Earth Science and Engineering PhD Program

Program Mission:
The mission of the ErSE PhD program is to cultivate the next generation of researchers, leaders, and pioneers in Earth systems science through fundamental and interdisciplinary research and sustained engagement and partnership with industry and the global community. We design and lead physics-based research on our dynamic planet to address critical Vision 2030 priorities in climate science, geohazards, and sustainable resource management, enhancing societal resilience while advancing knowledge of Earth systems.

Program Goals:

Education: Provide a world-class, graduate education that ensures students master the fundamental physics and interdisciplinary science required to become leaders and pioneers in Earth systems science.
Research: Lead fundamental and interdisciplinary research to develop physics-based models of our dynamic planet, creating solutions for critical challenges in climate science, geohazards, and sustainable resource management.
Community & Impact: Cultivate sustained partnerships with industry and the global community, ensuring our research and graduates contribute directly to advancing societal resilience and deepening the global understanding of Earth systems.

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Knowledge and Understanding:

K1: Critically evaluate and extend geophysical fluid dynamics and thermodynamics governing the atmosphere–ocean–climate system.
K2: Synthesize, and critically evaluate Earth’s interior structure and processes using seismology, geodynamics, rock mechanics and composition, and related geological evidence.
K3: Analyze and synthesize geological processes (sedimentology, stratigraphy, structural geology, tectonic, magmatic) to interpret basin and crustal evolution across scales and propose original insights.
K4: Integrate and advance numerical simulation, inverse methods, geostatistics, and data-driven/ML approaches to formulate, validate, and generalize solutions to geoscience problems in climate, water resources, natural hazards, and energy transition.

Skills:

S1: Design and lead integrated geoscientific models and research plans that synthesize geological, geophysical, and remote-sensing data, with explicit uncertainty quantification and risk considerations.
S2: Develop, validate, and generalize physics-based numerical simulations to analyze complex Earth systems (e.g., subsurface flow, seismic wave propagation, climate dynamics).
S3: Design and lead experimental programs and advanced measurements; analyze resulting data to characterize Earth materials and processes and to derive/validate model parameters.
S4: Develop and validate data-driven solutions by applying machine learning, statistical analysis, and data assimilation to geoscientific challenges such as pattern recognition and prediction.

Values, Autonomy, and Responsibility:

V1: Champion a sustained, original research program with full autonomy, setting strategic research directions, making critical high-level decisions, and mentoring others.
V2: Initiate and lead multidisciplinary research collaborations, setting the intellectual agenda and integrating contributions to achieve transformative outcomes.
V3: Define and uphold the highest standards of ethical and sustainable engineering, shaping professional norms and policies through expert critique and advocacy.

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 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 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.

Dissertation

The PhD Dissertation is the final milestone of the PhD program. Students must complete the following:

Submit a petition to defend the PhD Dissertation, which must include the PhD Dissertation and the proposed Dissertation Defense Committee, at least 2 months before the planned Defense date
Defend the Dissertation
Archive the Dissertation

It is the responsibility of students to make steady and timely progress towards completing the PhD Dissertation. Progress is overseen regularly by the Dissertation Advisor. It is recommended (but not required) that students update, typically every semester, the Proposal Committee members on their progress. If students have serious problems with the 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 PhD Dissertation Defense Committee. It is the sole responsibility of students to submit the required documents in consultation with the GPC and their Dissertation Advisor at least two months before the planned Defense. 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 PhD 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.