The Master of Science (MS) degree is awarded upon successful completion of a minimum of 36 credits. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 must be achieved to graduate. Individual courses require a minimum of a B- for course credit.
Students must complete their thesis by the end of the fourth Semester (not including the Summer Session). Students who require additional time to complete their thesis must apply for an extension per the time limits and extensions policy.
To facilitate the design of an individual study plan students without all admitted MS students must take a written assessment test when they arrive on campus. The assessment determines whether students have mastered the prerequisites for undertaking graduate-level courses taught in the program. Students must prepare for the test by refreshing the general knowledge gained from their undergraduate education before arriving at KAUST. The study plan requirements must be satisfactorily completed, in addition to the university degree requirements.
In the case of failure of the assessment test MS students are mandated to take 100-level courses and will be graded Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U) for these courses but do not receive academic credit toward their degree.
MS Course Requirements
MS students must complete the following requirements:
- Core Courses (12-15 credits)
- Elective Courses (9-12 credits)
- Research/Capstone (12 credits)
- Graduate Seminar (non-credit)
- Winter Enrichment Program (WE 100)
All AMCS students must earn at least 24 credits from Core/Elective Courses, not including credits from AMCS 201, AMCS 202, AMCS 206, and STAT 210.These are graded on letter scale but do not count towards the requirements. Core and Elective Courses must be technical courses and cannot be substituted with Research or Internship to fulfill degree requirements.
Core Courses (12-15 credits)
Core Courses provide students with the background needed to establish a solid foundation in the program area. Students must complete between 12-15 credits (4- 5 Core Courses) dependent on their track and be aware that Core Courses may be offered only once per academic year.
Applied Mathematics (AM) Track
Students on the Applied Mathematics (AM) Track must take five Core Courses (15 credits) from the following list:
Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) Track
Students on the Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) Track must take four Core Courses (12 credits). Two courses (6 credits) should be taken from the following list:
Only one of AMCS 241 or STAT 220 may be counted toward this requirement. Additionally, students enrolled in the CSE track are required to take two courses, totaling 6 credits, from the Computer Science (CS) Program Core Course List. Three of these credits can be earned from the course CS201.
Data Science (DS) Track
Students on the Data Science (DS) Track must take four Core Courses (12 credits) from the following list:
Students must choose between AMCS 241 or STAT 220. Core courses can be replaced by 300-level courses in the same research area if the student has previously taken a similar course. This substitution must be approved both by the Academic Advisor and by the AMCS Curriculum Committee.
Elective Courses (9-12 credits)
Elective Courses allow students to tailor their educational experience to meet individual research and educational objectives with the permission of the Academic Advisor.
Applied Mathematics (AM) Track
Students in the AM Track must take three Elective Courses (9 credits). Courses can be taken from any KAUST Program. Those taken outside the AMCS program must be approved by the Academic Advisor. Refer to the KAUST Course Catalogue for choices.
Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) Track
Students in the CSE track must take a total of four Elective Courses (12 credits) as per the following requirements:
- Two courses (6 credits) in Applications of Modeling. Eligible courses can be found here. This list is not exclusive. At least one modeling course should be from outside the AMCS Program. The choice of modeling courses must be approved both by the Academic Advisor and the Program Chair.
- Two AMCS courses (6 credits)
Data Science (DS) Track
Students in the DS track must take four Elective Courses (12 credits).The choice of courses must include the following:
- One AMCS Course (3 credits)
- Two courses (6 credits) from the Data Science course list maintained by the AMCS Curriculum Committee.
- Any other course from KAUST Programs (3 credits) as approved by the advisor
Graduate Seminar (non-credit)
Students must register for AMCS 398 and receive a Satisfactory grade for two Semesters during their MS.
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.
MS Thesis
Students planning to pursue the Thesis option must complete a minimum of 12 credits of Thesis Research (AMCS 297).
Thesis Application
Students must complete the application and have it approved by the Program Chair no later than the end of week one of their third Semester. The Thesis Advisor must be a full-time program-affiliated Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor at KAUST. The Thesis Advisor can only become project affiliated for the specific thesis project with the Program Chair’s approval. The application must include a Thesis Proposal endorsed by the Thesis Advisor and a timeline for completion.
MS Thesis students who meet the graduation requirements of the non-thesis track may drop the thesis up until the end of their third Semester. Students 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 composition of the committee is outlined as follows:
| Member |
Role |
Affiliation |
| 1 |
Chair |
Primary affiliation within of the student’s program
|
| 2 |
Faculty |
Primary affiliation within of the student’s program
|
| 3 |
Faculty |
Primary affiliation outside of 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.
- Professors of Practice and Research Professors may serve as members 1-4, depending on their affiliation and whether they are the student’s advisor or co-advisor.
- 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.
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 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.
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 the Thesis in the KAUST Library within two weeks from submission 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 12 capstone credits, with 6 credits of directed research (AMCS 299). Students must complete the 6 remaining credits through one of the options listed below:
- Internship: Summer internship (AMCS 295) – students can only take one internship
- Any 200/300-level courses from any degree program at KAUST.