Office of Research Integrity and Assurance

Research Security Training

What is Research Security Training?

Research Security training provides guidance on topics such as:

  • Recognizing risks in the global research ecosystem
  • Federal disclosure requirements
  • Managing and mitigating research security risks
  • Engaging in international collaborations

George Mason University has adopted the NSF SECURE Center’s condensed Research Security Training (RST) module, and has included university-specific resources and information. This revised training is effective as of January 2026 and replaces all versions previously available in Leaps. The training is designed to provide the George Mason community with the information needed to engage in international activities (such as collaboration, co-authorship, and travel) and all extramurally funded research safely and in accordance with federal guidelines.

In addition, this training meets the requirements of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 which mandates research security training for covered individuals (senior/key personnel) listed in a research application. The OSP Pre-Award Research Security Compliance page contains information on research security training certifications that must be made prior to proposal submission. A summary of the current state of U.S. federal agency-specific Research Security Training requirements, including key dates and definitions of covered individuals, can found on the NSF SECURE Center Research Security Briefing website.

The training takes approximately 60 minutes to complete. It is available in MasonLeaps following the directions below:

  1. Log in to MasonLeaps.
    1. Search for “Research Security Training,” OR
    2. Click the direct link: Research Security Training

Please read below for more information about the revised research security training.

The revised Research Security Training replaces two previous trainings in LEAPS:
  • International Collaborations
  • Previous version of the NSF (Condensed) Research Security Training module
  • New hires (faculty and researchers) in all colleges.
  • Faculty and researchers who completed International Collaborations training in Spring 2024. The new research security training will be taken in lieu of refresher training for International Collaborations.
  • COS and CEC faculty and researchers, unless they completed research security training before.
  • Any faculty submitting a proposal that requires research security training if they: a) have never taken research security training before, or, b) a year has passed since their previous research security training.
  • Faculty and researchers who took either the previous NSF Research Security (Condensed) Training, or the NSF Research Security (Extended) Training.
  • Faculty and researchers who completed International Collaborations training in Fall 2025. These faculty will not be enrolled in research security training until Fall 2026, unless they submit a proposal ahead of this time that requires the training.
Research security training will need to be completed annually.
All faculty and researchers working with sponsored research and/or engaging in international activities (such as collaboration, co-authorship, and travel) at George Mason University will be required to take the Research Security Training annually. Additionally, Research Security Training is currently required by certain federal agencies in order to submit federally funded proposals, with more agencies rolling out this requirement in 2026. All covered individuals (senior/key personnel) listed in a research application must complete training prior to proposal submission. For more information on agency requirements, please visit the OSP Pre-award Research Security Compliance page.
All faculty and researchers in the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) and College of Science (COS) will continue to be enrolled in export and sanctions compliance training.

 

 

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