DOE Research Security Training

Overview

All covered individuals must complete research security training before submitting a grant proposal to the DOE.

Beginning May 1, 2025, the Department of Energy (DOE) will require all covered individuals to complete research security training consistent with Section 10634 of the CHIPS and Science Act. The training must be completed within the 12 months immediately preceding the application date, and covered individuals will need to certify that they have completed the training. 

There are several options to complete the training, all available through the CITI Program website. The Research Security CITI Training Guide walks you through the steps to create an account and access the courses. Please use your Vanderbilt.edu email address in your CITI profile. You can add any of these courses to your account. You only need to take one of these courses. 

  • Research Security Training - Interactive 4-module course created by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Each module takes approximately 1 hour to complete.
  • Research Security Training Combined - The above NSF-created course condensed into four 15 minute modules.
  • Research Security: A Basic Course (COMING SOON) - 1-module CITI Program-created course with text-based and audio-visual options. This course takes approximately 1-1.5 hours to complete.
  • Research Security Advanced Refresher - 8 module CITI Program-created course (audio-visual only). Each module takes approximately 20-30 minutes to complete.

Please see the FAQs below for more information.

FAQs

  • How do I know if I am a covered individual?

    A covered individual is an individual who (a) contributes in a substantive, meaningful way to the development or execution of the scope of work of a project funded by DOE or proposed for funding by DOE, and (b) is designated as a covered individual by DOE.

    If you are a principal investigator (PI), project director (PD), co-principal investigator (Co-PI), co-project director (Co-PD) or performing one of these roles, you are a covered individual and are required to complete the research security training. Please note that consultants, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows can also be covered individuals and may need to complete the training.

  • What topics does the training need to cover?

    Section 10634 of the CHIPS and Science Act mandates that research security training cover the following topics: cybersecurity, international collaboration, foreign interference, rules for proper use of funds, disclosure, conflict of commitment, and conflict of interest.

  • Which course should I take?

    All of the courses listed above meet DOE's training requirements. You can take any of the courses to complete your training. The courses cover similar content in different ways. We would advise that if you enjoy more interactive training to take the "Research Security Training Combined" course. If you prefer a text-based training module similar to CITI Program's RCR training, we would advise that you take "Research Security: A Basic Course." If you prefer audio-visual training with more depth, we would advise that you take the "Research Security Advanced Refresher" course.

  • Do I need to take all four of the courses?

    No. You only need to take one of the courses listed above.

  • How did DOE announce this requirement?

    DOE issued a Financial Assistance Letter in October 2024 outlining the training requirement.