In 2009, the second largest university in the nation was awarded a grant from NCURA to initiate a new fully-online graduate program in research administration. The Master of Research Administration (MRA) was approved by the institution's Board of Trustees in March 2011 and the first classes will begin August 2011. Currently the research literature does not offer studies on establishing and developing research administration graduate programs. The purpose of this paper is to describe the planning process followed to establish the graduate program at the University of Central Florida, provide a brief overview of the program, and identify the lessons learned during these initial stages of the process. (Contains 2 tables.)