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AI Guidance

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Guidance

Establishing responsible, transparent, and department-aligned AI practices for graduate research and academic progress at UAF.

Immediate Action Item for Graduate Students

All graduate students must establish and document accepted AI usage with their advisory committee in their . If you have not yet completed this step, please meet with your advisor as soon as possible so everyone is on the same page.

General Principles of AI Use

Transparency & Citation

Any use of generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Grammarly Premium, Copilot) in research, writing, or analysis must be explicitly cited following your discipline’s style guide.

Academic Integrity

Presenting AI-generated prose, code, or conceptual frameworks as your own unassisted work constitutes academic misconduct under university policy.

Data Privacy & Security

Never upload unpublished research data, proprietary code, intellectual property, or confidential subject data into public or unapproved AI platforms.

How Guidance Varies Across UAF

Because research methodologies and professional norms differ between fields, there is no single blanket rule for AI usage. Policy scope flows downward from institutional standards to your individual research team:

Institutional Policy University & Graduate School Guidelines

Establishes core standards for academic integrity, data privacy, and mandatory disclosure across all graduate programs.

Departmental Policy Academic Department / Program Rules

Defines discipline-specific boundaries set by your department, college, or field of study.

Individual Agreement Graduate Advisory Committee Agreement

The custom, direct agreement established between you and your advisory committee members in your Annual Academic Progress Report tailored specifically to your thesis, dissertation, or research project.

4 Steps for Graduate Students

Follow this workflow to ensure your AI usage is compliant, transparent, and officially documented.

  1. Step 1

    Review Departmental Policies

    Consult your department chair or graduate program director to review any active disciplinary guidelines regarding AI tools in course work, research, and comprehensive exams.

  2. Step 2

    Discuss Expectations with Your Committee

    Schedule time during an upcoming committee meeting to explicitly define acceptable vs. unacceptable AI tools for your thesis, project, or dissertation work. Be sure to discuss:

    • Brainstorming & literature search tools
    • Code writing & data management assistance
    • Grammar, editing, and copyediting software
  3. Step 3 — Action Required

    Document in Your Annual Progress Report

    Record your agreed-upon AI guidelines in your

    If you and your committee have not yet established and documented this agreement, please do so immediately to ensure everyone is on the same page.

  4. Step 4

    Declare, Cite, and Disclose Accurately

    Whenever you submit academic work, ensure all AI contributions are transparently disclosed and properly cited:

    • Declaration of Generative AI Use: Our updated thesis, project, and dissertation templates now include a mandatory Declaration of Generative AI Use section front-matter where students must provide a general description of how generative AI tools were utilized during their work.
    • Detailed Methodology Descriptions: Where applicable, students are recommended to include more comprehensive descriptions of AI usage within their Methods section, such as detailing prompt strategies, models used, and workflows for extensive software coding, data analysis, or modeling.
    • Formal References: Provide formal in-text citations and reference entries following your discipline's style guide whenever quoting or referencing AI-generated outputs.
    Need help formatting your citations?