Ethics
Exemplify research principles
Your Research Matters, You Matter
Your findings in the lab or library have immense potential to influence our world in positive and constructive ways. Our integrative focus on ethics is designed to ensure that when you apply your findings towards meaningful solutions, you exemplify principles that reflect the integrity of your work.
Because research integrity is essential to conducting research that matters, the Graduate School requires three hours of research ethics training. Students fulfill this requirement by completing the Research Ethics Workshop. The workshops are offered year-round, several times per semester, and are small-group, interdisciplinary discussion sessions with doctoral students from all programs across campus. Students register for these workshops via the Professional Development portal.
The required research ethics workshop is complemented by courses, seminars, lectures, and more, hosted by groups like the Center for Social Concerns, the Center for Ethics and Culture, and the Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values. We also convene structured, year-long conversations about ethics and social responsibility, through training groups like Leaders Advancing Socially Engaged Research (LASER). All programming is dedicated to instilling in you a credible, distinguished voice in discourse taking place in the academy, your community, and the world.
Our commitment to supporting research that matters while exemplifying values and purpose dovetails with other Graduate Training initiatives. It entails supporting your passion for discovery and providing you with the tools to cultivate leadership qualities. It means preparing you to be a force for good in ways that reflect your personal values, your engagement in your community, and your conscientious worldview.
Responsible Innovation Fellowship Program (RIF)
Offered in partnership with the IDEA Center, The Responsible Innovation Fellowship is an NSF-sponsored program that provides training and first-hand experience in the ethical and social impacts of new technologies to a small group of cross-disciplinary doctoral students and postdocs.
Center for Social Concerns
Invested in the social responsibility that derives from research and education, the Center for Social Concerns offers several opportunities for students to develop ethical perspectives. These include a multi-disciplinary immersion course in social justice called the Common Good Initiative, the Graduate Certificate in Community Engagement and Public Scholarship (CEPS), Social Concerns Seminars, workshops, conferences, international travel, and more.
Center for Ethics and Culture
The leading center for scholarly reflection within the Catholic intellectual and moral tradition, the Center for Ethics and Culture's signature event is a fall conference that draws scholars from renowned institutions and engages with pressing contemporary questions, from bioethics to religious freedom to constitutional integrity and more. The Center also concerns itself with student formation, developing reverence for beauty and the arts, and promoting a culture of life.
Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values
The Reilly Center explores conceptual, ethical, and policy issues where science and technology intersect with society from different disciplinary perspectives. Their purpose is to promote the advancement of science and technology for the common good. Programming includes the Globes Program, annual conferences, and more.
Leaders Advancing Socially Engaged Research (LASER)
Leadership Advancing Socially Engaged Research (LASER) is an experiential training program for Notre Dame PhD students in their 3rd or 4th year of study. It is intended to develop leadership proficiencies and aptitude as well as to explore and build skills for socially engaged research.
ND Research
ND Research supports and encourages innovation in more than twenty core facilities, as well as in a number of key areas of research, including cancer, environmental change, global health, and many more, with faculty finding their homes in one of Notre Dame’s seven colleges or schools. Their services support ethics training by providing compliance training and guidelines.
Office of Sustainability
The Office of Sustainability offers ethical guidelines for reducing the University's impact on the environment, and supporting academic advancement in ways that are compassionate to our earth. Through the Office, students have several opportunities to participate in sustainability efforts, such as by becoming a Green Ambassador, a Sustainability Commissioner, and more.
Office of Military and Veterans Affairs
Under the motto "God, Country, Notre Dame," the Office of Military and Veterans Affairs aims to create a welcoming experience for service men and women at the University, promote a spirit of gratitude for military service and sacrifice on campus, and extend support to military individuals and families both on campus and beyond Notre Dame. Students can get involved by participating in the Warrior Scholar Project, attending community events that support military veterans such as Storm the Stadium, and more.
Scholars Take Action at Notre Dame (STAND)
Open to doctoral students across all disciplines, the Scholars Take Action at Notre Dame (STAND) fellowship provides training, resources, and experiential learning to inspire and equip students to infuse their academic work with social purpose.