• Scope of accreditation: AIU ISERC is accredited to review and approve SOCIAL SCIENCES research proposals only. For clinical trials, health sciences, biomedical research, research involving animal subjects, biological sciences, public health, environmental sciences, animal sciences, agriculture and physical sciences, please contact another accredited ISERC institution. Click here to view accredited ISERC institutions.
• Electronic submissions only: The ISERC office accepts electronic submissions only. Physical copies of submissions are NOT ACCEPTED.
• Forms and PDF documents: Download the relevant ISERC submission forms, type your responses and convert each completed document to PDF. Handwritten responses will NOT BE ACCEPTED. Attach each PDF document separately. DO NOT combine all documents into one PDF.
• Signatures and proposal defence: All proposals must have completed the defence process and be duly signed by the student(s) and supervisors before submission. ISERC forms must also be appropriately signed by the Principal Investigator/Researcher (student). Documents without the required signatures will not be accepted.
• Required appendices: ISERC forms, the researcher's CV and the receipt of payment must be attached as appendices.
• Review timelines: The ISERC Committee reviews proposals within a maximum of 30 working days. For expedited applications, the maximum turnaround time is 5 working days.
• After approval: Upon approval, students/researchers receive a letter of approval from ISERC. AIU students should then proceed to the Graduate School for a letter of introduction before applying for the NACOSTI data collection permit. Access the NACOSTI Research Portal.
• Proposals not approved: If a proposal is not approved, the researcher will be notified as soon as possible after the review meeting, with instructions on the action required.
• Proofreading and formatting: Students must ensure that all documents are properly formatted and proofread before submission.

Please take note of the breakdown below of the forms that should be filled before submission of proposals to the AIU-ISERC for review.