McGill University

McGill's Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (current version effective November 12, 2025) states that no student may use generative AI in an assessment in a manner not authorized by the relevant instructor or supervisor, or that violates the course's AI requirements (Article 25(b)), and that using any tool, including generative AI, that has been disallowed in the course outline or written assessment instructions is cheating (Article 26(f)). AI-detection software is not sufficient by itself to substantiate an allegation under Article 25. Permission is therefore set by the instructor, supervisor and course, not university-wide.

McGill's Principles on Generative AI in Teaching and Learning state (fifth principle) that students remain responsible for academic rigour: verifying the accuracy of AI-generated information, acknowledging the use of generative AI tools where applicable, informing themselves about and complying with instructors' explicit expectations, and respecting limits set on AI use in assessment tasks. Whether AI is allowed or prohibited is not set university-wide.

Since May 1, 2026, McGill GPS asks thesis students to consult its GenAI Research Statement and Disclosure Guidelines and, with their supervisor, include a GenAI statement and disclosure framework in master's and doctoral theses. This statement and framework are recommended, not yet mandatory; failure to disclose AI use may compromise or delay assessment of the thesis, and after Fall 2026 consultations they may become mandatory. Department, supervisor and discipline requirements still apply.

McGill IT Services states that, unless formally reviewed and approved by McGill, it is prohibited to use any generative AI tool for McGill-related purposes; new AI tools, AI features added to existing platforms and requests involving sensitive data go through the AI Review Committee process. For translating McGill content, Linguistic Services lists two approved tools - DeepL Pro (paid version) and Microsoft Copilot (enterprise version) - with the free versions prohibited for data-security reasons and no private or sensitive information to be entered. These are institutional data and translation rules, not course permissions.

McGill Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies research guidelines (November 2024) sort graduate students' AI uses into three tiers: low-to-moderate risk (e.g. proofreading, light editing, debugging existing code, formatting references), moderate-to-high risk (generating content for one's own use, such as summaries for personal study), and very high risk (generating content and presenting it as one's own work, which constitutes plagiarism under the Code of Student Conduct, e.g. writing entire sections). These guidelines are research-focused, not course-based.

McGill teaching guidance (August 2026) states that McGill does not support the use of generative AI detection tools to determine whether student work was generated using AI, because they can produce unreliable results and should not be relied on as evidence of unauthorized use. This teaching position complements, but is distinct from, the Code rule that detector output alone cannot substantiate an Article 25 allegation.

Under McGill's Code, no allegation is substantiated unless the University proves it on a Balance of Probabilities, and the student is entitled to have an Advisor present at any interview or hearing under the Code. A party wishing to appeal a decision of the CSD Hearing Committee must notify the Secretary of the Appeal Committee within 10 Days (working days under the Code) of receiving official notice of that decision; this deadline applies to CSD Hearing Committee decisions, not to every academic decision. Appeals are limited to new evidence, procedural error or bias, or fundamental error in interpreting offences or applying sanctions.