Student Researchers

Guidance for Undergraduate and Graduate Student Researchers

All SU faculty, staff and students must obtain written IRB verification before beginning any aspect of a study (including recruitment) that involves collecting information from or about living individuals (unless publicly available).

The IRB cannot provide a retroactive determination under any circumstances, even if the project would otherwise meet Exempt or Not Human Participant Research criteria.

Students engage in human participant research activities in different ways. The two most common here at Seattle University are:

  • As part of a course, students might conduct minimal-risk human participant research overseen by a faculty member, who coordinates with the IRB on behalf of all students. (Faculty should consult this guidance page.)
  • An SU student might serve as Primary/Principal Investigator (PI) on a research project involving human participants for an Honors, Capstone, or dissertation project. In these cases, the student should submit a protocol application directly to the IRB after consulting and working closely with an SU faculty/staff adviser. (Faculty/staff advisers of student researchers should consult this guidance page.)

Before beginning a protocol application, students should read the Step-by-Step Guide available on our website. 

Guidance for Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Students and their Faculty Advisers

Review the IRB DNP decision tree to determine required steps. Students, please discuss these steps in detail with your Mentor/Advisor.

Also, please read through the details we provide on the IRB website about applications, protocols, and training before initiating submission in our e-system.

Once you are ready, login to the OneAegis system and begin your application.

Upon submission, student applications will go to the relevant faculty mentors to assess completeness and accuracy before they are considered by the IRB Office. The IRB OneAegis e-system will not accept incomplete submissions or those missing required forms.

Feel free to contact irb@seattleu.edu with any questions. 

IRB Guidelines and Flow Chart for Doctor of Nursing Practice Students