SARI Program FAQ for Students

Students: Do the five hours of discussion-based activities required by the graduate student SARI@PSU program need to be completed each year?

Graduate students are only required to complete five hours of discussion-based activity once prior to graduation. This may be completed within one semester or over the duration of graduate training. Individual graduate programs are responsible for determining the best method of ensuring their students fulfill all hours of the SARI@PSU requirement before graduation.

How do students enroll in the CITI Program online course for the SARI@PSU program?

All undergraduate researchers, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows are required to complete a CITI Program online course within their first year of study or employment at Penn State. Users may enroll in a CITI Program course by visiting the SARI@PSU Resource Portal and registering with CITI Program using their PSU credentials. 

How do I know which CITI Program online course to choose?

Penn State offers a number of CITI Program courses, including Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses and Human Subjects research courses (for IRB requirements).  Graduate students should check with their graduate program advisor to determine which CITI course is appropriate for your program. Although any of the full-length CITI courses are acceptable for SARI@PSU, most graduate program have specific requirements.