Course Requirements

Students must complete the following requirements:

• Core courses (12 credits)
• Elective courses (12 credits)
• Research Courses (12 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 Broadening 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 12 credits (4 Core Courses) and be aware that Core Courses may be offered only once per academic year.

Elective Courses (12 credits)

Elective Courses allow students to tailor their educational experience to meet individual research and educational objectives. Students must complete 12 credits (4 Elective Courses) from the AP, AMCS, Chem, CS, ECE, ME, and MSE programs. The following list contains the courses well aligned with the AP program, organized by themes.

Fundamentals in Physics

Experimental Techniques and Characterization

Materials

Device Physics

Optoelectronics and Photonics

Theoretical and Computational Physics

Graduate Seminars (non-credit)

Students must register for 2 semester AP Graduate Seminar Courses (AP 398) and must receive a Satisfactory (S) grade in all of them. Students must attend a minimum of 8 Graduate Seminars per semester to receive a Satisfactory (S) grade. The seminars can be chosen from any Graduate Seminar series offered by the PSE division. Details will be clarified each semester by the seminar committee chair.

Winter Enrichment Program (non-credit)

Students must complete 1 Winter Enrichment Program (WE 100), usually taken in the first year of study. 

MS Thesis

Students pursuing the Thesis option must complete 12 credits of Thesis Research (AP 297).

Thesis Application

Students must secure a Thesis Advisor and must submit the Thesis application no later than by the end of week one of their third semester. Students must select a KAUST Faculty member affiliated with the AP program. A list is available on the PSE webpage. A KAUST Faculty member not affiliated with the AP program can obtain the program’s approval to become affiliated for the specific Thesis project before the student commences the research work. To start the affiliation process, a research proposal of the project signed by the potential Thesis Advisor must be submitted to the GPC. Thesis withdrawal is not permitted, and students who cannot complete their thesis 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:

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. 

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 the Thesis in the KAUST Library within 2 weeks from the Thesis Defense and not later than the deadline published in the Academic Calendar. A step-by-step guide to archive the Thesis is available on the AP webpage.