Course Requirements

Students must complete the requirements below:

• 300-level Courses (6 credits) 
• Graduate Seminar (non-credit)
• Winter Enrichment Program (non-credit) 

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

300-level Courses (6 credits)

One of the 300-level Courses must be from the AP Program. The other course must be from the AP, AMCS, Chem, CS, ECE, ME, or MSE programs.

Graduate Seminars (non-credit)

Students must register for 5 semesters 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. A Winter Enrichment Program taken as part of a KAUST MS degree cannot be counted towards this requirement.

Qualifying Exam

The Qualifying Exam aims to test the students' knowledge in the field of study. To pass the Qualifying Exam, students must achieve in two 300-level Courses (one must be from the AP Program, the other must be from the AP, AMCS, Chem, CS, ECE, ME, or MSE programs) at least a B+ grade. Students must pass the Qualifying Exam by the end of their third semester.

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.

Proposal Defense

The Proposal Defense aims to evaluate 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 Proposal Defense by the end of their fifth semester. 

PhD Dissertation Proposal 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.

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:

• Formation of Dissertation Committee
• Petition to Defend Dissertation
• Dissertation Defense
• Dissertation Archiving

PhD 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.

Petition to Defend Dissertation

Students must determine the defense date with the agreement of all members of the Dissertation Committee. It is the sole responsibility of students to submit the required documents in consultation with the GPC and Dissertation Advisor by the deadline published in the Academic Calendar and at least 2 months prior to the defense date. The required documents include: (i) a list of the Dissertation 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 follow the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines available on the KAUST Library webpage when they write their Dissertation. They must defend their Dissertation and obtain the final approval by the end of their fourth year (8 Semesters and 4 Summer Sessions).

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 within 2 weeks from the final approval of the Dissertation Committee and not later than the deadline published in the Academic Calendar.