If you are doing research that involves working with living human beings, you may need to get permission from the Institutional Review Board before you begin.
The Institutional Review Board (IRB) exists to protect human subjects involved in research. The following research requires IRB approval before you start your research:
- Any original research with human subjects conducted by Middlebury faculty, staff, or students
- Human subject = a living person about whom a researcher obtains personal data, either through intervention with the individual OR through private information.
Review the steps below to better understand the IRB process.
Human Subjects
Research on human subjects—systematic collection of personal or private information from living human beings—can be done in virtually any discipline. Biological studies sometimes involve human subjects, while sociological, anthropological, and psychological studies often do. Increasingly, research in the humanities—like religion, language studies, and history—involves human subjects.
Turnaround Time
Much of the time, research that Middlebury students, faculty, or staff conduct is fairly benign, and the IRB will review it quickly. Sometimes, though, research entails enough risk, or confidentiality is so important, that the IRB must ensure that you include adequate protections. The IRB will evaluate your research plans to make sure that nothing you intend to do is unjustifiably dangerous to your participants and that their rights to participate (or not) are respected. Sometimes the IRB will recommend changes to your procedures to better protect your subjects, and the committee will approve your research only when adequate protections are in place.
If you are planning an international research project involving human subjects, the turnaround time may be significantly longer as there may be local in-country requirements that must also be met. Please be in touch with the IRB as early as possible if you are planning an international research project.
If you have other questions, please email us at irb@middlebury.edu.
Submission Deadlines for Fall ‘25 Full Board Protocols:
Generally, we will hold one meeting per month. The first meeting for the Fall 2025 semester has been set. The remaining meeting dates will be finalized at the first meeting (if not before) and dates below will be updated by September 29.
Only IRB applications that need to be reviewed by the Full Board, per Middlebury policy, need to be discussed at scheduled IRB meetings. Most projects at Middlebury meet the criteria for Expedited review, which are reviewed on a rolling basis, and can be submitted at any time. Projects that involve greater than minimal risk and many projects involving minors must be reviewed by the Full Board. The submission deadlines below refer only to projects that require Full Board Review.
September 12* (IRB meeting Sep. 26)
October - TBD
November - TBD
December - TBD
*IRB proposals requiring Full Board Review must be distributed to the committee one week prior to the scheduled meeting. We request that proposals are submitted two weeks in advance of the meeting to allow time for preliminary revisions, when needed, prior to discussion, as this will help the project move through the review process more smoothly. Projects that are submitted prior to 9/19 (one week in advance of the meeting), will be considered for Full Board review at the 9/26 meeting as long as they are complete and of adequate quality.
Steps to Approval
Step 1: Complete ethics training
- Access the Social and Behavioral Research Course offered via CITI (see instructions).
- Valid for four years.
Step 2: Submit application
- Log in to Axiom Mentor, the IRB application creation, amendment, and tracking tool (with your Middlebury credentials). Be sure to check the Quick Start Guide, available on the first page, for more information and instructions about how to use the system.
Step 3: Review
- IRB staff determines the appropriate level of review; IRB chair/staff corresponds with PI until proposal is complete.
- Minimal Risk: Committee member and/or Chair reviews, usually within two weeks.
- Full Board: Full IRB meeting, monthly meetings with decisions ~1 week after the meeting.
- Submit revisions as required to your Axiom Mentor IRB application - do not submit a new application.
- Formal approval letter to PI follows when project is approved.
Additional Information
- Federal regulations governing human subjects research: The Common Rule
- Ethical principles: The Belmont Report