Institutional Review Board
The IRB (Institutional Review Board) is a federally mandated body established under the DHHS regulations for the Protection of Human Subjects (45 CFR 46). Its purpose is to protect the rights and welfare of human subjects recruited to participate in research activities conducted under the auspices of Clemson University (CU).
University policy requires that all research involving human subjects be reviewed and approved by CU's IRB office prior to initiation of the research. This requirement applies to all human subjects research conducted by faculty, staff, and students, on- and off-campus, regardless of the funding support, if any, for the project.
New! IRB Review Level Screening Assistant. Click the second accordion and explore the new AI-powered assistant.
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IRB Office Hours
Remote office hours are on Wednesdays, 2:30-3:30 pm, and Thursdays, 3:00-4:30 pm.
There will be no office hours:
- October 12-16 & 28 2026
- November 16-20, 2026
- December 28-31, 2026
- Office hours are held via Zoom and are available to CU users only (faculty, staff, and students).
- During the office hours sessions, you have an opportunity to meet privately with an IRB staff member. The sessions are not group sessions.
- No passcode is required to join the Zoom sessions. You must log in with your Clemson account to join the session.
If you are having issues logging into the Zoom sessions, try the following:
- Visit https://zoom.clemson.edu and log in with your “clemson.edu” address, not a “g.clemson.edu” address.
- Download Zoom Workplace at https://zoom.us/download.
- Contact ITHELP@clemson.edu if you have issues accessing the Zoom web address, downloading Zoom Workplace, or logging into Zoom.
- Call the IRB office at (864) 656-8678 if you continue to have issues logging into the sessions after trying the items listed above.
If you are having login issues with InfoEd (the IRB office submission portal), submit a ticket to the Electronic Research Administration office. The IRB Staff will not be able to troubleshoot login issues.
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IRB Review Level Screening Assistant
The Screening Assistant is an AI tool designed to help researchers determine the potential IRB review level for their study (e.g., Exempt, Expedited, or Full Board). Researchers may enter or upload their research plan into the tool for a preliminary screening. All human subjects research must be submitted to the CU-IRB Office for an official determination, regardless of review level.
Please note: To access these custom GPTs, you must use your Clemson ChatGPT Edu account.
- Download and sign in to Clemson ChatGPT Edu using the instructions on the AI resources page.
- Log out of any personal ChatGPT account and ensure you are signed in with your Clemson account.
- Open the custom GPT link and start interacting.
If you are properly signed in to Clemson ChatGPT Edu, the custom GPT should open in any web browser. For assistance, please contact ERA Support.
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What are the IRB federal registration numbers?
Federal Wide Assurance: FWA00004497
Expires: 7/15/2030
DHHS IRB Registration Number: IRB00000481
Expires: 9/16/2028 -
What needs IRB review?
University policy requires that all research involving human subjects be reviewed and approved by CU's IRB office prior to initiation of the research. This requirement applies to all human subjects research conducted by faculty, staff, and students, on- and off-campus, regardless of the funding support, if any, for the project.
Please visit our "What Needs Review" page for more information on which studies meet the federal definition of "Human Subjects Research."
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What IRB training is required?
The IRB office accepts the human subjects training courses offered through Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI).
Please see the training page for more information on the required courses and the course titles.
