Canada Grad School AI Rules: UBC, U of T, Alberta

Canada Grad School AI Rules: UBC, U of T, Alberta

It depends on the school, and the gap is wide. Alberta's graduate faculty strictly prohibits generative AI "or any other form of artificial intelligence-assisted writing tools". UBC says any AI text in your application "must be cited". U of T's MScAC and McGill Sociology discourage AI without banning it.

The document goes by several names in Canada: letter of intent, statement of interest, statement of intent. UBC's own page says the statement "may also be called" a statement of intent or a description of research interests. Whatever the name, the AI rule comes from the school, and Canada's rules point in opposite directions. A letter that cites one AI-written sentence meets UBC's rule and breaks Alberta's. That is why the decision has to come before you draft, not after. For the letter itself, the Canadian master's statement of intent guide covers structure and limits.

Every page quoted below was checked on October 31, 2026. None of the AI rules carries a cycle label, so recheck them before you submit.

Contents: the rules table · Alberta · UBC · Toronto and McGill · one letter, several programs · five-step check · study permit SOP · questions

The rules you are writing inside

Sources: Alberta GPS apply page, UBC statement of interest, UBC generative AI guidance, U of T MScAC application process, McGill Sociology admissions.

Two of these are university-wide graduate rules (Alberta, UBC). Two are program or department rules (MScAC, McGill Sociology). Keep that difference in mind: a department page tells you about that department, not the whole university.

Alberta: a ban that reaches AI-assisted writing tools

Alberta's Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) puts the rule on its apply page, under "Generative AI in Graduate Applications":

As such, we strictly prohibit the use of Generative AI applications (e.g., ChatGPT, etc.) or any other form of artificial intelligence-assisted writing tools in the preparation and submission of application materials, including personal statements, statements of purpose, writing samples or other parts of the application.

It continues: "All submitted documents must be the original work of the applicant, reflecting their own thoughts, ideas and experiences. Any detected use of AI-generated content will be considered a violation of academic integrity and may result in application rejection or other consequences."

The phrase that matters for non-native writers is "any other form of artificial intelligence-assisted writing tools". On its plain words, that reaches past chatbots to writing tools with AI features, including grammar and rewriting assistants. GPS does not list which tools it means, and it names no exception for spelling or grammar. Our reading: do not use an AI-assisted grammar tool on an Alberta application unless GPS or your program confirms in writing that it is outside the rule. The UAlberta statement of intent guide quotes the full paragraph alongside each program's format rules.

UBC: own words, cite any AI text, be ready to say it aloud

UBC's statement of interest page has its own "Use of GenAI" paragraph:

Ideas expressed in the statement of interest must be your own and should be expressed in your own words.

The next sentence is the one Alberta does not have: "Any text produced by GenAI that appears in the application package must be cited, and the process used made transparent." On UBC's page, the word "cited" links to the UBC Library's guide on citing generative AI.

UBC's longer guidance adds two things. First, personal statements and research proposals "are intended to demonstrate the applicant's own original expression of ideas, reflections and intentions", and applicants "may be required by the graduate program to do so through both written and verbal expression during the admission process." In plain terms, a program may ask you to explain your statement aloud.

Second, every applicant signs a declaration that includes: "I certify that information provided in any written responses is accurate and that the ideas represented in responses are my own." If the information is "untrue, incomplete, fraudulent or plagiarized", UBC may "(a) cancel my application; (b) withdraw any offer of admission, whether accepted or not; (c) require me to withdraw from UBC; (d) subject me to academic discipline; (e) share the information I provided with other post-secondary institutions, law enforcement agencies, or other third parties."

UBC defines GenAI as tools that "produce new substantive text, analysis, charts, images, code, audio, or video". That definition matters for the grammar-tool question below.

Toronto and McGill: discouraged, not banned

U of T's MScAC (Master of Science in Applied Computing) asks for program-specific essay answers and says: "You are strongly discouraged from using tools such as ChatGPT and Copilot. These tools usually do not do a good job emphasizing your unique strengths, and do not differentiate you from other candidates who also used such tools." It applies the same view to your referees, "We strongly discourage referees using ChatGPT, Copilot, and similar tools", and to the interview, where it discourages "using ChatGPT for assistance". It also says applicants "are encouraged to use their answers to demonstrate a commitment to quality and skills in English." The essays are part of how the program reads your English. For Fall 2027 entry, the page gives the deadline as "December 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET."

McGill's Sociology department says: "The admissions committee is interested in reading your own voice, and we strongly discourage the use of Generative AI in preparing your materials." It then applies its code of conduct to the personal statement (maximum 1,000 words, double-spaced) and the writing sample: "All writing submitted under your name is presumed to be your original work. All words and ideas written by others must be attributed appropriately".

"Discouraged" is weaker than "prohibited", but it is not permission. MScAC's reason is sameness: an AI-assisted essay sounds like every other AI-assisted essay. McGill's reason is voice. Neither program says it is fine.

Sending one letter to several Canadian programs

Our view: if Alberta is anywhere on your list, write every Canadian letter with no AI at all. The UBC rule lets you use AI and cite it. The Alberta rule makes the same use a violation. Citing does not help at Alberta, because the use itself is what is banned. If you write one core letter and adapt it for each school, a single AI-written paragraph in the core sends a cited use to UBC and a banned use to Alberta. The only core letter that is clean at both is one with no AI in it.

The countercase: if your list is UBC and schools with no AI rule, a disclosed, cited AI use can be within UBC's rule. Even then, UBC says your ideas "must be your own", and the program may ask you to explain the statement aloud. A cited sentence you did not write is still a sentence you must be able to defend.

What is unknown: none of these schools publishes how often it investigates AI use or how a cited AI sentence is weighed by a committee.

Constructed example: one applicant, two rules

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement. Context (invented): Tunde Adeyemi applies to a UBC MEng and an Alberta MSc in civil engineering. He used a generative AI tool to shorten one paragraph of his core letter.

UBC-style citation note (constructed): The second paragraph of this statement was shortened using a generative AI tool, prompted with my own draft of that paragraph. I checked the shortened text against my draft. All ideas and every other paragraph are my own.

That note follows UBC's instruction that AI text "must be cited, and the process used made transparent." The same paragraph cannot go to Alberta with or without the note, because Alberta prohibits the tool in "the preparation and submission of application materials". Tunde's clean option is to rewrite the paragraph himself from his own draft and send that version to both schools. Then neither letter needs a note.

A five-step check before you draft

1. List every Canadian program you will apply to. Find the graduate faculty's rule and the program's own page for each one. In the table above, the university-wide rule and the program rule are on different pages.
2. Rank them. A ban (Alberta) outranks a disclosure rule (UBC), which outranks a discouragement (MScAC, McGill Sociology).
3. Write your core letter to the strictest rule. If any school bans AI-assisted writing tools, turn them off for the whole core letter.
4. Read the declaration in each application. If a school publishes no AI rule, the certification inside the application is what you sign, so read it there.
5. Be ready to explain every sentence aloud. UBC says programs may require "verbal expression"; MScAC admits no one without an interview, which it uses "in conjunction with your application".

University letter vs study permit SOP

The letter you send a university is a different document from the statement of purpose or letter of explanation you send with a study permit application, and the rules above are university rules. Our pages on the statement of intent versus study permit SOP and the study permit letter of explanation cover the visa document. For AI and visa documents, see AI detection and visa applications.

Questions about AI in Canadian graduate applications

Is Grammarly allowed for a UBC statement of interest?

UBC's page names no products. It defines GenAI as tools that "produce new substantive text, analysis, charts, images, code, audio, or video". In our reading, a spelling correction is not new substantive text, while a tool that rewrites your sentences produces text that UBC says "must be cited". If you are unsure, ask the program.

Is Grammarly allowed for a University of Alberta application?

Alberta's rule covers "any other form of artificial intelligence-assisted writing tools" and lists no exception. Our reading is that an AI-assisted grammar tool falls inside those words. Ask GPS before you use one. Our page on Grammarly and ChatGPT for English on an SOP compares this with UK and European rules.

Do Canadian universities run AI detectors on applications?

Alberta says "Any detected use of AI-generated content" is a violation, but it does not say how it detects. UBC's guidance, written for programs and instructors, quotes UBC's Academic Integrity Hub: "The use of applications to detect AI-generated content is strongly discouraged at this time, due to concerns about effectiveness, accuracy, bias, privacy, and intellectual property." That line is about UBC staff using detectors, not a promise about every admissions file. For what a detector score means, see AI detector scores on an SOP.

Do the rules cover my reference letters?

MScAC addresses referees directly and discourages their use of AI. Alberta's rule covers "application materials", and UBC's citation rule covers "the application package"; neither page says how that applies to letters your referees write. The Canadian reference letters guide covers each school's reference rules.

How do I write an AI citation for UBC?

Follow the UBC Library guide that UBC's page links. Our AI use statement examples page shows short disclosure formats used by other universities. SFU puts its AI note directly under the MEd letter of intent; see the SFU MEd letter of intent rule in context.

Get a free review of your letter of intent

Get a free Quick Review of your letter of intent against GradPilot's general MS statement of purpose rubric, the closest fit for a Canadian master's letter. It reads for specific academic goals, knowledge of the program, evidence of preparation and how closely the letter speaks to one department. Writing a PhD statement of intent? The PhD statement of purpose rubric reads your research direction, research record and fit with named faculty. You can also start from the graduate SOP review page and choose the general MS statement of purpose rubric there. More guides are in the graduate school essays hub.

Sources

Retrieved October 31, 2026, except where noted. No AI rule below states an admissions cycle.

• University of Alberta, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Apply: generative AI rule.
• University of British Columbia, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Statement of Interest: document names, Use of GenAI paragraph.
• University of British Columbia, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Graduate education and Generative AI: GenAI definition, applicant expectations, declaration, citation rule, detector guidance.
• University of Toronto, MScAC, Application Process (Fall 2027 deadline stated): essays, referees, interview, deadline.
• McGill University, Department of Sociology, Graduate admissions: AI line, attribution rule, personal statement limit.