Step 2: Consult with a Faculty Supervisor

Students must have the approval of a Faculty Supervisor in order to submit an HPRB proposal through our online system, Mentor.

Your Faculty Supervisor should be willing to consult with you on:

  • appropriate research topics, methods, materials, and procedures
  • norms and best practices for research in your discipline
  • aspects of your project requiring special care and planning
    (e.g., work with certain populations, collection of sensitive or protected data, use of deception, ethical concerns, etc.)
  • HPRB proposal submission
  • on-going HPRB responsibilities as a researcher

Who can serve as your Faculty Supervisor?

  • your course instructor, if your research is part of a course and requires HPRB review
  • a faculty member with whom you are conducting student-faculty research
  • your capstone consultant, if your department has those
  • any faculty member who is willing to work with you on independent research

In Mentor, you and your faculty supervisor can:

  • access and complete the HPRB proposal form
  • upload required documents
  • edit documents, make comments, respond to comments
  • submit final versions of all materials

Your faculty supervisor must provide an electronic signature in Mentor before your proposal will be sent out for review. We will provide more information on how to do that in Step 4.

This signature indicates your faculty supervisor: has consulted with you on your methods and materials, has reviewed and approved all final versions of the HPRB proposal and required documents, and—once you have received approval—will help you navigate any unforeseen issues and will oversee your on-going HPRB responsibilities related to the project.