Collaborative IRB Training Initiative (CITI)

CITI website
CITI website

Please note: GW does not own, maintain or otherwise create CITI material. If you require assistance with your CITI account, including certificates of completion, please contact citiprogram.org. GW IRB does not maintain CITI completion certificates for any GW affiliated research personnel.

All GW investigators and non-GW investigators conducting research under the auspices of the GW IRB must demonstrate and maintain sufficient knowledge of the ethical principles and regulatory requirements for protecting human subjects, through the completion and periodic renewal of the web-based human subject protection training called Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). CITI training requirements apply to research staff that are interacting with potential or enrolled subjects, to include, but not limited to the following: obtaining consent, recruiting, data collection and intervention; or viewing, obtaining, analyzing or otherwise handling identifiable research data.

Research team members should select the training modules (either Biomedical or Social/Behavioral) that are most applicable to their research.  This training must be completed prior to submission of all new human research study applications and is valid for two years. After two years, research team members must take the CITI Refresher Course. Current training of all research team members must be maintained throughout the life of the study. 

Please visit CITI Accounts and Information for more information about registering for a CITI account.

Username and Password Information

If you have forgotten your username or password, please contact the CITI Support Desk. Do NOT create a new account!

CITI Support Desk: 888-529-5929 or [email protected]

Registration & General Information

To register an account with CITI please go to the CITI website (be sure to affiliate your account with GW!)

Principal Investigators are responsible for ensuring all research staff has completed the GW required CITI courses. It is the responsibility of the PI and research staff to keep track of CITI completion reports. These reports can be obtained by logging into your account viewing the course you've completed and selecting the "Print Completion Report" button. CITI completion reports do not need to be submitted to the OHR for any GW faculty, staff, or students who have completed CITI at GW. Researchers must correctly answer 75% of the questions in each section to successfully pass.  If a course section is failed, the researcher will immediately be given the opportunity to retake that section’s exam. HRP-800 Principal Investigator Obligations

Need to take CITI for your program or to graduate?

OHR does not track program CITI requirements for CEs, Practica, or Graduation; you will need to contact your department to determine which course(s) you will need to take.

CITI completed at another Institution?

If you have taken CITI training or some other form of human subject protections training at another institution, please submit documentation of training to OHR. We will review the completed training, when it was last completed, and if it meets GW training requirements.

If CITI training was completed through another institution, we recommend that you “Affiliate” your CITI account with GW to enable GW OHR staff to view your completed training directly.

Please note, that because every institution can design their CITI modules differently all course work does not always transfer over, and could make it appear as though your courses are incomplete.  It will be best to keep the completion reports from your original institution saved and submit them with any IRB paper work you plan to submit to our office even after affiliating with GW.