Undergraduate Research Explorer
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Undergraduate Research Hub

Guidelines & Procedures

There are specific guidelines and procedures that must be considered when undergraduate research opportunities are being developed, or when undergraduate students are engaging in research. Please find below a few considerations:

It is the University of Toronto’s goal to create a research community that is inclusive of all persons and treats all members of the community in an equitable manner. In creating such a community, the University aims to foster a climate of understanding and mutual respect for the dignity and worth of all persons.

In working toward this goal, the University will strive to provide support for, and facilitate the accommodation of individuals with disabilities so that all may share the same level of access to opportunities, participate in the full range of activities that the University offers, and achieve their full potential as members of the University community.

Inclusion in research experiences is achieved when an experience supports learning for all students. In keeping with the Ontario Human Rights Code, the University of Toronto has a commitment to an equitable learning environment for people with disabilities. It is important to engage in an interactive process to determine the optimal and most appropriate accommodations for individual students engaged in research.

At the University of Toronto, tri-campus accessibility service offices support students who experience difficulties accessing their education through classroom and experiential learning accommodations.

Curricular: If a student requires an accommodation related to a course, they may wish to connect with one of the accessibility services offices at the University of Toronto. If a student is not already registered with Accessibility Services, they are able to do so at any point during their studies. Staff at these offices will advise students on the disclosure of accommodation requirements as well as support them through the process of determining and negotiating effective accommodations for the student’s individual circumstances. 

Students should be informed that they may require accommodations for curricular research experiences that differ from the accommodations in place for a more traditional course environment. If a student requires further accommodations related to a curricular research experience, faculty members should connect them with one of the accessibility service offices. Staff at these offices can recommend further accommodations and support faculty through the process of implementing effective accommodations for the student’s individual circumstances. 

Co-Curricular: Career Exploration & Education (CxEd) has created Disclosure & Accommodation Guide for the Workplace, a resource to help students navigate disclosures and accommodation conversations throughout the job search process.

Student support offices strive to create a safe and comfortable community where students have opportunities to discuss navigating barriers, find peer support and learn about various academic and social opportunities.

Environmental Health & Safety in the Research Context

At the University of Toronto, Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) has a broad mandate of ensuring and facilitating a safe environment for all employees, students, visitors and contractors who participate in our community and frequent our spaces. In the context of research, EHS offers programs and resources to support and facilitate research activities as well as to ensure compliance with applicable regulations and legislation.

EHS aims to provide environmental health and safety services to the University related to the following research-related topics:

  • Chemical and laboratory safety
  • Biosafety and biosecurity
  • Radiation safety (radionuclides, lasers, x-ray, UV, EMF)
  • Cannabis Research
  • Field Research safety
  • Occupational hygiene and safety
  • Occupational health and medical surveillance
  • Incident / accident reporting
  • Environmental compliance
     

Training & Certification

If you are conducting research in a laboratory, an office environment, in the field or off-campus, a range of safety training is available in-class or online that covers how you can protect yourself by working safely. EHS offers training in the following areas:

  • WHMIS and Lab safety
  • Radiation safety (sealed and open sources)
  • Laser safety
  • X-ray safety
  • Biosafety
  • Respiratory Protection Training
  • Cannabis Research
  • Ergonomics
  • First aid certification
  • Joint Health and Safety Certification
  • Basic health and safety awareness
  • Working at heights

EHS staff can assist you with evaluating your research project to ensure all applicable permits are obtained and required training is completed. Visit the EHS website to learn more.

The University of Toronto’s comprehensive general liability coverage covers against legal liability arising from University operations which cause bodily injury, personal injury or damage to property of others (third parties). This can include liability arising out of the actions of students while engaged in University managed and supervised activities such as field or research trips.

Depending on specific circumstances, the University will extend its general liability insurance coverage to students. The University maintains commercial general liability insurance, which will defend and indemnify faculty, staff and students against claims arising out of bodily injury or property damage.

For questions about the extension of general liability insurance coverage, faculty or staff program coordinators should contact the University of Toronto’s Risk Management and Insurance department.

Intellectual Property (IP), simply defined, is any form of knowledge or expression created with one’s intellect. It includes such things as inventions; data; computer software; trademarks; literary, artistic, musical, or visual works; and even simple knowledge on how to do something.

It is important to clearly define how IP created during an research opportunity will be treated; namely, whether the inventor or author retains ownership or whether the IP rights are assigned to the partner organization. The circumstances and mechanisms of IP assignment will vary depending on key features of the experience, outlined generally below:

Under the University’s Inventions Policy (PDF) and Copyright Policy (PDF), in the context of for-credit courses, students are generally the initial owner of the intellectual property created within the experience and students should not be obligated to participate in coursework that requires the assignment of their IP to a third party. Some third party research partners may seek ownership over the IP created in an unpaid for-credit research experience, but it is important to ensure that students maintain the necessary rights to complete required coursework, publish an academic paper, or defend their thesis.

Students participating in non-credit research experiences are generally acting as an employee or volunteer of the research partner. In such cases, the research partner will likely seek to retain the IP created through the experience and the employment contract or volunteer agreement will generally contain information to that effect. Students should review all contracts and agreements carefully with regard to IP rights to minimizing the potential for disagreements over IP ownership.

A series of Intellectual Property Modules for both students and instructors has been created by U of T Digital Learning Innovation (DLI), Office of the Vice-Provost, Innovations in Undergraduate Education (OVPIUE) and U of T Entrepreneurship (UTE). These modules cover both Intellectual Property (IP) and Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs).

A Non-disclosure Agreement (NDA), also known as a confidentiality agreement (CA), is a legal contract between two parties regarding the use or disclosure of information (such as data, materials, financial information, etc.). In the context of a research experience, an NDA may be requested by the research partner in order to restrict the disclosure of information by students, staff or faculty at the University associated with the project to third parties.

The applicability and risks associated with students signing NDAs or CAs vary depending on key features of the experience, outlined generally below:

  • Students should not be obligated to participate in coursework that requires the assignment of their Intellectual Property to a third party.
  • A student’s grade and/or evaluation of performance in the course should not be affected by the student’s decision to participate or not to participate in coursework requiring the receipt of confidential information. If the student does not wish to participate in the experiential learning experience, an alternative assignment with an equivalent learning experience should be provided.
  • Agreements should not be signed individually and directly with the third party. If the student is the signatory in their personal capacity, there is less legal risk for the University, but the student would be exposed to some personal liability in order to take the course. Instead, the University should sign an agreement with the third party, and then have an agreement in place with each course instructor and student. As course instructors are not typically authorized to execute an NDA, they must obtain proper internal approvals from their academic unit/division head with signing authority for that agreement and underlying activity.
  • With more frequency, third parties (such as corporate sponsors, community partners, or other outside entities) wish to offer proprietary information (such as data, materials, financial information, etc.) to an entire class of students. However, in exchange for providing confidential information to the course instructors, third parties may ask that students, course instructors, and/or the University sign:
    • Non-disclosure agreements (NDA); and/or
    • Intellectual property (IP) agreements (IP Assignments) requiring all students to assign their rights to any IP that they created while participating in class activities. The document below offers an overview of some of the legal and policy issues related to the use of third party proprietary confidential information in the context of classroom teaching if the third party requests an NDA and/or IP Assignment.
  • U of T NDA Template Memorandum – Guidelines and Considerations (PDF)
  • The document below provides a template package for course instructors to use when a third party requests the use of a non-disclosure/confidentiality agreement.
  • U of T NDA Template Package for Course Instructors (PDF)

Students participating in non-credit research experiences are generally acting as an employee or volunteer of the research partner. In such cases, the research partner will likely seek to retain the Intellectual Property created through the experience, and the employment contract or volunteer agreement will generally contain information to that effect. Students should review all contracts and agreements carefully with regard to Intellectual Property rights to minimizing the potential for disagreements over Intellectual Property ownership.

A series of modules pertaining to both Intellectual Property (IP) and Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) has been created by U of T Digital Learning Innovation (DLI), Office of the Vice-Provost, Innovations in Undergraduate Education (OVPIUE) and U of T Entrepreneurship (UTE). These modules are designed for both student and instructor audiences.

With more frequency, third parties (such as corporate sponsors, community partners, or other outside entities) wish to offer proprietary information (such as data, materials, financial information, etc.) to an entire class of students. However, in exchange for providing confidential information to the course instructors, third parties may ask that students, course instructors, and/or the University sign:

  • Non-disclosure agreements (NDA); and/or
  • Intellectual property (IP) agreements (IP Assignments) requiring all students to assign their rights to any IP that they created while participating in class activities.

The document below offers an overview of some of the legal and policy issues related to the use of third party proprietary confidential information in the context of classroom teaching if the third party requests an NDA and/or IP Assignment.

U of T NDA Template Memorandum – Guidelines and Considerations (PDF)

The document below provides a template package for course instructors to use when a third party requests the use of a non-disclosure/confidentiality agreement.

U of T NDA Template Package for Course Instructors (PDF)

Ethics in Human Research

The University of Toronto’s Human Research Ethics Unit (HREU) oversees ethics in human research. HREU provides administrative support to the University Research Ethics Boards (REBs) and to researchers in the development, review, and oversight of human research to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations and policies. Review the HREU website, if you’re intending to conduct research involving human participants or personal information.

Ethics in Course-Based Research

In situations where students will be conducting activities that the course instructor believes may constitute a research activity or project, the instructor should contact the Division of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation to determine whether an ethics protocol is needed. For those interested in the ethics review of course-based research, a course template application is available through My Research Human Protocols (MRHP), which is the online ethics application system. Instructors requiring an ethics protocol would submit the protocol through MRHP and would be responsible for their students’ projects.

Courses require ethics review (and approval) when a course activity is deemed to be research involving human participants, with two notable exceptions:

  • Program evaluation is not considered to be research, unless the plan to disseminate findings (e.g. publication) goes beyond the course or organization.
  • Community-engaged research/Service-learning is generally not considered research, unless the position is as a member of a research team. In such cases, usually it is the Principal Investigator (PI) that needs to seek research ethics board review, not the student, and the instructor should confirm that all necessary approvals have been received.