Earth Science and Engineering MS Program

Program Mission (MS):

The mission of the ErSE MS program is to educate the next generation of leaders and pioneers in Earth systems science. Through fundamental and interdisciplinary research and sustained engagement and partnership with industry and the global community, we develop quantitative, physics-based understanding of our dynamic planet to address Vision 2030 critical challenges in climate science, geohazards, and sustainable resource management, advancing societal resilience while deepening knowledge of Earth systems.

Program Goals (MS):

(Education): Provide a world-class, graduate education that ensures students master the fundamental physics and interdisciplinary science required to become leaders and pioneers in Earth systems science.
(Research): Conduct fundamental and interdisciplinary research to develop quantitative, physics-based models of our dynamic planet, creating solutions for critical challenges in climate science, geohazards, and sustainable resource management.
(Community & Impact): Cultivate sustained partnerships with industry and the global community, ensuring our research and graduates contribute directly to advancing societal resilience and deepening the global understanding of Earth systems.
Integrate and critically evaluate advanced knowledge of Earth Science and Engineering principles, including geophysical fluid dynamics, seismology, geology, and data science, to analyze complex processes shaping the Earth system.
Design, analyze, and evaluate quantitative solutions to well-defined Earth science challenges by selecting and proficiently applying appropriate computational, data analysis, and field/laboratory methods.

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Knowledge and Understanding:

K1: Explain and analyze geophysical fluid dynamics and thermodynamics governing the atmosphere–ocean–climate system.
K2: Explain and evaluate Earth’s interior structure and processes using seismology, geodynamics, rock mechanics and composition, and related geological evidence.
K3: Analyze geological processes (sedimentology, stratigraphy, structural geology, tectonic, magmatic) to interpret basin and crustal evolution across scales.
K4: Integrate numerical simulation, inverse methods, geostatistics, and data-driven/ML approaches to formulate and evaluate solutions to geoscience problems in climate, water resources, natural hazards, and energy transition.

Skills:

S1: Construct and calibrate integrated geoscientific models by designing and implementing workflows and research plans that synthesize geological, geophysical, and remote-sensing data, with uncertainty quantification and risk considerations.
S2: Develop and apply physics-based numerical simulations to analyze complex Earth systems, such as subsurface flow, seismic wave propagation, and climate dynamics.
S3: Design and execute experimental and field programs and analyze the resulting data to characterize Earth materials and processes.
S4: Formulate data-driven solutions by applying machine learning, statistical analysis, and data assimilation to geoscientific challenges such as pattern recognition and prediction.

Values, Autonomy, and Responsibility:

V1: Demonstrate autonomy and responsibility by independently managing research or capstone work, making informed technical decisions, and upholding ethical, HSE, and regulatory standards within agreed timelines.
V2: Work effectively in multidisciplinary teams, coordinating tasks and communicating clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders to solve complex problems.
V3: Champion ethical and sustainable scientific practice by evaluating and communicating the safety, environmental, and societal impacts of geoscience projects, and adhering to professional codes of conduct.

Earth Science and Engineering MS Program:

Thesis Option: Students demonstrate the learning objectives primarily through the conduct of original research, culminating in a master's thesis. This path emphasizes generating new knowledge and deep, focused inquiry.
Non-Thesis Option: Students demonstrate the learning objectives primarily through an advanced capstone project and/or a portfolio of course-based work. This path emphasizes the sophisticated application and integration of existing knowledge to solve complex, open-ended problems.

MS Course Requirements

MS students must complete the following requirements:

Core Courses (12 credits)
Elective Courses (9 credits)
Research/Capstone (15 credits)
Graduate Seminar (non-credit)
Winter Enrichment Program (non-credit)

Core and Elective Courses must be technical courses and cannot be substituted with Research, Internship, or non-technical Courses to fulfill degree requirements.

Core Courses (12 credits)

Core Courses provide students with the background needed to establish a solid foundation in the program area. Students must complete four Core Courses (12 credits) as part of the MS degree requirements in the program. Any ErSE course can be selected as a Core Course. In addition, at most two ERPE courses can also be selected as core courses.

The list of ErSE Core Courses includes:

ErSE 201	Geophysical Fluid Dynamics I	3
ErSE 202	Computational Groundwater Hydrology	3
ErSE 203	Computational Flow and Geomechanics	3
ErSE 210	Seismology	3
ErSE 211	Global Geophysics	3
ErSE 212	Geophysical Geodesy and Geodynamics	3
ErSE 213	Inverse Problems	3
ErSE 214	Seismic Exploration	3
ErSE 217	Structural Geology	3
ErSE 218	Geophysical Field Methods	3
ErSE 219	Field Geology	3
ErSE 221	Magmatic Systems	3
ErSE 222	Machine Learning in Geoscience	3
ErSE 223	Geological Systems of Arabia	3
ErSE 226	Marine Geology – The Oceanic Crust	3
ErSE 253	Data Analysis in Geosciences	3
ErSE 260	Seismic Imaging	3
ErSE 301	Geophysical Fluid Dynamics II	3
ErSE 305	Multiphase Flows in Porous Media	3
ErSE 309	Thermodynamics of Subsurface Reservoirs	3
ErSE 316	Geo-Environmental Modeling & Analysis	3
ErSE 323	Igneous Geochemistry	3
ERSE 326	Computational Geophysics	3
ErSE 327	Multiscale Modeling of Geological Reservoirs	3
ErSE 328	Advanced Seismic Inversion	3
ErSE 330	Pore-Scale Modeling of Subsurface Flow	3
ErSE 332	Earthquake Physics	3
ErSE 353	Data Assimilation	3
ErSE 360	Mathematical Methods for Seismic Imaging	3
ERPE 200	Energy and the Environment	3
ERPE 210	Fundamentals of Carbonate Geology	3
ERPE 211	Data Integration for Geomodelling	3
ERPE 220	Sediments: Properties and Processes	3
ERPE 221	Geoscience Fundamentals	3
ERPE 230	Rock Mechanics for Energy Geo-Engineering	3
ERPE 240	Fractals, Percolation and Pore-scale Flow	3
ERPE 241	Multiphase Flow in Porous Media	3
ERPE 250	Reservoir Engineering Fundamentals and Applications	3
ERPE 253	Hydrocarbon Production System	3
ERPE 260	Drilling Engineering	3
ERPE 270/ME 214	Experimental Methods in Research	3
ERPE 310	Sequence Stratigraphy	3
ERPE 311	Carbonate Diagenesis	3
ERPE 315	Energy Geoscience	3
ERPE 331	Subsurface Geomechanics & Field Applications	3
ERPE 350	Thermodynamics of Subsurface Reservoirs	3
ERPE 351	Modeling Naturally Fractured Reservoirs	3
ERPE 360	Field Development Planning	3
ERPE 361	Advanced Well Testing	3
ERPE 362	Enhanced Oil Recovery	3
ERPE 365	Carbon Capture and Storage	3
ERPE 367	Geothermal Systems	3
PSE 205	Climate Change	3

Elective Courses (12 credits)

Elective Courses allow students to tailor their educational experience to meet individual research and academic objectives in consultation with the Academic Advisor. Students must select at least three Elective Courses (9 credits) from any 200/300-level technical courses at KAUST, including more ERPE and ErSE courses in addition to those chosen as Core Courses.

Graduate Seminars (non-credit)

A minimum of two Semesters of ERPE/ErSE 398 - Graduate Seminar with Satisfactory grades must be completed within the duration of the MS degree program. Within a Semester, students must attend a minimum of 8 seminars to receive a Satisfactory (S) grade. The seminars can be chosen from any Graduate Seminar series offered by the PSE division. Students who fulfill the minimum requirement of two Semesters of ERPE/ErSE 398 do not need to register for additional Graduate Seminars, although they are highly encouraged to attend the seminars.

Winter Enrichment Program (non-credit)

All students must complete the Winter Enrichment Program (WE 100) for credit at least once during their studies at KAUST. Students who have previously completed WEP will be exempt from this requirement in their future studies.

MS Thesis

Students planning to pursue the Thesis option must complete a minimum of 12 credits of Thesis Research (ERPE/ErSE 297). Students must complete the remaining 3 credits of their degree through one of the options listed below:

Directed Research (ERPE/ErSE 299)
Summer Internship (ERPE/ErSE 295) – students can only take one Internship
Additional 200/300-level technical Course

Thesis Application

Students must secure a Thesis Advisor, submit the MS Thesis Application form, and have it approved by the Program Chair no later than by the end of week 8 of their second Semester. The form is available on the webpage of the Office of the Registrar. The application form must include a short description of the proposed MS Thesis project, endorsed by the Thesis Advisor, and a timeline for completion.

Students wishing to pursue the Thesis option must have at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA. The Thesis Advisor must be a program-affiliated Faculty member. A KAUST Faculty member not affiliated with the program can become project-affiliated for the specific Thesis project and serve as Thesis Advisor with the Program Chair’s approval. Project-affiliation approval must be completed before commencing the research.

Students who meet the graduation requirements of the non-Thesis track may drop the Thesis option before the end of their third Semester. Students who are not able to complete their Thesis after this deadline will face academic dismissal.

Thesis Committee Formation

The MS thesis defense committee must include a minimum of three members and may have up to four members. The committee structure is outlined as follows:

Member	Role	Affiliation
1	Faculty	Primary affiliation within the student’s program
2	Faculty	Primary affiliation within the student’s program
3	Faculty	Primary affiliation outside the student’s program
4	Faculty or Research Scientist	Affiliation within or outside of KAUST

Notes:

The committee must be approved by the Dean.
Members 1-3 are mandatory, while member 4 is optional.
The student’s advisor serves as the chair of the committee. If the advisor holds a primary affiliation within the student’s program, then they act as member 1. If the advisor has a secondary or one-time affiliation within the student’s program, then they act as member 3.
The student’s co-advisor may serve as member 4.
Adjunct Professors and Professors Emeriti may continue serving on existing Committees but may not serve as Chair on new Committees.
Professors of Practice, Research Professors and Visiting Professors may serve as member4.
Once approved, any changes to the committee require the approval of both the student's advisor and Dean.

Petition to Defend Thesis

Students must submit a petition to defend their Thesis by the deadline published in the Academic Calendar. Students are responsible for scheduling the Thesis Defense Date. All committee members must attend the Defense. Students must defend their Thesis and obtain the final approval of the Defense within their duration of study (4 Semesters).

Thesis Defense Results

The format of the Oral Defense is left to the discretion of the Thesis Committee. At the end of the Final Defense, students will be evaluated with one of the following outcomes:

Pass: The Committee agrees with no more than one dissenting vote. The Thesis must be archived within two weeks of the defense, and the student must send the Thesis Result Form to the GPSA within two days of the defense.
Pass with Conditions: All committee members must agree on the required conditions. If they cannot agree, the Dean will make the final decision. The student has up to three months to meet these conditions, unless the Committee unanimously agrees to change the deadline.
Fail with Retake: If conditions cannot be met within three months, or more than one member casts a negative vote, one retake of the defense is allowed. The retake must occur within six months of the original defense unless the Committee unanimously agrees to a shorter timeline. If the student fails the retake, they will be dismissed from the University. The Committee Chair must immediately inform the GPSA to initiate the necessary actions.
Fail Without Retake: The decision must be unanimous, resulting in the student’s dismissal from the University. The Committee Chair must inform the GPSA immediately to take the necessary actions.

Additional Guidelines:

Students who have exceeded their duration of study must apply for an extension as per the Time Limit and Extension Policy. All conditions must be fulfilled by the end of the extension period, which takes precedence over the Committee’s set deadlines.
The outcome of the Thesis Defense must be recorded by submitting the Thesis Defense Evaluation Form to the Office of the Registrar within two days of the defense.
Additionally, students must submit the Defense Results Form by the deadline published in the Academic Calendar.
The required forms are available on the webpage of the Office of the Registrar.

Thesis Document

Students must follow the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines available from the KAUST Library when they write their Thesis. Once the Thesis is ready to be examined, students must determine the Defense date with the agreement of all members of the Thesis Committee.

Thesis Archiving

Students must archive their Thesis in the KAUST Library within two weeks from issuance of the final result form. This must not exceed the duration of study or the deadline published in the Academic Calendar.

MS Non-Thesis

Students wishing to pursue the non-Thesis option must complete a total of 15 capstone credits, with a minimum of 6 and maximum of 12 credits of Directed Research (ERPE/ErSE 299). Students must complete the remaining 3 to 9 credits through one or a combination of the options listed below:

Summer Internship (ERPE/ErSE 295) – students can only take one Internship (6 credits)
Additional 200/300-level technical Courses