Undergraduate Research
Undergraduate Research Ethics Committee (UREC)
The Undergraduate Research Ethics Committee (UREC) is a subcommittee of the Health Research Ethics Committee (HREC). It was established to review undergraduate and honours level ethics applications. UREC has its own Chair and Vice Chair with the authority to sign off on minimal risk reviews. All decisions are ratified at HREC full committee meetings.
Click here for a quick guide on submitting your ethics application. Click here to access the application form and information about what other documents to submit for student research.
The UREC review process
Submit your research by one of the UREC submission deadlines. The UREC Coordinator will determine whether your research is minimal risk or more than minimal risk1. If your research is minimal risk research, it will go into the expedited cycle. You should receive feedback on your application within 3-6 weeks of the submission deadline. If your research is more than minimal risk research, it will be reviewed at the full HREC committee meeting that corresponds to your submission deadline. You should receive feedback on your application within 2 weeks of the relevant HREC committee meeting.
1. Minimal risk review (expedited cycle)
2. More than minimal risk review (full committee meeting review)
1Minimal risk research is research where the probability and magnitude of harm or discomfort anticipated in the research is not more than that ordinarily encountered in daily life, or during the performance of routine physical or psychological examinations. Examples: non-invasive procedures such as focus groups, questionnaires, interviews or record reviews. Research that uses these sorts of procedures but that involves vulnerable populations (e.g. children, persons with mental illness etc.) might be classified as more than minimal risk research.
