Unsure of where to go for your agreement request? Feel free to either scroll or use the search engine below to view what department handles each type of agreement. You can click on the agreement to find out more info.

Mission & Vision

Our goal in the Office of Technology Transfer is to help our faculty achieve their research goals. One of the ways in which we do this is to craft a variety of agreements to document and memorialize research relationships. As a scientist, you are focused on developing your projects and your students. With this, comes collaboration with other scientists around the world. Our group facilitates communication between Rice and the other entity to accurately define the parameters by which you can achieve your research goal. How you wish to collaborate can take on many forms, including but not limited to:


Do you want to send or receive materials?

Material Transfer Agreements(MTA) - An MTA is used when another party has either requested materials from Rie or a Rice researcher is requesting materials from another pary. The other party can be either non-profit or for-profit.

MTA Request Forms:

Incoming MTA Submittal Form
Outgoing MTA Submittal Form
Addgene Icoming Material Request Form
Addgene Material Deposit Form
Do you want to send or receive data?

Data Transfer/Use Agreement (DTA) - A DTA/DUA is used when another party has either requested human data from Rice or a Rice researcher is requesting human data from another party (for-profit and/or non-profit).

To Request a DTA/DUA:

Send an email to MTA@rice.edu
Do you want to have a confidential discussion about a potential research project?

Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA) - A CDA is used when the parties wish to exchange non-public information to determine if they want to move forward with another action. This could result in a research agreement or license agreement.

CDA Request Form
Do you want to collaborate with a colleague at another institution?

Research Collaboration Agreement (RCA) - An RCA is used when both parties wish to work together on a specific research project. Both parties pay for their own efforts in this scenario.

To Request a Research Collaboration Agreement:

Send an email to MTA@rice.edu
Do you want to collaborate with an industry partner?

Industry Sponsored Research Agreement (SRA) - An SRA is used when an industry partner funds a specific research project. These can also come in the form of a Master Research Agreement wherein each scope as added to a master group of terms and conditions.

To Request a Sponsored Research Agreement:

Send an email to MTA@rice.edu

Functions & Timing

You can reach our group by simply emailing us at mta@rice.edu. One of our contract specialists will direct you to fill out an agreement request form. Once we receive the completed form, we may reach out to discuss the subject matter and/or try to get a clear understanding of what you are trying to accomplish.

Once we have all of the pertinent information we will work with the agreement that has been sent from the other party, or we will draft an agreement to accurately reflect the research goal. Negotiation of terms can take anywhere between 2 weeks and several months depending on the complexity of the terms and research goals.

You may be wondering why there is not a firm timeline. To understand this, it is beneficial to review how our office works within the greater research administration group here at Rice. We work with a multitude of other offices here at Rice to ensure that the agreement we execute is in line with Rice policy and expectation. This could mean speaking with the Office of General Counsel and Risk Management to discuss legal risk, Environmental Health and Safety in the case that we are accepting materials that require additional safety protocols, the Internet Security Office to ensure you have the required safety measures in place to accept certain data, and/or the Sponsored Projects and Research Compliance group to ensure you have a Cayuse protocol for funded work, to determine if you have the required protocols (IRB/IACUC/IBC) in place to perform the project, if there is any Conflict of Interest to be aware of, and if there is anything export controlled included in the project that requires additional attention. Working with all of these external offices requires time and diligence.

Below you will find a flow chart detailing the contract review process in our group.

Contract Process at Rice
Requesting Contracts at Rice

Mission & Vision

Our goal in the Office of Technology Transfer is to help our faculty achieve their research goals. One of the ways in which we do this is to craft a variety of agreements to document and memorialize research relationships. As a scientist, you are focused on developing your projects and your students. With this, comes collaboration with other scientists around the world. Our group facilitates communication between Rice and the other entity to accurately define the parameters by which you can achieve your research goal. How you wish to collaborate can take on many forms, including but not limited to:


Do you want to send or receive materials?

Material Transfer Agreements(MTA) - An MTA is used when another party has either requested materials from Rie or a Rice researcher is requesting materials from another pary. The other party can be either non-profit or for-profit.

MTA Request Forms:

Incoming MTA Submittal Form
Outgoing MTA Submittal Form
Addgene Icoming Material Request Form
Addgene Material Deposit Form
Do you want to send or receive data?

Data Transfer/Use Agreement (DTA) - A DTA/DUA is used when another party has either requested human data from Rice or a Rice researcher is requesting human data from another party (for-profit and/or non-profit).

To Request a DTA/DUA:

Send an email to MTA@rice.edu
Do you want to have a confidential discussion about a potential research project?

Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA) - A CDA is used when the parties wish to exchange non-public information to determine if they want to move forward with another action. This could result in a research agreement or license agreement.

CDA Request Form
Do you want to collaborate with a colleague at another institution?

Research Collaboration Agreement (RCA) - An RCA is used when both parties wish to work together on a specific research project. Both parties pay for their own efforts in this scenario.

To Request a Research Collaboration Agreement:

Send an email to MTA@rice.edu
Do you want to collaborate with an industry partner?

Industry Sponsored Research Agreement (SRA) - An SRA is used when an industry partner funds a specific research project. These can also come in the form of a Master Research Agreement wherein each scope as added to a master group of terms and conditions.

To Request a Sponsored Research Agreement:

Send an email to MTA@rice.edu

Functions & Timing

You can reach our group by simply emailing us at mta@rice.edu. One of our contract specialists will direct you to fill out an agreement request form. Once we receive the completed form, we may reach out to discuss the subject matter and/or try to get a clear understanding of what you are trying to accomplish.

Once we have all of the pertinent information we will work with the agreement that has been sent from the other party, or we will draft an agreement to accurately reflect the research goal. Negotiation of terms can take anywhere between 2 weeks and several months depending on the complexity of the terms and research goals.

You may be wondering why there is not a firm timeline. To understand this, it is beneficial to review how our office works within the greater research administration group here at Rice. We work with a multitude of other offices here at Rice to ensure that the agreement we execute is in line with Rice policy and expectation. This could mean speaking with the Office of General Counsel and Risk Management to discuss legal risk, Environmental Health and Safety in the case that we are accepting materials that require additional safety protocols, the Internet Security Office to ensure you have the required safety measures in place to accept certain data, and/or the Sponsored Projects and Research Compliance group to ensure you have a Cayuse protocol for funded work, to determine if you have the required protocols (IRB/IACUC/IBC) in place to perform the project, if there is any Conflict of Interest to be aware of, and if there is anything export controlled included in the project that requires additional attention. Working with all of these external offices requires time and diligence.

Below you will find a flow chart detailing the contract review process in our group.

Contractual-Timeline