Research Security Training

Federal funding agencies and universities are increasing safeguards to protect research from foreign influence. As part of this effort, many federal agencies are requiring research security training for "covered individuals" involved in federally funded projects.

Who must complete training:

principal investigators (PIs),
co-PIs,
senior/key personnel,
program directors (PDs), co-PDs,
project managers,
anyone else identified in the funding proposal or award documents.

Background:

Under the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, federal funding agencies are required to establish an annual research security training requirement. Each agency is announcing when and how they plan to comply with the research security training requirement. The Department of Energy, USDA, and National Science Foundation have already begun requiring the completion of the training. The following agencies have also announced the implementation dates of the training requirements:

Department of Defense (DoD) - Required on a project-by-project basis.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Required as of May 25, 2026
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) - Starting August 5, 2026

Training Requirements:

Research Security training must be completed within 12 months before an applicable proposal is submitted, and annually during the life of the award.

Completion of the "Research Security (Combined)" course fulfills the requirement. The course, completed through the CITI Program, takes approximately one hour to complete.

CITI Program