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 project 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 Spring ‘25 Full Board Protocols:

We will hold two meetings in January and one meeting per month throughout the spring semester. We request that proposals that require full board review are submitted two weeks in advance of the scheduled IRB meetings so that minor issues can be addressed before the proposal is distributed to the committee one week ahead of the meeting. Projects that do not require full board review are reviewed on a rolling basis and can be submitted at any time.

December 20th* (IRB meeting Jan. 7)

January 8th (IRB meeting Jan. 22)

January 30th (IRB meeting Feb. 13)

February 27th (IRB meeting Mar. 13)

March 20th (IRB meeting Apr. 3)

April 24th (IRB meeting May 8)

*We request an earlier submission deadline for projects to be discussed at the January 7 meeting in order to accommodate the holiday week. Please reach out to the IRB if you would like to have your proposal discussed at this meeting, but are unable to submit by 12/20.

Steps to Approval

Step 1: Complete ethics training

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

Contact Us

irb@middlebury.edu