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Overview MCDB Program EE Program MD/PhD Program |
All graduate students, including those currently enrolled in the Department, must complete all six modules of the Research Integrity Module (formerly Module I) of the Education and Certification Program in Research Practice and Fundamentals before they can receive either the M.S. or Ph.D. degree. Upon completion of this University of Pittsburgh, web-based module, the individual obtains a certificate. One copy of this certificate must be given to the graduate secretary (Cathy Barr); another copy should be retained by the student for future use. Module 1 of this course covers topics in Responsible Authorship and Publication Practices, Data, Mentoring, Conflict of Interest, Other Investigator Responsibilities, and Research Misconduct. To supplement the generalized instruction received via the web module, students are also required to attend at least two seminars in research ethics and/or bioethics that are offered annually by the Department prior to Admission to Candidacy. Students are expected to attend them each subsequent year prior to receiving their degree. Attendance is also required at a question and answer session with the ethics seminar speaker immediately following the seminar. The seminar will augment graduate student training in research ethics by providing more current and specific information, and the discussion session will allow an expert in the field to answer questions that arise from the student’s ongoing research experiences and from the web module. |
A series of formal discussions in research ethics is a valuable component of any graduate education. More than simple discussions of what actions
constitute data falsification, discussions in ethics can include thorny issues like project ownership, authorship, treatment of confidential information,
and other topics that have no easy or simple solution. We believe our students should begin to develop their philosophies regarding all of these
issues during their graduate training.
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