Sponsored Projects Certificate Program

A certificate program for research administrators.  Please note: This program is *not* intended for Barnard and NYSPI employees who do not have a joint appointment with Columbia.

Check out our Sponsored Projects Certificate Program FAQs.

The Columbia University Certificate in Administration of Sponsored Projects is a certificate program for Columbia administrative staff involved in sponsored projects.  The certificate program provides appropriately-trained individuals with a credential that attests to their knowledge and understanding of the policies and processes relating to the administration of sponsored projects at Columbia.  The program presents training in four key areas of pre-award and post-award administration: 

  1. Research compliance and regulatory requirements;
  2. Research roles and responsibilities at Columbia;
  3. Operational procedures and best practices for proposal development and financial management; and
  4. Resources available for compliance and operational support.

Audience: Research Administrators, Department Administrators, Research Coordinators, Effort Coordinators, Grants Managers and other administrative staff involved with sponsored projects.

Requirements: In order to receive the Certificate in Administration of Sponsored Projects, an individual must complete all of the following requirements:

Research Compliance Foundations is a 9-session (10-session for CUIMC) classroom course that provides an overview of sponsored project regulatory requirements and related Columbia roles, responsibilities, and policies.  The course is taught by Columbia subject-matter experts from key research-related offices across the University. 

Sponsored Projects Essentials is a 5-session classroom course that covers pre-award and post-award operational processes and requirements.  The course is taught by subject-matter experts from Sponsored Projects Administration and Sponsored Projects Finance.  Note: certain sessions of the Foundations course are prerequisites for Essentials.

As a supplement to the in-person courses, trainees are required to review a series of detailed case studies related to the Responsible Conduct of Research for research administrators.  Note: this course should be completed following Research Compliance Foundations.  The case studies are in Rascal TC0504.

Individuals interested in earning the Certificate are required to demonstrate mastery of the material by successfully completing two quizzes in Rascal: one following Research Compliance Foundations and one following Sponsored Projects Essentials.  The post-Foundations quiz is campus-specific and can be found here: CUIMC or Morningside/LDEO/Zuckerman/Manhattanville.

Individuals interested in earning the Certificate are required to demonstrate mastery of the material by successfully completing two quizzes in Rascal: one following Research Compliance Foundations and one following Sponsored Projects Essentials.  The post-Essentials quiz is campus-specific and can be found here: CUIMC or Morningside/LDEO/Zuckerman/Manhattanville.

Timing:  Effective January 2021, participants in the Sponsored Projects Certificate Program must complete all in-person and online requirements within 3 years of starting in the program in order to earn the Certificate.  Anyone who has started the program before January 2021 will be grandfathered in to this policy: they will have 3 years starting from January 2021 to complete all Certificate requirements in order to earn the Certificate.  Each classroom course is taught twice each year: Foundations in summer and winter, Essentials in spring and fall.  The online cases and tests are always available.

Please note that all Certificate requirements must be completed while you are employed at Columbia.

Information:  For additional information, please see the detailed descriptions of each Certificate requirement and the Sponsored Projects Certificate FAQs.  If you have any remaining questions, please contact the Office of Research Compliance and Training at [email protected]. 

Sponsors:  The Certificate program is sponsored by the Office of Research Compliance and Training, in collaboration with Sponsored Projects Administration and Sponsored Projects Finance.

Commonly used research-related abbreviations and acronyms at Columbia