Human Subjects

Committee for Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS)

The CPHS is the IRB at Berkeley responsible for evaluating and approving all proposals involving generalizable knowledge with human subjects conducted by university faculty, staff and students.
They are particularly critical in assessment roles and the definition of standards. Selected services include:

The Office for Protection of Human Subjects (OPHS) is the administrative office that supports the CPHS by coordinating the review of research, keeping abreast of the changing policies, rules and regulations, and working with CPHS and researchers to address research protocol and compliance issues.

The Committee for Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS) is comprised of two groups that serve as Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) for the University of California, Berkeley. All institutions engaged in human subjects research that is supported by federal funds must have in place a Federalwide Assurance, a written assurance to the DHHS Office for Human Research Protections that the institution will comply with federal regulations and policies for the protection of human subjects. The IRB review process is guided by federal and state regulations, university policy and the Belmont Report.

UC Berkeley researchers (including faculty, staff, and students) undertaking research with Human Subjects, regardless of funding source or whether the activity is funded, must be reviewed and approved by the CPHS, or determined to qualify for exempt status by OPHS prior to the initiation of the research project.

The OPHS acts as a liaison with the Sponsored Projects Office (SPO), and works closely with Information Security & Policy (ISP) and other compliance committees as appropriate.

OPHS Quick Links:

CPHS Website
What Needs CPHS Review
Data Security Guidelines & Matrix (PDF)
Research Data Security Policy (PDF)