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Human Ethics

All research involving humans, conducted by or with faculty, staff or students affiliated with Toronto Metropolitan University, must be reviewed and approved by the university’s Research Ethics Board (REB) prior to the commencement of the study. The university’s research policies, including Senate Policy #51 (opens in new window)  – Policy on Research Involving Human Participants – and research ethics procedures, adhere to the federal guidelines of the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS 2) (external link, opens in new window) .

The REB recommends that all prospective applicants register and take the TCPS online tutorial (external link, opens in new window)  to become familiar with the TCPS 2 guidelines. Completion of the TCPS 2 online tutorial is a requirement for all students. All students must complete the tutorial before submission of the online application for ethics approval.

No research involving human participants shall be undertaken without the prior approval of the Research Ethics Board (REB).

Application Information and Instructions

The Online Ethics Protocol Submission and Review System is a form-based web application system. Please note some of the basic features and constraints of the system:

  • The system allows you to save your application and complete it at a later time.
  • There are stated character limits for many fields.
  • Documents may be attached to the system, so if responses exceed the stated character limits, refer to the document names of the attached files.
  • Text may be copied and pasted into the application forms from other existing documents.

All applications for ethics review of research involving humans must be submitted via the Online Ethics Protocol Submission and Review System, which can be accessed through your my.torontomu (opens in new window)  account.

Note: The initial response time is typically five to six weeks from the date of the original submission.

Once you log into your my.torontomu account, you may access the system by selecting the “Online Ethics Submission and Review System” option, which can be found in the “Research Ethics” box under the “my.torontomu” tab.

For all graduate student applicants, the REB requires that protocols are first reviewed and approved by their faculty supervisors in all graduate programs.

Online Ethics Protocol Submission and Review System  (opens in new window) 

(REB) Research Guidelines and Templates

Ethics Guidelines

Consent Form Templates (2023)

Recruitment Templates (2024)

Students as Participants in Research

The following provides information for research involving student participants: