If your Summer Research Fellowship or SCICU program includes research involving human subjects, you must submit an application to the IRB. No research involving human subjects may begin until the IRB has approved your research protocol. You and your Faculty Research Advisor must have completed the requisite training before the IRB’s review can begin.
So that you may begin your research as soon as possible, we recommend that you submit your application to the IRB at least 2 weeks before your summer program begins. Though the IRB tries to work in a very timely manner, a full board review, if needed, can be difficult to schedule once the spring semester has ended.
If you are working with populations outside of Furman University such as a school, social agency, hospital, retirement home, prison, non-profit agency, etc., you will be required to show written permission from that agency to carry out your research. Some agencies will have their own IRB’s and the Furman IRB will expect to see their notification of approval before approving an application.