Mandatory Federal Research Security Training Requirement for Federally Funded Project Investigators

In alignment with federal mandates to safeguard the integrity and security of the United States research enterprise, the National Science Foundation (NSF)—in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)—has implemented mandatory Research Security Training (RST) for all individuals engaged in federally sponsored research.

This initiative is designed to enhance awareness of research security risks, ensure compliance with federal standards, and uphold the highest levels of research integrity.

Accordingly, the New York Institute of Technology (New York Tech) requires all faculty serving as principal investigators, co-investigators, or senior personnel on all the applicable federally funded awards to complete this training.

Access to the New York Tech Research Security Training course is now available via self-enrollment.

Enroll in Research Security Training

  • NSF: Effective October 10, 2025, all senior/key personnel must complete Research Security Training (RST) within the 12 months prior to proposal submission, and institutions must certify completion at proposal submission.
  • NIH: Under Notice NOT-OD-26-017 (December 2, 2025), all senior/key personnel must complete and certify RST within the 12 months before application submission; certification is required at proposal submission and at just-in-time.
  • DoD: RST is required for all senior/key personnel prior to proposal submission, prior to award issuance, and prior to addition of new personnel to ongoing projects.
  • DOE: Institutions receiving DOE research funding must ensure senior/key personnel complete RST before proposal submission or being added to existing awards.

  • Risks of foreign influence, including foreign government interference, undisclosed foreign affiliations, and foreign research support.
  • Disclosure requirements: full reporting of all research resources, foreign affiliations, and other support.
  • Conflict of interest and conflict of commitment awareness.
  • Export control basics, including controlled technologies, data restrictions, and international collaboration considerations.
  • Cybersecurity requirements for federally funded research, including safe data management practices.
  • Foreign travel and foreign collaboration risk awareness.
  • Research security best practices as required under the CHIPS and Science Act.

  • The institution’s Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must certify that all senior/key personnel have completed RST within the previous 12 months.
  • Any individual newly added to federally sponsored projects must complete RST before joining the award or charging effort, salary, or expenses.

  • New York Tech must retain documentation of RST completion for all senior/key personnel.
  • Certificates must be made available upon federal request, audit, or research security review.
  • Personnel must save and submit their certificates as outlined below; Canvas does not retain training records.

  • NSF, NIH, DoD, and DOE require RST to be renewed every 12 months for continued participation on federally supported awards.

  • Complete all training modules.
  • Save each completion certificate as a PDF using the instructions below.
  • Email the PDF copies to grants@nyit.edu.

  • Each module takes approximately 60 minutes to complete.
  • You may leave a module and return without losing progress within the same browser session.
  • Canvas does not retain training history—certificates must be downloaded and saved manually.

For Windows:

  1. Open the Print dialog when the certificate appears.
  2. Select “Microsoft Print to PDF.”
  3. Click Print and save the file in the format:
  4. First.Initial.LastName.MMDDYYYY (e.g., J.Doe.01012025)

For MacOS:

  1. Open the Print dialog and select “PDF” in the bottom-left corner.
  2. Choose “Save as PDF.”
  3. Save using the same naming format above.