Statistics PhD Program

Program Mission
The mission of the PhD program in Statistics is to prepare graduates to become independent researchers and leaders in the field and to conduct original research to address academical and societal challenges and contribute to the broader community.

Program Goals
The goal of the PhD program in Statistics is to
• Train independent researchers capable of conducting original statistical research in theory or applications,
• Developing new statistical models and computational tools,
• Contribute to academic, industrial, or governmental sectors through their expertise in statistics.

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

Knowledge and Understanding:
• K1: The graduates from the PhD program in Statistics will have a deep and specialized understanding of advanced statistical theory and methodology. In addition to a specific sub-field of statistics where they will be able to address complex problems and contribute to the discipline's advancement.
• K2: The graduates from the PhD program in Statistics will have the ability to critically evaluate scholarly literature in statistics, particularly in their area of dissertation research.

Skills:
• S1: The graduates of the PhD program in Statistics will have the ability to conduct original research, formulate new research problems, develop innovative theory, and/or create new statistical methods with software.
• S2: The graduates from the PhD program in Statistics will be able to apply advanced statistical methods appropriately in complex applications.
• S3: The graduates of the PhD program in Statistics will be able to effectively communicate complex research findings both orally and in writing to diverse audiences and scientific journals.
• S4: The graduates of the PhD program in Statistics will be able to integrate complex concepts to translate scientific or real-world research questions into appropriate statistical problems, and design statistically sound approaches to address them.

Values, Autonomy, and Responsibility:
• V1: The graduates of the PhD program in Statistics will be able to commit to upholding the highest ethical standards in conducting research with integrity, demonstrating a strong commitment to the values and norms of the field of statistics.
• V2: The graduates of the PhD program in Statistics will be able to take responsibility for monitoring their own learning working closely with the supervisor to direct the course of their research and performance and actively pursuing self-development
• V3: Graduates in the PhD program of Statistics will be committed to actively participating in the development of the field of statistics, contributing to its advancement, by fostering innovation, reinforcing positive community relationships and advancing a knowledge-based society.

PhD Course Requirements

Students entering the PhD Program must complete the requirements below:

STAT 300-level courses* (12 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.

* All courses must be approved by the Academic Advisor.

Graduate Seminar (non-credit)

Students must register for STAT 398 and receive a Satisfactory grade for two Semesters during their PhD.

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
PhD Proposal Defense

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

Qualifying Exam

The qualifier consists of three written subject exams, one in each of the core courses STAT 220, STAT 230, and AMCS 241. It is given twice per year: during the final exams of the Fall Semester and immediately after the final exams of the Spring Semester, or as feasible. The Fall Semester qualifier is the final exam of each of the Core Courses given during the Fall Semester. The Spring Semester exam is a 3-hour exam per subject prepared by the Faculty teaching the Core Courses.

Students must complete and pass all three (3) qualifiers by the end of the third semester of the PhD program. Students have two chances to take each exam and can retake only those they did not pass.

Each exam is Passed if students obtain a score of at least 70% in that exam. If students at the end of the third Semester of their PhD have only passed 2 out of 3 qualifiers, then the Qualifying Exam Committee reviews the case, and it is decided if students can proceed with the PhD Contact the STAT GPSA for more details about the PhD qualifying exam.

Note: Students who pass the final exam of a qualifying exam course with a score of 70% or higher during their MS do not have to retake that exam during their PhD as a qualifying exam. Exams taken during the MS do not count towards the two attempts, provided these correspond to courses in which students are enrolled. Students can take the final exam for a course they are not enrolled in. In that case, the exam counts towards the two attempts.

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 GPSA and the Dissertation 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). 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 four members and may have up to five members. The composition of the committee is outlined as follows:

Member	Role	Program Status
1	Faculty	Primary affiliation within the student’s program
2	Faculty	Primary affiliation within the student’s program
3	Faculty	Primary affiliation outside of 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. 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 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.
Guidelines for selecting the external examiner can be found here.
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 not exceed the deadline published in the Academic Calendar. The required form is available from the Office of the Registrar.