by Judi Pattison
The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) has launched a new online module to support the important relationship between a graduate supervisor and their students.
Mapping GenAI Conversations in Graduate Supervision supports decision-making around the use of GenAI in a student’s research. This is the first module to be released as part of an online series – Graduate Excellence, Mentorship and Supervision (GEMS) – aimed at enhancing supervision excellence which is a key strategic driver in the School of Graduate Studies Strategic Plan 2025-30.
According to McMaster’s Guidelines on GenAI Use in Research, supervisors have the responsibility to establish appropriate discipline-specific boundaries for their students around the use of GenAI tools in their scholarly work.
“Research supervisors have told us that they feel ill-equipped to have these important conversations with their students or provide guidance when it comes to GenAI. Our intention with this module is to help alleviate the stress supervisors may feel around this changing landscape,” says Laura Parker, acting Associate Dean of Graduate Studies for Science and academic lead on the GEMS initiative.
Access Mapping GenAI module now
Mapping GenAI Conversations in Graduate Supervision provides a space for reflection on the principles and values of graduate education and how generative artificial intelligence intersects with graduate research practices. By the end of the module, supervisors should have a sense of how to frame conversations with their research graduate students, as well as document expectations that support integrity policies and help to protect students and their work.
The module is not a directive on whether to approve or deny a particular GenAI tool or instance. It will not tell supervisors what their students can or cannot do when it comes to GenAI. The module will rather help supervisors determine their own set of guidelines for their students, within McMaster’s academic and research integrity contexts and appropriate to their research domains.
The module is available on Avenue to Learn. You can access the module directly or self-enrol at a later time, via the Discovery tab on your Avenue to Learn portal.
“As graduate research supervisors, we are not expected to have deep expertise in every aspect of GenAI to guide and support our students, but we do need to clearly communicate our expectations around its use in research,” Parker says.
“Our intention is that this module will help prepare supervisors for these conversations.”
Vice-Provost and Dean of Graduate Students Steve Hranilovic made it a priority to ensure a diversity of voices came to the table during various stages of module development.
McMaster subject matter experts Stephanie Verkoeyen, special advisor in Generative AI in the Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic, and Jo-Anne Petropoulos, McMaster Health Sciences Librarian, Clinical Outreach, were engaged to develop the content for Mapping GenAI Conversations. Additionally, SGS engaged experts through both the Provost’s Steering Committee on Gen AI and Graduate Council, as well as graduate supervisors and students from a variety of departments.
“For a module focused on GenAI and its impact on graduate supervision, we recognized the need for input from across the supervision spectrum. Our GEMS team reached out to supervisors and subject experts across our Faculties, seeking input at every stage of development. This was truly a team effort, and the final module is the result of refinements guided by the essential feedback from our faculty reviewers ,” he said.
Parker and Hranilovic agree that in making the module, the complexities of research supervision in the age of generative AI have come to the fore and highlight the importance of developing resources such as this, to help prepare supervisors for conversations with their students; discussions necessary to establishing clear expectations for both students and supervisors – a key pillar of effective graduate supervision and student success.
The GEMS initiative is funded through the Office of the Provost and sustainably supported through the Paul R. MacPherson Trust, and receives in-kind support from the MacPherson Institute. Specific funding for the GenAI module comes from the office of the Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning).
Questions about this module or about the wider GEMS initiative should be directed to GEMS lead and SGS staff member Andrea Cole and academic lead Laura Parker via the GEMS email: gems@mcmaster.ca. Additional GEMS modules will be added this fall. Read more about GEMS on our News feed.
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