PhD Course Requirements

Students on PhD Program must complete the requirements below:

• 300-level courses* (6 credits)
• Dissertation Research (66 credits minimum)
• 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. 

*Only one 300-level “Contemporary Topics in Chemistry” course (Chem 394 or Chem 394A) can be counted towards this requirement. 

Graduate Seminars (non-credit)

Students must register for five semesters of Chem Graduate Seminar courses (Chem 398) and receive a Satisfactory (S) grade in all. for each of these semesters students must attend a minimum of 8 individual seminars to receive a Satisfactory (S) grade. These attended individual seminars can be chosen from any Graduate Seminar courses offered by the PSE division. As the Chem Graduate Seminar course schedule permits, third-year Ph. D. students will be asked to present their research (~20 min) as a necessary preparation for the Proposal Defense; no publications are required to be eligible to present. 

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.

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 purpose of the qualifier is to test the student's creativity, independence, and knowledge of the subject matter within the field of study. All PhD students must pass their qualifier by the end of their third semester. Students may take the exam earlier with their Academic Advisor’s approval. Every student needs to fill out the required QE form and submit the QE proposal (written document, see description below) to the GPC at least two (2) weeks prior to the QE date. The GPC will get the signature of the Chemistry Program Chair to proceed. 

The QE consists of an oral presentation of an original idea, which is related to the area of research, but not the exact work done in the lab (same approach as a grant application). The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session regarding both the presented project and general chemistry knowledge. Students must also submit a written proposal. Click here for more information.

QE Committee 

The QE Committee, which must be approved by the Program Chair, should consist of three members. In addition to the Academic Advisor, two Chemistry Program Faculty members (primary or affiliated) need to serve as Committee Members. Students must schedule the QE at a time acceptable to the Committee members, who are expected to make every reasonable effort to be available for the exam.

The Committee Members are expected to carry forward to serve on the Dissertation Proposal Committee. Once constituted, the composition of the Committee can be changed with the approval of the Academic Advisor and the Program Chair. 

the qualifying exam evaluation will take up to 1.5 hours will be allotted for the qualifier (30 min presentation, 60 min questions). 

View a full list of the Chemistry Program Faculty here. 

 Qualifying Exam Results:

At the conclusion of the qualifying exam, students will receive one of the following outcomes:

• Pass: The student has successfully passed the exam.
• Fail with Retake: The student must retake the exam within the next qualifying exam period or by the milestone deadline, whichever comes first. If significant issues are identified, the Committee may recommend additional actions, including academic sanctions (e.g., probation) or the implementation of a study plan.
• Fail Without Retake: The student has not passed the qualifying exam. This decision requires a unanimous vote by the Committee and endorsement by the Dean.

After the exam, the final proposal document and qualifying exam result form must be submitted to the GPSA within two (2) working days, regardless of the outcome. The GPSA will coordinate the collection of all required signatures.

Dissertation Proposal Defense

The Dissertation Proposal Defense aims to demonstrate the 'students' ability and adequate preparedness to undertake PhD level research in the proposed research area. This includes necessary knowledge of the chosen subject, a review of related literature, and experimental or theoretical work as applicable. Students must pass the Dissertation Proposal Defense by the end of their fifth semester. The student determines the proposal defense date with the agreement of all Dissertation Proposal Defense Committee members. 

Every PhD student is required to complete the Proposal by the end of their fifth (5) Semester. The Proposal date will be determined by the student, Academic Advisor, and the Proposal Committee. A PhD student must submit the request to form the Dissertation Proposal Committee to the GPC at least two (2) weeks prior to the proposal date. The GPC will collect all required signatures. PhD student must share the oral presentation with the Defense Proposal Committee at least one (1) week prior to the Proposal Defense. 

*A student with two or more first-author (or first co-author) publications (status: published) in highly ranked journals, related to the PhD work, can apply to waive the oral presentation. For the application, the student is requested to prepare a single page summary to describe the results of all the published work and submit it together with the request and copies of the publications to the GPC at least two (2) weeks prior to the proposal date. The application will be further evaluated by the Program Chair in consultation with the Dissertation Proposal Committee. The GPC will collect all required signatures. 

PhD Dissertation Defense Committee 

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

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 member 4.
• Once approved, any changes to the committee require the approval of both the student's advisor and Dean.
• The proposal defense committee must remain the same for the dissertation defense. Any exceptions to this rule require approval from both the student’s advisor and the Dean

Scheduling the Proposal Defense 

Students must schedule the  Dissertation Proposal Defense at a time acceptable to the Committee members, who are expected to make every reasonable effort to be available for the DP Defense. 

Proposal Defense Format 

• Prepare ONLY an oral presentation (e.g., MS PowerPoint slides).
• Use the same style as for presenting research results during group meetings.
• Proposal should cover classical sequence describing existing problem, current solutions and their drawbacks, your proposal, obtained experimental results with their discussion, and further plan 

Proposal Defense Results 

At the end of the proposal Defense, students will be evaluated as follows:

• 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

It is the responsibility of students to keep making steady and timely progress towards the dissertation work. Progress is overseen regularly by the Academic Advisor. It is recommended (not required) that students update, typically every semester, the Proposal Committee members concerning their progress. If students have serious problems with Dissertation work and the issues are not resolved by the Academic Advisor, students must inform the GPC and seek help from other members of the Proposal Committee and/or the Associate Dean. 

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). Students must follow the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines available on the KAUST Library webpage when they write their Dissertation.

The required documents include: A list of proposed Committee Members, including the external committee member (inc. CV of the External Committee Member); the CV of the PhD Candidate; transcript of the PhD Candidate; a list of publications of the PhD Candidate; the final draft of the PhD Dissertation.

Students must submit the written Dissertation to the Defense Committee one (1) month prior to the Defense date in order to receive feedback. 

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: 

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

The Dissertation Defense is a public presentation followed by a Q&A and an oral Defense. It should last three hours at most consisting of the following:

• Presentation – up to 45 minutes. 
• Questions from the general audience – up to 15 minutes. 
• Break – 5 minutes. 
• Questions from the Committee Members – up to 2 hours. 

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.

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.