Mechanical Engineering PhD Program

Program Mission:

The mission of the Mechanical Engineering PhD program at KAUST is:
To develop independent scholars and ethical research leaders who generate original knowledge and advance the frontiers of mechanical engineering. Through rigorous doctoral training and sustained engagement in high-impact research, the program prepares graduates to formulate transformative research questions, develop novel theoretical, computational, and experimental methodologies, and contribute substantively to the global mechanical engineering community while addressing complex and emerging technological challenges in the service of society.

Program Goals:

Provide advanced doctoral education that ensures mastery of mechanical engineering theory and research methodologies at the frontier of the discipline.
Require candidates to conceive, design, and execute a sustained program of original research that produces new knowledge and advances the state of the art in mechanical engineering.
Develop independent researchers capable of formulating novel research questions, critically evaluating existing paradigms, and proposing innovative theoretical, computational, or experimental frameworks.
Cultivate research leadership, mentorship capability, and effective collaboration within interdisciplinary and international research environments.
Prepare graduates to contribute to national and global technological advancement through high-impact scholarship, innovation, and responsible engineering practice.

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

Knowledge and Understanding:

K1: Demonstrate comprehensive and frontier-level understanding of a specialized field within mechanical engineering, including its foundational theories, advanced methodologies, and current research developments.
K2: Critically evaluate and integrate existing theoretical, computational, and experimental frameworks to identify limitations, unresolved questions, and opportunities for original research.
K3: Demonstrate deep understanding of advanced research methodologies, including the development, adaptation, or extension of theoretical, computational, or experimental approaches within highly complex, emerging, and globally significant technological contexts.

Skills:

S1: Formulate original research questions that address highly complex, unpredictable, or emerging problems in mechanical engineering and related interdisciplinary domains.
S2: Design and execute a sustained program of independent research that generates new knowledge, advances theoretical understanding, or produces innovative technological solutions.
S3: Develop, apply, or extend advanced analytical, computational, and experimental methodologies to investigate novel or highly complex phenomena
S4: Produce scholarly contributions of international standard, suitable for publication in high-impact peer-reviewed venues, and defend original research findings with clarity and authority.

Values, Autonomy, and Responsibility:

V1: Demonstrate intellectual autonomy and the highest standards of research integrity in the conception, execution, and dissemination of original research
V2: Assume primary responsibility for the direction, quality, and impact of research outcomes, including ethical stewardship of data, computational tools, laboratory methods, and collaborative scholarship
V3: Provide academic and professional leadership through effective collaboration, mentorship of junior researchers, and constructive engagement within interdisciplinary and international research communities
V4: Critically evaluate the long-term technological, environmental, economic, and societal implications of research contributions, particularly in areas of strategic national and global importance, and promote responsible and sustainable innovation in mechanical engineering.

PhD Course Requirements

Students entering the PhD Program must complete the requirements below:

Two 300-level ME courses* (6 credits)
One 200/300 level course from the AMCS or STAT program (3 credits)
One Elective Course- a 200/300 level from any program at KAUST (3 credits)
Graduate seminar (non-credit)
Winter Enrichment Program (non-credit)

The Academic Advisor may request the completion of additional courses. Courses taken while pursuing the KAUST MS degree cannot be counted towards the PhD course requirements. Courses must be technical courses and cannot be substituted with Research, Internship, or Broadening Courses to fulfill degree requirements.

* The following alternative courses may be used to fulfill the ME 300-level requirement; AMCS 329, AMCS 370, ECE 245, ECE 372, ErSE 304, MSE 318, ECE 376

Graduate Seminars (non-credit)

Students must register for five semesters to ME 398 and receive a Satisfactory grade in each semester. They must attend a minimum of 8 Graduate Seminars per semester to earn a Satisfactory (S) grade. The seminars can be chosen from any Graduate Seminar series offered by the PSE division.

Additional Workshop (non-credit)

In preparation for assignments and courses it is strongly recommended that PhD students take a relevant skills workshop in the area, such as Scientific Presentation skills, Scientific Research Writing or Writing a Research Proposal. For further details, support or any questions, please contact the English Language and Communication team in the Student Center (Building 18) or at elcp@kaust.edu.sa .

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.

PhD Candidacy

In addition to the coursework requirements, students must successfully complete the required PhD candidacy milestones to progress toward PhD candidate status. These milestones are as follows:

A subject-based qualifier
PhD Proposal Defense

Once students have advanced to candidacy, students are designated as PhD or Doctoral Candidates.

Qualifying Exam

The qualifying exam (QE) aims to:

Test the students’ depth of knowledge in core skills of mechanical engineering;
Evaluate the students’ maturity and creativity in synthesizing and applying concepts that have been learned, in isolation, in classes;
Gage the students’ ability to think-on-their-feet during an evaluation.

PhD students must pass an oral comprehensive subject examination. The QE will be given twice a year during a single time window. This window is approximately a week in length: the first week of Spring and Fall semesters (exact times will be announced by the program). PhD students must pass the QE before the third semester (two Semesters + one Summer Session). Students should, therefore, plan to make their first attempt after their first Semester.

Subjects

The QE will comprise of one oral examination in mathematics and two oral examinations in any of the following areas: (a) fluid mechanics, (b) solid mechanics, (c) dynamics and control and (d) thermodynamics. The exam in each area will include common questions for all students who have selected that area. In addition, the examination will extend beyond the common questions to test students’ ability to answer questions on their feet. Students may petition the ME program to replace one of the specified areas (other than mathematics) with an area that is not on the list and is not a subspecialty of one of the listed areas. Examples of "other areas" that might be appropriate are biomechanics and scientific computation, to mention only two.

Multiple Attempts

At the first attempt, students must take the exams in all three subjects simultaneously. In the event a student fails the qualifying examination in one or more subjects, then at most one additional attempt (in the failed subject) will be allowed at the discretion of the ME Program.

Format

All examinations will be closed book and closed notes. The exams are forty-five minutes in length, preceded by a thirty-minute period during which students will be allowed to review the written questions for that exam. The thirty-minute period is for students to collect their thoughts. Students may write notes during this time to bring them to the exam. The examiners will probe more deeply into the issues raised in the questions. At least one month prior to the QE, students must notify the GPSA in writing of their choice of the two subject areas (other than mathematics) for the exam.

Subject Contents

Subject area descriptions which detail the topics from which exam questions may be drawn are available on the PSE website. In general, the expected preparation is the relevant undergraduate material and begging graduate knowledge.

Dissertation

The Dissertation is the final milestone of the PhD program. Students must complete the following:

Petition to Defend Dissertation/ Form Dissertation Defense Committee
Defend Dissertation
Archive Dissertation

Petition to Defend Dissertation

Students must determine the Defense date with the agreement of all members of the Dissertation Defense Committee. It is the sole responsibility of students to submit the required documents in consultation with the GPSA and the Dissertation Advisor by the deadline published in the Academic Calendar and at least two months prior to the defense date. The required documents include: (i) a list of proposed committee members (including a CV of the external examiner), (ii) a current CV of the student (including a list of publications), (iii) a current transcript, and (iv) the dissertation.

Students must defend their Dissertation and obtain the final approval of the Dissertation Defense by the end of their fourth year (8 Semesters and 4 Summer Sessions). Students must follow the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines available on the KAUST Library webpage when they write their Dissertation.

Formation of Dissertation Defense Committee

The PhD dissertation defense committee must include a minimum of three members and may have up to five 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	External examiner	Affiliation outside of KAUST
5	Faculty or Research Scientist	Affiliation within or outside of KAUST

Notes:

The committee must be approved by the Dean.
Members 1-4 are mandatory, while member 5 is optional.
The student’s advisor cannot serve as the chair of the committee. The chair can be within or outside the program. 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 5.
Professors of Practice and Research Professors may serve as member 5. They cannot be the advisor of the student and cannot serve as the chair of the committee.
Adjunct Professors and Professors Emeriti may continue serving on existing committees but are not permitted to serve on new committees.
Visiting Professors may only serve as member 5 but they are not permitted to serve as external examiner.
Guidelines for selecting the external examiner can be found on the PSE website.
Once approved, any changes to the committee require the approval of both the student's advisor and the Dean.

Dissertation Defense Results

The format of the Oral Defense is left to the discretion of the dissertation 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 dissertation must be archived within two weeks of the defense, and the student must send the 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 Dissertation Defense must be recorded by submitting the Dissertation 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.

Dissertation Document

Students must follow the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines available from the KAUST Library when they write their Dissertation. The PhD dissertation must contain original results demonstrating the student’s scholarly activities during the course of the PhD. The student must be fully aware of what is considered plagiarism and must avoid all forms of plagiarism. The PhD dissertation must be written in fluent high-quality English using proper language, style, and appropriate methods of scientific reasoning. Parts of the dissertation research should have been presented at international conferences. The dissertation research must lead to high quality scientific publications in international peer-reviewed journals, ideally leading journals of the field. The ME program requires that at least one such journal publication has appeared in print (or accepted for publication) before scheduling the PhD dissertation defense. In the introductory part of the dissertation, the student must list all scientific publications coming out of their work. For each publication, the student must indicate any significant contributions made by the co-authors.

Dissertation Archiving

Students must archive the Dissertation in the KAUST Library two weeks from the final result form. This must not exceed the deadline published in the Academic Calendar. The required form is available from the Office of the Registrar.