Depending on the nature and location of your research, you may require ethical approval from one or more committees in the UK and overseas. Find out which committee(s) you need to apply to.
As a general rule, you should assume that you will need to apply for UCL unless your study falls within the remit of an external ethics committee (e.g., NHS), or it is classed as 'exempt' from ethical review. There are several ethical approval application routes for UCL staff and students. The information below sets out the different types of ethical committees you may need to apply to based on the type and location of your research.
University ethics review
If your research involves human participants, their tissue, or the collection, or use of their data, you should check if you need to apply for UCL ethical approval. Find out which types of research require ethical approval at UCL on our Do I need UCL ethical approval? page. If you are unsure about the type of ethical review required email ethics@ucl.ac.uk for advice.
Ethical approval at UCL can be obtained via 2 routes:
UCL Research Ethics Committees
UCL's Research Ethics Committees (RECs) review most non-NHS ethics applications across UCL. Different review processes are in place depending on the risks presented by your research. Visit our Apply to UCL's Research Ethics Committees page to find out when and how to apply to a UCL REC.
Local Research Ethics Committees
Several UCL departments and faculties have established Local Research Ethics Committees (LRECs), which can review and approve low-risk applications. Some LRECs also review, and provide useful feedback on, high-risk applications before submission to UCL RECs. Check your local arrangements for applying for ethical approval when planning your application.
A complete list of LRECs, including contact details and links to further information and advice, is available on our Local Research Ethics Committees page.
Collaborative research within the UK
UCL staff or students involved as co-researchers on a project led by a Principal Investigator (PI) from another UK university, do not require additional ethical approval through a UCL REC provided ethics approval has been granted by the lead institution and they are named on the application along with an account of their role on the project. The PI will need ethical approval from their institution and any local ethics/research permissions required for overseas studies before data collection can start.
Research requiring external approval
UCL RECs do not review:
- NHS-based research: Any research that involves NHS patients and carers, invasive research involving prisoners or adults lacking capacity, or a Clinical Trial of an Investigational Medicinal Product. Please refer to the NHS Health Research Authority (HRA) checklist and the HRA's decision tool
- DHSC-funded social care research projects: Ethical approval is required through the Social Care Research Ethics Committee (SCREC) for social care research projects funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
- MOD research: Ethical approval is required through the Ministry of Defence Research Ethics Committee (MoDREC) for research involving human participants either undertaken, funded, or sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to meet nationally and internationally accepted ethical standards.
- Research involving animals: Ethical approval is required from one of UCL's Animal Welfare Ethics Review Boards (AWERBs) for research involving animals.
NHS ethical review
The UCL RECs are not responsible for considering research falling under the remit of DHSC-approved ethics committees that follow governance arrangements for the NHS Research Ethics Committee.
Some studies outside the review requirements of the Health Research Authority's (HRA) Research Ethics Service still require approval/management permission from the host care organisations, often called Research and Development (R&D) approval.
For all UCLH, Royal Free Hospital, and Institute of Neurology staff undertaking medical research the UCLH/UCL Joint Research Office (UCLH/UCL JRO) provides information for:
- R&D approval at UCLH
- Research contracts with UCLH (commercial and non-commercial)
- Research governance and keeping your study legal
- Training and education in research governance
- Collaborations with statisticians.
- Research that may need NHS review
- Potential research participants identified from, or because of, their past or present use of NHS healthcare (UK-wide), Adult social care (England, Wales, and Northern Ireland), Children's social care (Wales and Northern Ireland), and services provided under contract with the private or voluntary sectors including participants recruited through these services as healthy controls
- Potential research participants identified because of their status as relatives or carers of past or present users of these services
- Xenotransplantation (i.e., putting living cells, tissue, or organs from animals into people)
- Health-related research involving prisoners in the custody of the National Offender Management Service, Scottish Prison Service, and Northern Ireland Prison Service
- Social care research projects funded by the Department of Health
- Patients (or information about patients) who are cared for in private and voluntary sector nursing homes (in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland) and/or residents (or information about residents) of residential care homes (in Northern Ireland only)
- Exposure to ionising radiation
- Medical devices that are not CE-marked (i.e. not compliant with European Directives) or CE-marked medical devices that have been modified or are being used for a new purpose
- Investigational medicinal products
- Practising midwives conducting a clinical trial
- Protected information from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority Register
- People who lack (or lose) the capacity to give informed consent*) to take part (or to keep taking part) in the research
- Collection of tissue (i.e. any material consisting of or including human cells) or information from users of these services
- Use of previously collected tissue or information from which individual past or present users of these services could be identified, either directly from that tissue or information, or from its combination with other tissue or information in, or likely to come into, the possession of someone to whom the tissue or information is made available without consent where this could breach confidentiality.
Refer to HRA checklist and the HRA's decision tool for further guidance.
Contact the UCLH/UCL JRO who can give the appropriate advice for your study.
Overseas research (including Europe)
All research with human participants or using human data is expected to follow UK ethical requirements and the study country(ies) regulations.
The International Compilation of Human Research Standards listing, compiled by the Office for Human Research Protections, US Department of Health and Human Services, lists Research Ethics Committees for over 100 countries.
- Summary of ethical review required for overseas studies
All non-patient and patient studies, including clinical trials, solely conducted overseas (including the rest of Europe) require the following 2-fold review:
- UCL Research Ethics Committee (REC) review.
- Local ethics approval in the study country(ies) in accordance with local requirements*
For non-patient and patient studies conducted overseas and studies on healthy volunteers in the UK the following two-fold review is required:
- UCL Research Ethics Committee (REC) review
- Local ethics approval in the study country(ies) in accordance with local requirements*
For non-patient and patient studies conducted overseas and on NHS patients in the UK the following triple-review is required:
- HRA review for the NHS patient element
- UCL REC review for the overseas element**
- Local ethics approval in the study country(ies) in accordance with local requirements*
*Approval of studies conducted overseas through the UCL REC is conditional on the securing of local research/ethical approval in the study country(ies). This is invaluable. It brings local and cultural considerations to bear that might not otherwise be appreciated by ethics committees outside that country(ies), particularly around the issues of recruitment and consent.
A local ethics committee could be either a site/area-specific committee, regional, or country-level committee, or even a combination depending on the country-specific structure. If local a committee(s) do not exist, or your research does not require/is exempt from ethical approval in that country, you will need to provide evidence of this within your application form. Local ethical approval is separate from any other approvals you may need - see the guidance on Overseas Research on the research integrity website.
**This is obligatory given that the Health Research Authority (HRA) does not consider the ethical perspectives of the overseas elements of research and therefore it also needs to be reviewed by the UCL REC*.