In Indonesia, plagiarism is regarded as a serious problem that has the potential to stifle the growth of creativity and innovation. However, research on plagiarism is still uncommon in Indonesia, particularly from the perspective of students. As a result, the purpose of this study is to look into the prevalence of plagiarism among undergraduate students at one of Sumatra’s most northern state universities. Bandura’s social cognitive theory of moral cognition and behavior was used to examine and analyze the student’s perspective on plagiarism. This study included 54 students from the final semester of the academic year. To assess students’ knowledge of and attitudes toward plagiarism, an online, semi-structured interview was conducted. According to the thematic analysis findings, university students have varying perspectives on plagiarism. Others saw inadvertent plagiarism as a necessary part of the learning process, and they held students accountable for their plagiarism. The findings have practical implications for faculty in interacting with students’ needs and expectations in order to produce meaningful and productive outcomes for all student cohorts.