Material Science and Engineering PhD Program

Program Mission:
The mission of the PhD Program in Materials Science and Engineering is to educate and train very independent materials scientists and engineers with a strong foundation in materials synthesis and fabrication, advanced characterization techniques, and high-level computational methods to tackle grand and complex challenges in renewable energy, nanotechnology, optoelectronic, photonics, critical minerals, high-resolution imaging, biomaterials, energy security, semiconductors technology, and quantum technology, contributing significantly to a sustainable and prosperous society.

Program Goals:
• Education: Provide a world-class doctoral education that ensures candidates master the advanced theoretical and practical knowledge of materials preparation, fabrication, processing, state-of-the-art characterization, and computational methods, enabling them to become independent researchers.
• Research: Lead fundamental and interdisciplinary research to tackle grand and complex challenges in strategic areas, including renewable energy, optoelectronic, sensing, High-resolution imaging, nanotechnology, biomaterials, and quantum technology.
• Community & Impact: Produce graduates whose research and leadership directly contribute meaningfully to solving critical scientific and technological challenges in support of a sustainable and prosperous society.

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

Knowledge and Understanding
• K1: Critically synthesize the advanced theoretical, computational, and experimental foundations of materials science and engineering, including crystal chemistry, microstructural evolution, defect physics, thermodynamics, kinetics, multiscale mechanics, and electronic/quantum phenomena governing material behavior.
• K2: Formulate new theoretical frameworks, computational models, or experimental paradigms to explain complex materials phenomena across multiple length and time scales, with application to strategic fields such as renewable energy, sensing, energy security, nanotechnology, critical minerals, biomaterials, semiconductors, and quantum materials.
• K3: Critically evaluate the technological feasibility, limitations, and long-term societal impact of emerging materials, processing strategies, and device architectures, drawing upon interdisciplinary perspectives from engineering, chemistry, applied physics, and sustainability science.

Skills
• S1: Conceive, design, and independently execute a substantial program of original research that advances fundamental understanding and/or technological innovation in materials science and engineering.
• S2: Develop and apply advanced experimental, computational, and analytical techniques—including state-of-the-art synthesis, processing, characterization, simulation, and data-driven methods—to investigate, model, and engineer material properties and performance.
• S3: Produce a body of original scholarly work suitable for publication in high-impact, peer-reviewed international journals, and successfully defend a dissertation that represents a significant and original contribution to the field of materials science and engineering.

Values, Autonomy, and Responsibility
• V1: Uphold the highest standards of research integrity, intellectual autonomy, and academic rigor by critically defending the originality, methodology, and conclusions of a substantial doctoral dissertation in materials science and engineering.
• V2: Assess and take responsibility for the broader societal, environmental, and ethical implications of materials development, resource utilization, manufacturing processes, and emerging technologies with particular emphasis on sustainability and global well-being.
• V3: Exhibit intellectual leadership within interdisciplinary scientific environments by critically engaging in scholarly debate, effectively mentoring junior researchers, and fostering collaborative research communities that advance the field of materials science and engineering.

Course Requirements

Students must complete the requirements below:

300-level Courses (6 credits)
Graduate Seminar (non-credit)
Winter Enrichment Program (non-credit)

The Dissertation Advisor may request the completion of additional courses. Courses taken while pursuing the KAUST MS degree cannot be counted towards the course requirements. Courses must be technical courses and cannot be substituted with Research, Internship, or Broadening Courses to fulfill degree requirements.

300-level Courses (6 credits)

One of the 300-level Courses must be from the MSE Program. The other course must be from the AMCS, AP, BioE, Chem, CE, ECE, and ME programs.

Graduate Seminars (non-credit)

Students must register for 5 semesters MSE Graduate Seminar Courses (MSE 398) and must receive a Satisfactory (S) grade in all of them. Students must attend a minimum of 8 Graduate Seminars per semester to receive a Satisfactory (S) grade. The seminars can be chosen from any Graduate Seminar series offered by the PSE division. Details will be clarified each semester by the seminar committee chair.

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.

Qualifying Exam

The Qualifying Exam aims to test the students' knowledge in the field of study. To pass the Qualifying Exam, students must achieve in two 300-level Courses (one must be from the MSE Program, the other must be from the AMCS, AP, BioE, Chem, CE, ECE, and ME programs) at least a B+ grade. Students must pass the Qualifying Exam by the end of their third semester.

Dissertation

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

Formation of Dissertation Committee
Petition to Defend Dissertation
Dissertation Defense
Dissertation Archiving

Formation of Dissertation 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	Faculty	Primary 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 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.

Petition to Defend Dissertation

Students must determine the defense date with the agreement of all members of the Dissertation Committee. It is the sole responsibility of students to submit the required documents in consultation with the GPSA and 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 the Dissertation 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 follow the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines available on the KAUST Library webpage when they write their Dissertation. They must defend their Dissertation and obtain the final approval by the end of their fourth year (8 Semesters and 4 Summer Sessions).

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 within 2 weeks from the final approval of the Dissertation Committee and not later than the deadline published in the Academic Calendar.