Academic units will create policies related to the use of AI (as described by the Office of Academic Integrity) that are relevant for their disciplines in different areas of graduate education: 1) organized coursework, 2) supervised research (or other supervised creative endeavors), 3) qualifying and comprehensive exams, and 4) capstone experiences (e.g., dissertations, theses, non-thesis projects).
Each policy needs to include the following elements:
- The goal(s) of the educational experience.
- Whether AI is permitted
- If AI is permitted, specify
- which tasks (and tools, if applicable) are permitted.
- how AI use should be disclosed and acknowledged.
For each experience (i.e., coursework, supervised research, qualifying and comprehensive exams, capstone experiences, or other endeavor not listed here), units will provide policies that either:
- restrict all uses of AI,
- permit some uses of AI, or
- permit all uses of AI.
All policies created by academic units must be compliant with ethical, research, and IT guidelines from the University of Missouri and other relevant stakeholders, such as granting agencies and publishers. Per the Office of Academic Integrity, improper uses of AI is academic dishonesty, and in cases of suspected academic dishonesty, faculty will follow the procedures of that office.
Individual programs may use or customize templates to suit their policy needs.
Graduate Coursework
Each instructor will have a statement in the syllabus about using AI that is consistent with guidelines stated in the MU Task Force for AI in the Learning Environment. Please review that document for suggested language.
Supervised Research (e.g., research labs, research practicums, research assistantships)
Research supervisors and mentors will have a written statement about how AI may or may not be used in research, discuss the policy and AI use with student and other research collaborators frequently, and receive acknowledgement from students/supervised researchers that they understand the supervisor’s expectations.
Qualifying and Comprehensive Exams
Academic units will have a written statement about how AI may or may not be used in the process and products of qualifying and comprehensive exams. Appropriate uses, tools, and disclosures of AI may vary by discipline.
Capstone Experiences (e.g., theses, dissertations, projects)
Academic units will have a written statement about how AI may or may not be used in capstone experiences and for the creation of capstone products, as appropriate to their discipline. It is possible and perhaps expected that different capstone experiences (for example, a PhD dissertation and a non-thesis Master’s project) will have unique goals; thus, different AI guidelines.