Subjects' Guide
• Scientfic Review
• Business and Industry Fee
• Which form to use?
• Full committee review, Expedited review, or Exempt review
  Expedited Review Categories of Research
• Exempt Review Categories of Research
• Frequently Asked Questions -- Application Submission

For guidance on the consent process and consent forms, see Consent Process & Forms

Download Application Forms

• Health and Biological/Medical Application Form
• Social and Behavioral Sciences Application Form
• Exempt Screening Application Forms
• Medical Records Chart Review Form

Guide to the IRB for Social Scientists

Risks and Wrongs in Social Science Research: An Evaluator's Guide to the IRB (pdf)
by J. Michael Oakes

• IRB basics and background from a social scientist perspective
• How and why evaluation and observational research falls within IRB purview
• Discussion of 3 important issues: Subject Recruitment, Informed Consent, and Confidentiality
• Tips for improving your relationship with IRBs