The Master of Science (MS) degree is awarded upon successful completion of a minimum of 36 credits with a minimum of 3.0 cumulative GPA. Individual courses require a minimum of a B- grade 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, all admitted 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. The exam will focus on mathematics and basic sciences. 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 credits)
- Mathematics Courses (6 credits)
- Laboratory Course (3 credits)
- Elective Courses (6 credits)
- Research/Capstone (9-12 credits)
- Graduate Seminar 398 (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.
Mathematics Courses (6 credits)
Students must pass at least two graduate-level courses (i.e., courses numbered 200 and higher) in applied mathematics (AMCS) or statistics (STAT). It is recommended that students take the following courses which will provide a strong foundation of the skills required for a research career in ME.
Other courses listed in the AMCS/ STAT master's program can be taken to fulfill this requirement.
Elective Courses (6 credits)
Elective Courses allow students to tailor their educational experience to meet individual research and educational objectives with the permission of the Academic Advisor. It is advised that students take courses from the ME program as per the list below:
| ME 226/ECE 263 | Cyber-Physical Systems | 3 |
| ME 228/ECE 275 | Robot Planning and Control | 3 |
| ME 244 | Combustion Fundamentals | 3 |
| ME 252 | Fundamentals of Circular Carbon Strategies | 3 |
| ME 253 | Sustainable Thermal Technologies | 3 |
| ME 254 | Renewable Fluid Power | 3 |
| ME 256 | Electrochemical Energy Systems | 3 |
| ME 261 | Applications of Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas | 3 |
| ME 302 | Multi-Phase Flows | 3 |
| ME 304 | Experimental Methods in Fluid Mechanics | 3 |
| ME 305A | Computational Fluid Dynamics | 3 |
| ME 305B | Advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics | 3 |
| ME 306 | Hydrodynamic Stability | 3 |
| ME 307 | Turbulence | 3 |
| ME 317 | Mechanics of Composite Materials and Structures | 3 |
| ME 319 | Computational Solid Mechanics | 3 |
| ME 326/ECE 376 | Robust Control | 3 |
| ME 342 | Chemical Kinetics | 3 |
| ME 346 | Turbulent Combustion | 3 |
| ME 348 | Introduction to Spectroscopy and Laser Diagnostics | 3 |
| ME 376 | Introduction to Combustion Engines | 3 |
| ME 378 | Experimental Combustion | 3 |
| ME 394 | Contemporary Topics in Mechanical Engineering | 3 |
200-300 level courses from other KAUST programs upon approval of the Academic Advisor.
Laboratory Courses (3 credits)
It is imperative that ME students possess specific laboratory skills to have successful careers in academia and industry. All MS ME students must register and pass ME 205 which is is designed to train students in basic laboratory skills relevant to Mechanical Engineering.
Graduate Seminars (non-credit)
Students must register for two semesters to
ME 398 and receive a Satisfactory grade in each semester. They must attend a minimum of 8 Graduate Seminars per semester to earn a Satisfactory (S) grade. The seminars can be chosen from any Graduate Seminar series offered by the PSE division.
Additional Workshop (non-credit)
In preparation for assignments and courses it is strongly recommended that MS students take a relevant skills workshop in the area, such as Scientific Presentation skills, Scientific Research Writing or Writing a Research Proposal. For further details, support or any questions, please contact the English Language and Communication team in the Student Center (Building 18) or at elcp@kaust.edu.sa.
MS Thesis
Students planning to pursue the Thesis option must complete a minimum of 12 credits of Thesis Research (ME 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 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 member4.
- Once approved, any changes to the committee require the approval of both the student's advisor and 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 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 two weeks from 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 9 capstone credits, with a maximum of 6 credits of Directed Research (ME 299). Students must complete the remaining 3 credits through one or a combination of the options listed below: