Does University of St Andrews use AI detection? No
Short answer
No. University of St Andrews does not run AI detection on submissions, so no AI score is generated for your work.
Module rules on permitted AI use still apply either way, and a detector score is never the whole case — the university’s own statement and what it means for you are below.
What University of St Andrews has said
Opted out. Student FAQs answer "Is AI detection software used at St Andrews? No" — Turnitin's AI detection "has not currently been switched on at the University of St Andrews due to concerns over accurate detection".
Sources (30 Jan 2025): Generative AI FAQs for students (PDF) · Good academic practice
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What this means if you study here
St Andrews answers its own students' FAQ in one word — 'Is AI detection software used at St Andrews? No' — with Turnitin's AI detection not switched on due to accuracy concerns (January 2025). A dated, first-person, unambiguous answer is exactly what this tracker exists to surface.
No AI score exists for St Andrews submissions. Module AI rules apply as written, and integrity questions run on ordinary evidence.
Turnitin at University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews has opted out of Turnitin's AI writing indicator, so no Turnitin AI score is generated for submissions. Similarity (plagiarism) checking is a separate Turnitin feature and remains the sector norm — an opt-out of AI detection does not mean submissions go unchecked for source matching.
How the AI writing report behaves wherever it is enabled — the 300-word minimum, the 1–19% asterisk band, and why the score is never proof on its own — is covered in does Turnitin detect AI?
Before you submit, anywhere
- Policies change and are re-verified here quarterly — the university’s linked statement above is always the authority, and your module brief overrides everything.
- Whatever the institutional toggle, keep your drafts and version history: process evidence decides disputes, not scores.
- No third-party tool predicts a Turnitin result — here is why. Use checks to understand your own writing, not to chase a number.
Check your own work
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A free sentence-level preview shows which passages carry AI-like signals — your text is analysed, then discarded. Your first full scan is free with an account.