Eligibility to act as a principal investigator (PI) or co-principal investigator (Co-PI) on a sponsored project is limited to CSU employees with the necessary skills and knowledge to comply with all award regulations and requirements and who have an appointment type that permits serving as a PI or Co-PI. This limitation is in place because sponsored awards are made to CSU, and CSU is accountable for meeting all sponsored project activity requirements. Additionally, PIs are responsible for determining the intellectual direction of the research and scholarship and often for the training of graduate students and postdoctoral appointees.

Graduate research assistants, postdoctoral fellows, and adjunct or contract faculty are considered temporary appointments and therefore are generally not eligible to serve as PI or Co-PI. Additional restrictions on PI eligibility may apply by CSU unit or sponsoring agency. For example, certain project types, such as fellowships, may require that a student or postdoctoral candidate serve as PI. Specific sponsor requirements can affect assignment of the PI role for an application package, portal proposal record, or KR PD s2s record, and even for award management. Sponsor instructions must be followed for the actual proposal submission and award management activities, while the PI assignment in CSU internal proposal and award systems may need to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Additional restrictions on PI eligibility may apply for projects involving controlled unclassified information. In such cases, only persons with appropriate credentials may serve as PI, despite meeting other eligibility criteria. Consult with Secure and Global Research for projects involving controlled unclassified information.

If in doubt about an individual’s ability to serve as a CSU PI or Co-PI, first consult at PI Eligibility document on the OSP Guidance page. If approval is needed, reach out to the cognizant department chair or unit head prior to preparing a proposal for external funding.