Welcome

Welcome to the Saint Mary’s College of California Institutional Review Board (IRB) website​. The IRB is committed to support and guide you as you pursue research and scholarship with human participants. Please explore our webpage to learn more about the IRB process, access forms, and find additional information.

You may contact the IRB Chairperson (Mark Barajas, Ph.D.) at IRB@stmarys-ca.edu with any questions about your planned or existing application.

Please note the following requirements related to the protection of Saint Mary’s College community members:

  • For research projects involving non-minor human subjects who are Saint Mary’s College students, faculty, or staff—and where recruitment occurs through Saint Mary’s email, courses, or other College-affiliated channels—the researcher must demonstrate that an approved human subjects research protocol is in place with an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB).
     
  • When Saint Mary’s College serves as the IRB of record, the researcher must obtain approval from the Saint Mary’s IRB prior to initiating any human subjects research activity.
     
  • When another institution serves as the IRB of record, that IRB must first approve the human subjects research protocol and initiate a reliance agreement with Saint Mary’s College. Research may not begin until the reliance agreement has been fully executed and acknowledged by the Saint Mary’s IRB.
     
  • The researcher is responsible for ensuring that the IRB of record initiates and completes this process.

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