PhD Course Requirements

Students entering the PhD Program must complete the requirements below:

• At least four 300-level courses* (12 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.  

* Two courses (6 credits) must be AMCS courses.

Winter Enrichment Program (non-credit)

All students must register for WE 100 and successfully complete one Winter Enrichment Program (WEP), usually taken in the first year of study. Students who completed WEP as part of their KAUST MS must take the program again.

Graduate Seminar (non-credit)

Students must register for AMCS 398 and receive a Satisfactory grade for two Semesters during their PhD. The Graduate Seminar requirement cannot be waived for students who completed the Graduate Seminar as part of their MS at KAUST. These students must take it again.

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

Qualifying Exam

The purpose of the qualifier is to test the student's knowledge of the subject matter within the field of study. It is offered twice a year. Students have up to two attempts to pass the qualifier. All PhD students must successfully pass the qualifier by the end of the third semester after commencing the PhD program. The qualifier consists of three written subject exams: one in each of the core courses of AM, CSE, or DS.

The choice of qualifier must be approved by the Advisor and Program Chair and communicated to the GPSA within the first month of the Semester in which the student intends to complete the requirement. Students have two attempts to take each exam; in the second attempt the student only needs to retake the exam(s) that were failed in the first attempt.

Students in the CSE track can replace one of the three qualifiers with a CSE-related qualifier in another program. Students on the DS track can replace one of the three qualifiers with a related qualifier in another program. If the overall grade of a course determines the passing grade in that qualifier for the other program, the student must score 70% or more in the final exam (in addition to satisfying all other requirements for that program) to obtain credit for the corresponding AMCS qualifier.

The qualifier is offered twice a year: during the final exams of the Fall Semester and immediately after the final exams of the Spring Semester. The Fall Semester qualifier is the final exam of each of the above-mentioned courses. The Spring Semester exam is a three-hour exam per subject prepared by the Faculty representative. Students are encouraged to take all three qualifiers in their first semester of the PhD program. For MS students, the exams taken while enrolled for the first time in Core Courses during the MS do not count towards the number of attempts, but successful completion (score at or above 70% in the final exam) will fulfill the corresponding qualifier requirement. 

Dissertation Proposal Defense

The Dissertation Proposal Defense aims to demonstrate that students have the ability and are adequately prepared to undertake PhD level research in the proposed area. This preparation includes necessary knowledge of the chosen subject, a literature review, and preparatory theory or experimentation. The exam consists of two parts:

• Proposal: submission of a 10-page (suggested length) proposal describing the proposed topic of research, relevant survey of the literature and any preliminary results. This should be submitted to the examining committee at least 10 days prior to the scheduled presentation.
• Presentation: approximately 30 minutes on the dissertation topic presented to the examining committee followed by questions to cover a total period of an hour.

The Dissertation Proposal Defense is the second part of the qualification milestones that must be completed to become a PhD candidate. PhD students must successfully defend the Dissertation proposal by the end of their fifth Semester after commencing the PhD program.

PhD Dissertation Proposal Committee 

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.
• Professors of Practice and Research Professors may serve as members 1-4, depending on their affiliation and whether they are the student’s co-advisor. 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 committees in the roles they had at the time of their departure but are not permitted to serve on new committees
• Visiting Professors may only serve as member 4.
• Once approved, any changes to the committee require the approval of both the student's advisor and the Dean.
• Members of the proposal defense committee must remain on the dissertation defense committee. Any exceptions to this rule require approval from both the student’s advisor and the Dean.

Proposal Defense Results

The possible outcomes of the Defense are:

•  Pass: The student successfully passes their proposal.
• Fail with Retake: The student is invited to retake the defense within three months or by the milestone deadline, whichever comes first. If substantial issues are identified, the Committee may prescribe a course of action, which may include but is not limited to, academic sanctions (probation/dismissal), or a study plan.
• Fail Without Retake: The student has unsuccessfully defended their proposal, resulting in the termination of their candidacy. For a "Fail Without Retake" decision, the Committee’s vote must be unanimous and endorsed by the Dean.

Students who successfully pass the Dissertation proposal Defense are deemed PhD Candidates. At the end of the proposal Defense, a PhD Proposal Results Form must be completed and submitted to the GPSA. 

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 GPC and the Academic Advisor by the deadline published in the Academic Calendar and at least 2 months prior to the Defense date. 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). 

Formation of Dissertation Defense Committee

The PhD dissertation defense committee must include a minimum of four members and may have up to five members. The composition of the committee is outlined as follows:

• The committee must be approved by the Dean. 
• Members 1-4 are mandatory, while member 5 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 5.
• Professors of Practice and Research Professors may serve as members 1-3 or 5, depending on their affiliation and whether they are the student’s co-advisor. 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 committees in the roles they had at the time of their departure 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 here.
• 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 defense is left to the discretion of the Thesis Committee. The possible outcomes of the defense are:

• 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

Dissertations must be prepared in accordance with the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines available from KAUST Library.

Dissertation Archiving

Students must archive the Dissertation in the KAUST Library two weeks from the submission of the final result form. This must not exceed the deadline published in the Academic Calendar.