PhD Course Requirements

PhD students must complete the following requirements:

• At least three courses (9 credits) of which at least two need to be 300-level courses. One course needs to be from the program, another from either the ERPE or ErSE program, while the remaining courses can be any technical courses at KAUST, including additional ERPE or ErSE courses. If these criteria are not met, an approval from the Program Chair is required.
• For students with an MS degree from the program, a total of only two 300-level courses (6 credits) is required, and they can be any technical 300-level courses at KAUST.
• At least five semesters of ERPE/ErSE 398 - Graduate Seminar (non-credit)
• At least one Winter Enrichment Program (WE 100) (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 non-technical Courses to fulfill the degree requirements. 

Graduate Seminars (non-credit)

A minimum of five Semesters of ERPE/ErSE 398 – Graduate Seminar with Satisfactory grades must be completed within the duration of the PhD degree program. Within a Semester, students must attend a minimum of 8 seminars to receive a Satisfactory (S) grade. The seminars can be chosen from any Graduate Seminar series offered by the PSE division. Students who fulfill the minimum requirement of five Semesters of ERPE/ErSE 398 do not need to register for additional Graduate Seminars, although they are highly encouraged to attend the seminars. 

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 one WEP as part of their KAUST MS studies must take the WEP again.

PhD Candidacy

 In addition to the coursework requirements, students must successfully complete the following PhD candidacy milestones:

• A subject-based Qualifying Exam
• PhD Dissertation Proposal Defense

Once students have advanced to candidacy, students are designated as PhD or Doctoral Candidates

Qualifying Exam

The Qualifying Exam (QE) aims to test the students' knowledge in the field of study and is a subject-based examination that must be completed by the end of the third Semester. The QE is an oral exam that is typically based on three courses the student has taken at KAUST. The QE Committee consists of three Faculty members. The Committee Chair should be affiliated with the program and the other two members with the ERPE or ErSE program, although one Committee member can be from another program at KAUST. If these criteria are not met, an approval from the Program Chair is required.

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.

Once students have successfully completed the Qualifying Exam they work toward the PhD Dissertation Proposal Defense under the supervision of the PhD Dissertation Advisor.

Dissertation Proposal Defense

The PhD Dissertation Proposal Defense aims to demonstrate the student’s 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. 

The PhD Dissertation Proposal Defense includes a written Research Proposal and an oral Proposal Defense. The Proposal Defense is not a pre-Defense. The written Proposal should be about ten pages plus figures and references, and should include (1) background and motivation, (2) aims and objectives, (3) research plan and methodology, (4) significance and potential impact, and (5) Dissertation structure and time schedule. The oral presentation should be about 30 minutes, followed by up to 60-minute Q&A session. During the Q&A session, the PhD Dissertation Proposal Defense Committee can ask questions about the proposed work's novelty, impact, plan, and feasibility.

Students must pass the PhD Dissertation Proposal Defense before the end of the fifth Semester. The student determines the Proposal Defense date with the agreement of all Dissertation Proposal Defense Committee members. Students must submit the written research Proposal to the Committee at least two weeks before the scheduled Defense date. 

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: 

Member	Role	Affiliation
1	Faculty	Primary affiliation within the student’s program
2	Faculty	Primary affiliation within the student’s program
3	Faculty	Primary affiliation outside 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.
• 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:

• Petition to Defend Dissertation/ Form Dissertation Defense Committee 
• Defend Dissertation 
• Archive Dissertation

It is the responsibility of students to make steady and timely progress towards the dissertation work. Progress is overseen regularly by the Dissertation Advisor. It is recommended (but 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 Dissertation 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 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 proposed 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 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.

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: 

Member	Role	Affiliation
1	Faculty	Primary affiliation within the student’s program
2	Faculty	Primary affiliation within the student’s program
3	External Examiner	Within or outside program
4	External examiner	Outside KAUST
5	Faculty or Research Scientist	Affiliation within or outside of KAUST

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 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 be archived by the deadline published in the Academic Calendar.