Ethical Research Requirement

Penn State University mandates that all graduate degree programs, including all Online Geospatial Education Master's degree programs, shall educate every graduate student formally about the responsible conduct of research. The “SARI” (Scholarship and Research Integrity) mandate is described at the SARI@PSU Program Portal. 

Students may fulfill the mandate by successfully completing: 
1) a three-credit elective class (GEOG 581: Spatial Data Science Ethics, see the course calendar for when it is offered next) OR
2) a two week online non-credit workshop, the Responsible Scholarship & Professional Practice (RSPP) workshop, involving approximately ten hours of student activity (online training, reading and case study analysis). This workshop is offered three times per year in May, August, and November. More on the workshop is below. 

Students are not charged any extra tuition or fees to participate in RSPP. 

RSPP Workshop Objectives: Students who successfully complete the RSPP workshop will be prepared to:

1. Practice academic integrity and responsible conduct of research;
2. Demonstrate ability to write English prose at a graduate level;
3. Demonstrate moral reasoning skills through methodical analysis of an ethical case studies; and
4. Demonstrate familiarity with and understanding of pertinent ethical codes and rules of conduct.

Required Materials: None, other than an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password.

Assignments and Grading: Student performance in RSPP is evaluated on a pass/fail basis. Students pass by completing assignments thoroughly and on schedule. Because students neither register officially nor pay tuition, the workshop does not appear on students Penn State transcripts. Instead, the online geospatial education program team reports student outcomes directly to the Graduate School, which audits every student's compliance prior to graduation.

Below is the tentative schedule for upcoming workshops. You will be added to a workshop during your entrance interview.