NCURA — the National Council of University Research Administrators — runs a set of skills-based training courses called Traveling Workshops. Despite the name, most sessions today run as live virtual workshops as well as in-person, on-campus, or conference-hosted sessions; the ‘traveling’ label reflects the program’s history of bringing NCURA instructors to host institutions and cities across the country rather than requiring travel to a single fixed location. The workshops are training, not a credential: they run alongside, not in place of, the certification exams offered separately by the Research Administrators Certification Council (RACC), such as the CRA, CPRA, and CFRA. Attendees typically earn continuing education units (CEUs) or, for accountants, CPE credit, for completing a workshop.
The lineup is organized by career stage and functional focus rather than as a single fixed curriculum, which makes it easy to pick the wrong one if you’re relying on the name alone. This guide compares the core tracks — Level I, Level II, Departmental Research Administration (DRA), Financial Research Administration (FRA), and the Senior Level Workshop — plus the smaller specialized offerings, so you can match the workshop to where you actually are in your career.
The five core traveling workshop tracks
Level I: Fundamentals of Sponsored Projects Administration
Level I is the entry point. It’s built for people who are new to research administration — including staff transitioning in from another field — and gives a broad overview of the sponsored-project lifecycle: proposal preparation and review, award negotiation and acceptance, financial and administrative project management, closeout, and the compliance issues that touch each stage. If you’re trying to get oriented to the field as a whole rather than deepen expertise in one function, this is the starting track.
Level II: Sponsored Projects Administration
Level II assumes the foundational knowledge Level I provides and goes deeper. It’s a multi-day program (historically run as a two-and-a-half day format) covering four core areas in more depth: institutional compliance responsibilities, proposal creation and submission, contract and subaward review, and post-award financial administration. It’s aimed at practitioners who already handle sponsored-project work day to day and want a more structured, comprehensive treatment of it rather than a first introduction.
Departmental Research Administration (DRA)
DRA is scoped specifically to the unit-level administrator — the person managing research portfolios at the department or college level rather than in a central Office of Sponsored Programs. Departmental research administrators face a distinct mix of responsibilities compared to central-office staff: they’re closer to individual PIs and grant budgets day to day, often juggling a wider range of ad hoc duties with less specialization than a central-office peer. The DRA workshop is built around that reality rather than repeating Level I/II content from a central-office vantage point.
Financial Research Administration (FRA)
FRA narrows in on the financial and regulatory side of the job: post-award financial management, federal cost regulations, and the compliance mechanics that financial research administrators are responsible for day to day. It’s the right track if your role is weighted toward budgeting, financial reporting, and award financial compliance rather than the full pre-award-to-closeout lifecycle Level I and II cover more broadly.
Senior Level Workshop: Research Administration — The Practical Side of Leadership
This is the track for experienced professionals moving into, or already in, leadership roles. Rather than covering sponsored-project mechanics, it’s built around the practical side of leading a research administration function or team — the skills that Level I/II and the functional tracks (DRA, FRA) don’t attempt to cover because they’re aimed at technical proficiency, not management.
Comparison at a glance
| Track | Best for | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Level I | New to the field, or considering a move into it | Broad overview of the full sponsored-project lifecycle |
| Level II | Practitioners with foundational knowledge who want depth | Compliance, proposals, subawards, and post-award finance in more detail |
| DRA | Unit-/department-level administrators | The distinct workload and responsibilities of departmental research administration |
| FRA | Financially focused research administrators | Post-award financial management and federal cost regulation |
| Senior Level | Experienced professionals moving into leadership | Practical leadership and management skills, not technical mechanics |
Other specialized traveling workshops
Beyond the five core tracks, NCURA periodically offers narrower, function-specific workshops through the same traveling-workshop program, including sessions on contract negotiation and administration, research security and export controls, and a workshop aimed specifically at auditors who work with research administration functions. These run less frequently than the core tracks and scheduling varies, so check NCURA’s own workshop calendar for current offerings and dates rather than assuming year-round availability.
How to choose the right workshop
- You’re brand new to research administration: start with Level I.
- You already handle sponsored-project work and want deeper, more comprehensive training: Level II.
- Your job is specifically at the department/college level, not a central sponsored programs office: DRA.
- Your role is weighted toward award financial management and compliance: FRA.
- You’re moving into, or already hold, a leadership role in a research administration function: the Senior Level Workshop.
These aren’t mutually exclusive or strictly sequential — a departmental administrator with several years of experience might reasonably take DRA and, later, the Senior Level Workshop, without ever taking Level II. Choose based on your actual day-to-day responsibilities and career stage, not the numbering.
Delivery format and credit
NCURA traveling workshops are generally offered in both virtual and in-person formats, including on-campus sessions that institutions can host for their own staff at a discounted group rate rather than sending individuals to an open-enrollment session elsewhere. Participants who complete a workshop typically earn continuing education units (CEUs); CPAs can earn CPE credit where applicable. Exact pricing, current dates, and format options change over time and by track, so confirm specifics directly on NCURA’s Traveling Workshops pages before registering or budgeting for staff training.
How this differs from RACC certification
It’s worth being explicit about what NCURA’s traveling workshops are not: they are training courses, not a certification exam. They don’t themselves confer a credential the way the RACC’s CRA, CPRA, or CFRA exams do. Many research administrators use NCURA workshops as part of their preparation for those certification exams, or simply as ongoing professional development independent of any credential. For a comparison of the certification landscape itself, see our guide to research administrator certification programs (RACC, NCURA, and SRA International compared).
Frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between NCURA Level I and Level II?
Level I is a broad introduction to the sponsored-project lifecycle for people new to the field. Level II assumes that foundation and goes deeper into four specific areas: compliance, proposal creation, contract/subaward review, and post-award financial administration. Level II is not simply ‘more of Level I’ — it’s a more advanced, more detailed program aimed at practitioners already doing the work.
Who should take the DRA workshop instead of Level I or II?
Anyone whose job is specifically at the department or college level — managing individual PIs’ grant portfolios day to day — rather than working in a central sponsored programs office. DRA is built around the specific mix of responsibilities unit-level administrators carry, which differs meaningfully from a central-office role.
Do NCURA traveling workshops count toward RACC certification?
NCURA’s workshops are training, not a credentialing exam, and they are administered separately from the RACC’s CRA/CPRA/CFRA certification programs. Workshop attendance can be useful preparation and professional development, but it doesn’t substitute for or automatically satisfy RACC’s own eligibility or exam requirements — check RACC’s current eligibility criteria directly if you’re using workshops as part of a certification plan.
Are NCURA traveling workshops available virtually?
Yes — NCURA offers virtual sessions of its traveling workshops alongside in-person and on-campus options. Format availability varies by specific track and scheduled session, so check the current listing for the track you’re interested in.
What is the Senior Level Workshop for?
It’s aimed at experienced research administrators moving into, or already holding, leadership roles. Unlike the other tracks, it focuses on the practical side of leading a research administration function rather than sponsored-project mechanics.
