Guidance and Policies Related to Use of GenAI for Architecture Degree Applicants

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) refers to a category of machine learning technologies capable of producing original content such as text, images, video, code, and more that are based on prompts or examples. These tools work by identifying patterns in large datasets and replicating them in new outputs.

Within the architecture program at Taubman College,  we recognize that GenAI tools are becoming deeply embedded in the software and platforms used across creative and academic disciplines. We support critical and responsible engagement with these tools, especially when used for experimentation, reflection, or innovation.

However, there are important considerations when using GenAI in your application, including issues related to authorship, originality, bias, accuracy, privacy, and academic integrity. These tools are not casual conveniences, they are powerful systems that can obscure your voice, introduce inaccuracies, and flatten the distinctiveness of your work. The use of GenAI should be approached with care and critical reflection.

Use of Generative AI in Application Materials

Generative AI tools are becoming increasingly common in writing, design, and visualization platforms. At Taubman, we acknowledge their presence in creative workflows, but we care deeply about authorship, voice, and process. Whether in your essays or your portfolio, we are looking for work that reflects your own thinking, experiences, and design sensibility.

We ask you to approach these tools critically and transparently. Below are guidelines for how you may and may not use them in your application:

Accepted Practices:

  • Grammar and spelling correction using tools like Grammarly.
  • Light rephrasing or tone suggestions for text you’ve already written.
  • Image editing and enhancement (adjusting lighting, contrast, cropping, render adjustments etc.).
  • Use of embedded AI features in software (e.g., object detection, predictive modeling).
  • Experimental or critical engagement with AI that clearly reflects your authorship and intent.

Discouraged Practices:

  • Generating full drafts or large sections of your essays using AI tools.
  • Submitting portfolio images primarily created by text-to-image generators with minimal personal intervention.
  • Letting AI dictate the voice, structure, or visual identity of your work.
  • Employing AI in ways that obscure your process, decision-making, or authorship.

If any part of your application, including your portfolio and statement, involved the use of generative AI, you must clearly state the generative tools used and the role they played in the work submitted. This is similar to crediting project collaborators and describing your contributions for any team work presented. 

Why This Matters

Your application is not just a collection of polished materials. It is a reflection of how you think, what you care about, and how you express yourself through words, images, and design. At Taubman, we are selecting for curiosity, originality, specificity, and voice.

Generative AI tools tend to produce output that is smooth but vague, it might be efficient but is also generic. When relied on too heavily, they tend to erase the very qualities that help your work stand out, sometimes the very things that we value such as your perspective, your hesitations, your sense of humor or rhythm, your approach to problem-solving. The more your materials resemble those generated by others using the same tools, the harder it becomes to know you through your work 

We are not asking you to submit something that seems flawless. We are asking you to submit something that feels like you, your passion, drive, creative expression, critical thought and unique experience.