VI. Intellectual Property and Conflict of Interest

At all times, faculty members and graduate students must maintain the highest levels of integrity in their research, teaching, and educational endeavours.

6.1 Conflict of Interest

Faculty members and students are expected to declare any real or perceived conflict of interest of a personal or financial nature that may influence explicitly or implicitly their participation in graduate programs and graduate administration. In particular, faculty members should not evaluate the course work or supervise a thesis or project of family members or close associates. For more details see Dalhousie’s Conflict of Interest Policy. If in doubt, contact the Faculty of Graduate Studies (graduate.studies@dal.ca) for further guidance.

A faculty member is not eligible to act as supervisor for: (a) another faculty member who holds their primary academic appointment in the same academic unit; or (b) an employee who is in a direct reporting relationship with that faculty member.

No student or supervisor shall have a financial or family interest in the industry or business in which the student is pursuing their thesis research. If a student is employed by the company in which the research is being conducted or the student’s research is marketable under terms of the supervisor’s grant or contract used to provide support for the student, protection must be given to the student’s contribution to the research by means of an appropriate contract, finalized before the research for the degree is commenced, and signed by all parties involved.

Should any of the above conflicts exist, it should be declared in writing an placed in the student's file.

Please see the Senate guidelines on Conflict of Interest.

6.2 Intellectual Honesty and Plagiarism

All students should read and be familiar with the University policies on Intellectual Honesty, as described in the University Regulations section of this Calendar.

It is highly recommended that all graduate students complete the Dalhousie Writing Centre Academic Integrity online module early in their academic programs.

6.3 Policy on Integrity in Scholarly Activity

Dahousie operates on the creator-owned intellectual property model. In accordance with the Senate Policy on Integrity in Scholarly Activity, the Faculty of Graduate Studies has adopted guidelines that focus on the involvement of graduate students in research and scholarly activity. Guidelines are available on the Senate website.