Conflict of Interest (COI) in Graduate Education
While there are several types of "conflict of interest" (COI) that potentially might arise in a research university setting, this site is concerned only with COI as it pertains to safeguarding the academic interests of UCI graduate students. COI policy with regard to graduate students and their mentors (e.g., faculty advisors, etc.) involves conflicts that might stem from any financial interest of the graduate student's mentor/thesis/dissertation advisor that has the potential to harm the student's academic interests and degree progress. As such, UCI has a COI policy to manage this specific graduate education issue.
To illustrate this type of COI, consider the following hypothetical situation involving a graduate student and his/her mentor/thesis/dissertation advisor (adapted from the "Statement of Conflict of Interest Form" in GDO's Ph.D. Form I.)
Possible Scenario: Your faculty advisor has a personal consulting agreement with a private company that provides research support for a project through UCI, and you are working on a part of that project for your dissertation. You wish to publish your dissertation, but the company requires you to delay publication, and hence your graduation, until the external research is complete.
The purpose of this webpage is to address these types of situations and help you find the relevant COI information to help you understand UCI's position. The Spring 2002 issue of the Graduate Division's publication The Graduate Quarterly includes an article that outlines the UCI Graduate Council's policy on COI in the context of the Advancement-to-Candidacy process.
More information on COI policy and procedures is available from the following sources:
- UC Irvine's Graduate Advisor's Handbook
- The Manual of the Irvine Division of the Academic Senate (Appendix 12)
For information about other varieties of COI concerning research settings, please visit the Office of Research COI webpage.
