Ethics review process

To manage and support research ethics, the University undertakes a rigorous ethics review process.

The ethics review process can take at least six weeks, so it is important that you allow enough time for this when planning your research.  

Discuss your application for ethics review with your supervisor and ask them to check and sign your application form before it is submitted. The application form must be signed by both you and your supervisor; any forms submitted without both signatures will result in a delay to the process. Handwritten applications will not be accepted.  

Your awareness of the ethical implications of your research and that you have sought ethics approval will be checked at the training plan stage, at the transfer stage, and at examination entry. The examiners of your thesis may ask for access to the full ethics review paperwork considered by the Faculty Research Ethics Committee.  Failure to seek appropriate ethics approval through the review process could have implications for the award of your research degree.  

Certain projects, such as those involving NHS patients or clinical trials, will require special ethics review processes; if this is the case for your project, your supervisor can advise on the next steps.  

Further information about the ethics review process, including the application form for University review, can be found on the Ethics review section of the Secretariat website.