Plant Science PhD Program

Program Mission:

The Plant Science Program at KAUST advances fundamental and applied understanding of plant biology to address challenges in arid and semi-arid environments, with a particular focus on abiotic and biotic stress tolerance, sustainable agriculture, and land restoration. The mission of the program is to:

Generate knowledge through research in plant genomics, physiology, molecular biology, metabolomics, biotechnology, and systems-level approaches.
Educate and train the next generation of scientists and leaders equipped with advanced research, technical, and innovation skills.
Contribute to national and global priorities by enabling sustainable food production, developing resilient agroecosystems, supporting Vision 2030 and RDIA pillars, contributing to reaching net zero emissions by 2060, and increasing human health through healthy and nutritious food.
Serve as a beacon of innovation, fostering partnerships with academia, industry, and government to create a Laboratory for a Greener Future Living in Saudi Arabia and beyond.

Program Goals:

Scientific Excellence – Pursuit of curiosity-driven and applied research at the highest international standards.
Innovation & Impact – Translating discoveries into tangible outcomes for food security, sustainability, and biotechnology (in alignment with the KAUST Center for Sustainable Food Security).
Alignment with National Priorities – Supporting Vision 2030, Saudi Green Initiative, and Human Capability Development.
Interdisciplinarity – Integrating plant biology with bioinformatics and AI, engineering, biotechnology, and ecology.
Collaboration & Partnership – Building national and international networks for research, training, and knowledge transfer.
Integrity & Responsibility – Commitment to ethical research, responsible stewardship of natural resources, and inclusive training.

Program Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

K1: Demonstrate synthesis and integration of frontier research in plant science, including molecular, genetic, physiological, ecological, and computational approaches, with particular emphasis on crops and plants relevant to arid and semi-arid environments.
K2: Identify knowledge gaps and emerging challenges in plant science, including climate resilience, food security, sustainable agriculture, and plant–environment interactions, and situate these gaps within a global and Saudi Arabian context.
K3: Independently perform original and advanced research projects in plant science, including hypothesis generation, experimental and computational design, advanced data analysis (e.g. genomics, transcriptomics, phenomics, and systems biology), and dissemination through impactful publications.
K4: Define novel, interdisciplinary research questions in plant science that integrate experimental, computational, and translational perspectives, and that contribute new knowledge relevant to plant productivity, resilience, and sustainability under challenging environmental conditions.

Skills

S1: Lead an original, independent PhD-level research project in plant science within KAUST’s highly interdisciplinary and international research environment, demonstrating strategic planning and scientific leadership.
S2: Publish original research findings in leading, peer-reviewed international journals in plant science and related disciplines, meeting the highest standards of rigor, reproducibility, and scientific integrity.
S3: Secure competitive research and travel funding, e.g. from internal KAUST funding schemes or external national or international grants.
S4: Engage critically and constructively in advanced scientific discussions, communicating complex plant science concepts across disciplines, cultures, and scientific communities, including participation in seminars, conferences, and collaborative projects.
S5: Contribute new methodologies, analytical pipelines, experimental platforms, or conceptual frameworks in plant science, particularly those leveraging KAUST’s strengths in genomics, bioinformatics, imaging, controlled-environment agriculture, and computational biology.

Values, Autonomy, and Responsibility

V1: Mentor and support junior researchers, students, and technical staff, fostering an inclusive, collaborative, and international research culture aligned with KAUST’s mission and values.
V2: Demonstrate scientific and professional leadership within research groups, taking responsibility for project outcomes, research quality, and collaborative dynamics in highly complex research settings.
V3: Shape scientific agendas in plant science by initiating innovative research directions that address national and global priorities, including food security, environmental sustainability, and climate adaptation.
V4: Take responsibility for the societal, environmental, and ethical implications of plant science research, particularly in relation to agriculture, sustainability, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals.
V5: Commit to the highest standards of rigor, transparency, reproducibility, and ethical conduct in scientific research, including responsible data management, authorship, and engagement with emerging ethical challenges in plant science and biotechnology.

PhD Course Requirements

Students entering the PhD Program must complete the requirements below.

At least two 300-level courses (6 credits)
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 Course to fulfill degree requirements.

Graduate Seminars (non-credit)

All students must register for BESE 398 and receive a Satisfactory grade for five Semesters. For more details about BESE Seminars please contact your GPSA.

Winter Enrichment Program (non-credit)

All students must complete the Winter Enrichment Program (WE 100) for credit at least once during their studies at KAUST. Students who have previously completed WEP will be exempt from this requirement in their future studies.

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 (pre-proposal meeting)
PhD Proposal Defense

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

Qualifying Exam

The qualifier known in the program as 'The Pre-Proposal Committee Meeting' is a research update meeting to determine progress and readiness toward the PhD Proposal Defense. Students must pass the Pre-Proposal Committee Meeting by the end of the third semester after commencing the PhD degree. However, it is recommended students pass the Pre-Proposal Committee Meeting by the end of their Second Semester after commencing the PhD program. Students who complete their Proposal Defense within three Semesters do not have to complete the Pre-Proposal Committee Meeting.

Expectations for the Qualifier (Pre-Proposal Meeting):

The suggested time of the meeting is 45-60 minutes.
Student is evaluated on their overall progress during the last academic year, focusing on the status of research, research milestones, and plans for the following academic year. It is expected that a broad topic has been determined by this stage.The student will provide a short (<30 minutes; 8-12 slides) presentation on the state of their research, i.e., what is the research question they are answering (the knowledge gap), how they will do this (the approach), what remains to be done (the activity).
The presentation will be followed by a brief Q&A from the Committee (10 min).
The Committee will then meet separately with the Dissertation Advisor (i.e., the student will be excused) to discuss the student's progress, performance, and expectations (optional, 5 min).
The Committee will meet separately with the student (i.e., the Dissertation Advisor will be excused) to inquire about the relationship between the student and Dissertation Advisor (project feedback; project support; discussion of expectations; etc.) (optional, 5 min).

The student will be given verbal and written feedback (10 mins) regarding the following:

Research topic
Methodology and plan
Overall performance

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

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 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).

Formation of Dissertation Defense Committee

The PhD dissertation defense committee must include a minimum of four members and may have up to five members. The composition of the committee is outlined as follows:

Member	Role	Affiliation
1	Chair	Primary or alternative affiliation within the student’s program
2	Faculty	Primary or alternative affiliation within the student’s program
3	Faculty	Primary or alternative affiliation outside the student’s program
4	External examiner	Affiliation outside of 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 serves as the chair of the committee and must use the affiliation within the student’s program.
Either member 1 or member 2 must have primary affiliation within the student’s program.
The student’s co-advisor may serve as member 5.
Professors of Practice and Research Professors may serve as members 1-3 or 5, depending on their affiliation and whether they are the student’s co-advisor. 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 committees in the roles they had at the time of their departure 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.
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 defense date. This must not exceed the deadline published in the Academic Calendar. The required form is available from the Office of the Registrar.