Carnegie Mellon

Carnegie Mellon Code

Students at Carnegie Mellon, because they are members of an academic community dedicated to the achievement of excellence, are expected to meet the highest standards of personal, ethical, and moral conduct possible.

These standards require personal integrity, a commitment to honesty without compromise, as well as truth without equivocation, and a willingness to place the good of the community above the good of the self. Obligations once undertaken must be met, commitments kept.

Rarely can the life of a student in an academic community be so private that it will not affect the community as a whole or that the standards above do not apply.

The discovery, advancement and communication of knowledge are not possible without a commitment to these standards. Creativity cannot exist without acknowledgment of the creativity of others. New knowledge cannot be developed without credit for prior knowledge. Without the ability to trust that these principles will be observed, an academic community cannot exist.

The commitment of its faculty, staff and students to these standards contributes to the high respect in which the Carnegie Mellon degree is held. Students must not destroy that respect by their failure to meet these standards. Students who cannot meet them should voluntarily withdraw from the university.