Chemistry Program Tracks

The KAUST Chemistry (Chem) program was established in 2010 to provide a modern, research-oriented education in chemistry. It is one of the top internationally ranked programs at KAUST. Leveraging the outstanding facilities at KAUST, the program distinguishes itself by a clear focus and strong emphasis on current research challenges related to polymers, catalysis, and nanotechnology. You can find below the list of research topics, faculty members, and core/elective courses regarding each track.

Summary of M.Sc. and Ph.D. Requirements:

Chem Summary of MSc and PhD Requirements (2)

Summary of Program Timelines:

Chem_timeline_2023_2024

Assessment Test

Students are admitted to KAUST from a wide variety of programs and backgrounds. In order to facilitate the design of an appropriate study plan for each individual student, all incoming M.Sc. students will be required to take a written assessment during orientation week. There is no grade for the assessment. The purpose of the assessment is to determine whether students have mastered the prerequisites for undertaking graduate level courses taught in the program. The Academic Advisor uses the results of the assessments to design, if necessary, a remedial study plan with a list of courses aimed at addressing content areas that may impede a student from successful completion of the degree requirements.

Students are encouraged to prepare for the assessment by refreshing the general knowledge gained from their undergraduate education before arriving at KAUST.

Students will be tested on the following subjects:

Engineering Mathematics
Physics and Mechanics
Chemistry and Thermodynamics

Each examination is 25 minutes long, consists of 12 multiple choice questions, and are taken one after the other in the week before the semester formally starts. All examinations are taken online using your KAUST Blackboard account.

In the following sections, you can find an outline of the material covered in each of these examinations.

Engineering Mathematics

1. Concept of the limit and its properties. The calculation of limits. One- and two-sided limits.
Continuity. The Intermediate Value Theorem.
2. Definition of the derivative. Differentiation from first principles. Derivatives for standard
functions including the exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric, and hyperbolic functions.
Product, quotient, and chain rules. Higher-order derivatives. Derivatives of inverse
functions. Implicit and parametric differentiation. The Mean Value Theorem and Rolle’s
theorem. Differentiability.
3. Application of the derivative to finding the gradient of a tangent to a curve. Stationary
points. Maxima and minima problems. The differential and its application to errors. Rates of
change problems.
4. The primitive function and anti-differentiation. The indefinite integral. Techniques of
integration including substitution, parts, partial fractions, trigonometric substitutions, and t-
substitutions.
5. The definite integral and Riemann integration. Application of the integral to area and
volume. The first and second Fundamental Theorems of Calculus. Improper integrals.
6. Sequences and infinite series. The geometric and telescoping series. Alternating series.
Convergence and divergence of an infinite series. Test for convergence including the nth
term test, direct and limit comparison tests, the integral test, ratio and root tests, alternating
series test. Absolute and conditional convergence. The Alternating Series Estimation
Theorem.
7. Power series. Properties of power series. Radius of convergence. Taylor and Maclaurin
series. Application of power series. Taylor polynomials.
8. Complex numbers, Argand diagram, modulus-argument and polar forms, de Moivre’s
theorem, exponential form.
9. Vectors. Vector addition and multiplication by a scalar. Properties of vectors. Unit vectors
and direction angles. The scalar dot and vector cross products and their associated
properties. The scalar triple product. Vector identities. Application of vectors to three-
dimensional analytic geometry. Equations of lines and planes in space.

Recommended Reading Material
1. Calculus, J. Stewart. Eight Edition (2015, Cengage Learning).
2. How to Integrate It: A Practical Guide to Finding Elementary Integrals, S. M. Stewart
(2018, Cambridge University Press).

Physics and Mechanics

Physics component
1. Electric charge. Electric fields. Coulomb's law.
2. Gauss’ law and applications of this law.
3. Electric potential. Capacitance and dielectrics.
4. Current, resistance, and resistivity.
5. Direct current circuits. Voltmeters and ammeters (both ideal and real). RC circuits.
6. Magnetic fields. Gauss’ law for magnetism.
7. Magnetic forces. Sources of the magnetic field. The Biot-Savart law and Ampère’s
law.
8. Electromagnetic induction. Faraday’s law. Lenz’ law.
9. Displacement current. Maxwell’s equations.

Mechanics component
1. Statics of particles. Forces and moments (torques).
2. Equilibrium of rigid bodies. Centres of mass and centroids
3. Moments of inertia.
4. Stress and strain due to axial loading. Torsion
5. Pure bending. Beam analysis
6. Kinematics of particles (using energy and momentum methods). Newton’s second
law.
7. Planar kinematics of rigid bodies.
8. Planar kinetics of rigid bodies (using equations of motion and energy and momentum
methods).

Recommended Reading Material
1. Sears and Zemanskys University Physics: With Modern Physics. Young, H. D., Freedman,
R. A., Ford, A. L., and Sears, F. W. (Addison-Wesley, 2021).
2. Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Statics and Dynamics (Twelfth edition). Ferdinand P. Beer,
E. Russell Johnston, David F. Mazurek, Phillip J. Cornwall, and Brian P. Self (McGraw-Hill,
2019).

Chemistry and Thermodynamics

Chemistry component
1. Matter and energy. What is chemistry? Atoms, molecules, and ions. Substances, ele-
ments, and mixtures. Changes and properties of matter. Periodic Table, Periodic Law.
Chemistry divisions. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).
2. Scientific method: observation, law, hypothesis, experiment, data, results, and theory.
Accuracy and precision. Significant figures. Scientific notation. Basic experimental
quantities. Unit conversion. Basic statistics for data analysis.
3. Timeline of atomic theories and models. Elementary particles. Quantum numbers for
different orbitals. Electron configuration of atoms. Valence electrons and the octet rule.
4. Atomic/ionic radius. Electron affinity. Electronegativity. Ionization energy.
Polarizability. Isoelectronic configurations.
5. Lewis structures. Covalent, ionic, and metallic bonds.
6. Molecular geometry. The valence shell electron pair repulsion (VSEPR) theory.
7. Intermolecular interactions. Phase changes. Gaseous, liquid, and solid states.

Thermodynamics component
1. Fundamentals of thermodynamics.
2. Work and heat. The zeroth and first laws of thermodynamics.
3. Pure substances.
4. The second law of thermodynamics.
5. An ideal gas.
6. Carnot cycle.
7. Entropy.

Recommended Reading Material
1. Denniston, K. J.; Topping, J. J.; Dorr, D. R. Q.; Caret, R. L., General, Organic, and
Biochemistry, McGraw-Hill, 10th edition, 2020.
2. Smoot, R. C.; Smith, R. G.; Price, J., Chemistry: A Modern Course, Merrill Publishing
Company, 1990.
3. Chang, R.; Overby, J., Chemistry, McGraw-Hill, 13th edition, 2019.
4. Goldberg, D. E., Fundamentals of Chemistry, McGraw-Hill, 5th edition, 2007.
5. Gaffney, J.; Marley, N., General Chemistry for Engineers, Elsevier, 1st edition, 2018.
6. Çengel, Y. A.; Boles, M. A., Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach, McGraw-Hill, 5th
edition, 2006.

Available Courses

Courses Offered from Chemistry

To complete these nine credit hours, students should register for three Chemistry Core Courses among listed below. These Core Courses are designed to provide students with the background needed to establish a solid foundation in the program area. Note, that in the case of failure of the assessment test (subject "Chemistry and Thermodynamics"), students are not allowed to take Core Courses before finishing mandatory 100-level course (PSE 102).

Lab Rotation

All incoming M.Sc. students are required to enroll into a rotation course (Chem 296) during their first semester in the Program. The goal of this course is to introduce students to various Chem research groups to aid them in the selection of an Academic Advisor. Rotation assignments will be made by the mutual approval of designated faculty and students. Students are expected to complete three (3) rotations during the first semester.

The nature of the rotation may vary from one lab to another. Thus, some rotations can be research focused and others can involve more literature and background work.

Students with a pre-identified Academic Advisor may spend their entire rotation period (3 rotations) in a given lab with the approval of this Academic Advisor and the Program Chair.

Other Elective

Elective Courses are all available courses across KAUST programs. Chem Core Courses are a subset of Elective Courses. Elective Courses are not limited to the Chemistry Program and can be selected from any program with the permission of the Academic Advisor. The purpose of the Elective Courses (which exclude research, internship credits, and IED courses) is to allow students to tailor their educational experience to meet individual research and educational objectives. You can find below the list of recommended Elective Courses related to chemistry within and outside the Chemistry Program. This list is merely a recommendation and students are free to choose other courses according to their needs.

Please visit courses.kaust.edu.sa to access the latest updates and information.

M.Sc. Degree Requirements:

It is the responsibility of students to plan their graduate program in consultation with their Academic Advisor. Students are required to meet all deadlines. Students should be aware that most core courses are offered only once per year.

The Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree is awarded upon successful completion of a minimum of 36 credit hours. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 must be achieved to graduate. Individual courses require a minimum of a B- for course credit. Students are expected to complete the M.Sc. degree in three (3) semesters. Satisfactory participation in every KAUST summer session is mandatory.

The M.Sc. degree includes the following steps:

Securing an Academic Advisor
Successful completion of the Program coursework
Successful passing the M.Sc. Thesis Defense

01. M.Sc. Course Requirements

M.Sc. Courses:

Four Chemistry Core Courses (12 credits)
Lab Rotation (3 credits)
Two Elective Courses (6 credits) - Elective Courses are not limited to the Chemistry Program and can be selected from any program with approval of your Academic Advisor
Research/Capstone Experience (15 credits)
Graduate Seminar (Chem 398, non-credit) – students must register for Chem 398 and receive a Satisfactory grade for two Semesters of the program they attend; students must attend a minimum of 8 Graduate Seminars to receive a Satisfactory (S) grade. The seminars can be chosen from any Graduate Seminar series offered by the PSE division
Completion of one Winter Enrichment Program (WEP)

Core and Elective Courses must be technical courses and cannot be substituted with Research, Internship, or Broadening Courses to fulfill degree requirements.

02. M.Sc. Thesis Defense

An oral defense of the M.Sc. Thesis is required, although it may be waived by the Dean's Office under exceptional circumstances. A requirement of a public presentation and all other details are left to the discretion of the Thesis Defense Committee. While writing the Thesis, students are required to comply with Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines provided by KAUST Library.

A M.Sc. student must submit the Petition for M.Sc. Thesis Examination form (form_1) to arrange the M.Sc. Thesis Defense Committee and arrange the Defense date. The form should be submitted to the GPSA for collecting signatures, who will then send it to the Office of the Registrar at least two (2) weeks prior to the Defense. The petition period for graduating in:

Fall 2023 – from August 27 to September 07
Spring 2024 – from January 21 to February 01
Summer 2024 – from May 26 to May 30

Under exceptional circumstances where students are not able to complete a thesis after fulfilling all other M.Sc. requirements, a non-thesis (course only) option could be permitted with approval of the Academic Advisor and the Program Chair. The Chemistry Program looks at this option as a last resort only in the occasions of extreme significance that affect students’ ability to complete their thesis.

1. Submitting the Thesis

The division recommends that the student submit the written Thesis to the Committee no later than two (2) weeks prior to the Defense. However, the Committee Chair sets the final requirement for the submission timeline.

2. Thesis Defense Date

The deadline to defend the Thesis is no later than two (2) weeks before the last day of a semester (Fall or Spring). The student must set the date of the Thesis Defense in line with the Committee Members' schedules. At the time the student submits the Thesis Committee Formation form, the defense has to be scheduled.

3. Booking a Venue of the Thesis Defense

It is the student’s responsibility to book a room and make the necessary IT arrangements for the Thesis Defense. Room booking is done via the student portal under Service Request Management.

4. Thesis Defense Announcement

The student must submit to the GPSA the title and abstract of the Thesis one (1) week before Defense date. The GPSA will announce the Thesis Defense to the Program members. The time and location of the Defense must be included in the email. The student is required to check the Chemistry Program Guide for further instructions related to the Defense format.

An oral Defense is required however the Associate Dean can waive this requirement. The requirement of a public or private Defense is left to the discretion of the Committee. As a general guideline the Defense is expected to be a 45-minute presentation followed by 15 minutes of general Q&A then a closed-door Q&A session with the Committee.

03. M.Sc. Thesis Defense Committee

The Thesis Defense Committee, approved by the Program Chair and Associate Dean, must consist of at least three KAUST members and typically includes no more than four members. At least two of the required members must be KAUST Faculties.

MEMBER	ROLE	PROGRAM STATUS
1 (Chair)	Faculty	Primary or Secondary Chem Affiliation, Inside KAUST
2	Faculty	Primary or Secondary Chem Affiliation, Inside KAUST
3	Faculty/Research Scientist	No Primary or Secondary Chem Affiliation, Inside KAUST
4 (Optional)	Faculty/Research Scientist	Inside or Outside KAUST

Notes:

Members 1-3 are required, Member 4 is optional
Members 2, 3, or 4 may serve as Co-Chairs, only if they are Faculties
Members 2 and 3 must use primary affiliation only
Adjunct Professors and Professors Emeriti may retain their roles on the current Committee, but may not serve as Chairs on any new committees
Professors of Practice and Research Professors may serve as Members 2, 3 or 4 depending upon their affiliation with the Chemistry Program, they may also serve as Co-Chairs
Visiting Professor may serve as Member 4

View a list of Faculty members and their affiliations here.

04. M.Sc. Thesis Defense Evaluation

A pass is achieved when the Committee agrees with no more than one dissenting vote otherwise the student fails. There are two possible outcomes of the Thesis Defense:

Pass

The student will be given one (1) week to apply for any corrections required by the Committee Members. During the following week, the student is required to upload the final draft of Thesis document to Blackboard for format check and to start the submission process.

Fail

The student must notify the GPSA immediately of the Committee decision.

05. Submission of M.Sc. Thesis Defense Results

The Results of M.Sc. Thesis Examination form (form_2) must be submitted to the GPSA for collecting signatureswithin two (2) working days after the Defense regardless of the outcome. The GPSA will then send it to the Office of the Registrar.

06. Final Approval and Thesis Submission

Once the post-Defense corrections are made, the student must follow the KAUST Repository Guide and do the following:

Submit the M.Sc. Thesis/Ph.D. Dissertation Final Approval (form_3)
Create ORCID account, if absent
Submit Thesis and all supplemental files to KAUST Repository to KAUST Repository within two (2) weeks since the Final Approval
Add some details like names of Committee Members, Abstract, Keywords and so on
Confirm the distribution license

Ph.D. Degree Requirements:

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is designed to prepare students for research careers in academia and industry.

There is a minimum residency requirement at KAUST of two and a half (2.5) years. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 must be achieved to graduate. Individual courses require a minimum of a B- for course credit.

The Ph.D. degree includes the following steps:

Securing an Academic Advisor
Successful completion of the Program coursework
Successful passing the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination (milestone_1)
Successful passing the Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal Defense (milestone_2) to obtain candidacy status
Successful passing the Ph.D. Final Defense (milestone_3)

01. Ph.D. Course Requirements

Ph.D. students must complete the requirements below, though additional courses may be required by the Academic Advisor.

Ph.D. Courses:

At Least Two 300-Level Courses – 300-level courses can be Core AND/OR Elective Courses: you can select two Core Courses, two Elective Courses, or combination of one Elective and one Core Courses from the Chemistry Program; only one 300-level “Contemporary Topics in Chemistry” course (Chem 394 or Chem 394A) can be counted towards this requirement
Graduate Seminar (Chem 398, non-credit) – students must register for Chem 398 and receive a Satisfactory grade for five semesters of the program they attend. Students must attend a minimum of 8 Graduate Seminars to receive a Satisfactory (S) grade. The seminars can be chosen from any Graduate Seminar series offered by the PSE division; third year Ph.D. students will be asked to present (~20 min) their research as a necessary preparation for the Dissertation Proposal Defense, no publications are required to be eligible to present
Winter Enrichment Program (WEP) – students who completed WEP while earning the M.Sc. are not required to enroll in a full WEP for a second time during the Ph.D. degree

02. Ph.D. Candidacy

In addition to the coursework requirements, students must successfully complete the required Ph.D. Candidacy milestones to progress towards Ph.D. Candidate status. These milestones consist of the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam (milestone_1) and the Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal Defense (milestone_2). Once students have advanced to Candidacy, students are designated as Ph.D. or Doctoral Candidates.

03. Ph.D. Qualifying Exam (QE)

The purpose of the Qualifying Exam (QE) is to test the student's creativity, independence, and knowledge of the subject matter within the field of study. All Ph.D. (Type I) students entering the Ph.D. program with a Bachelor degree must take this examination within two (2) years of their entry date. Ph.D. (Type II) students admitted to the program with a Master degree must take this exam within one (1) year. Entry date is considered as an arrival date to KAUST. Students may take the exam earlier with Academic Advisor approval. Every student needs to fill out the required QE form (form_4, part_1) and submit the QE proposal (written document, see description below) to the GPSA at least two (2) weeks prior to the QE date. The GPSA will get the signature of the Chemistry Program Chair to proceed.

The QE consists of an oral presentation of an original idea, which is related to the area of research, but not the exact work done in the lab (same approach as a grant application). The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session regarding both the presented project and general chemistry knowledge.

QE Written Proposal

Students should prepare a written document that explains their oral presentation. This is a brief document, modeled after a standard funding agency (example: National Science Foundation, NSF) proposal. It should be no more than 15 pages in length including figures and references. This document should be ready to submit to the QE Committee at least two (2) weeks prior to the QE date. It might be organized as suggested below.

*These are the general guidelines. Longer documents can be permissible with the Academic Advisor approval.

A. Summary

A brief overview of the proposed work with emphasis on the intellectual merit and the broader impacts (1 page).

B. Background and Significance

This section should answer the question: Why is the proposed work important?

Briefly sketch the background to the present proposal, critically evaluate existing knowledge, and identify gaps in our present understanding. This section may need to occupy as many as 3-4 pages.

C. Specific Aims

This section is intended to answer, in very specific terms, the question: What do you propose to do?

No background or other narrative material belongs in this section; it is not meant to stand alone, nor to provide details about the experimental system, but rather to provide a succinct and specific summary of the planned research. It is probably most helpful to write this section after writing the rest of the proposal. It should occupy no more than one page.

D. Experimental Design and Feasibility

This section should parallel the Specific Aims section and should answer the question: How will you do the proposed work?

Describe each experiment you propose to conduct and how you will analyze the data and interpret the results. Provide appropriate calculations or cite literature data to support the feasibility of the experiments you propose. Supporting evidence that comes from unpublished work must be clearly identified as such and specifically attributed. Discuss potential drawbacks of any proposed experiments that lack clear precedent, and propose alternative approaches to achieve the aims. This section may need to occupy as many as 3-4 pages.

E. References

The list of references must include complete citations, including all authors and the titles of research articles or book chapters.

04. Ph.D. QE Committee

The QE Committee, which must be approved by the Program Chair, should consist of three KAUST Faculty members.

Member	Role	Program Status
1	Faculty (Academic Advisor)	Primary or Secondary Chem Affiliation, Inside KAUST
2	Faculty	Primary or Secondary Chem Affiliation, Inside KAUST
3	Faculty	Primary or Secondary Chem Affiliation, Inside KAUST

The Committee Members are expected to carry forward to serve on the Dissertation Proposal Committee. Once constituted, the composition of the Committee can be changed with the approval of the Academic Advisor and the Program Chair.

View a full list of the Chemistry Program Faculty here.

05. Ph.D. QE Evaluation

Scheduling the QE

Students must schedule the QE at a time acceptable to the Committee members, who are expected to make every reasonable effort to be available for the QE.

QE Evaluation

Up to 1.5 hours will be allotted for the QE (30 min presentation, 60 min questions). There are four possible outcomes of the QE:

Pass

A pass is achieved when the Committee agrees with no more than one dissenting vote, otherwise the student fails.

Pass with Conditions

In the instance of a Pass with Conditions, the entire Committee must agree on the required conditions and if they cannot, the Associate Dean decides. The deadline to complete the conditions is one (1) month after the QE date, unless the Committee unanimously agrees to change it.

Fail with Retake

In the instance of a Fail with Retake, the decision of the Committee must be unanimous. The deadline to complete the retake is six (6) months after the QE date, unless the Committee unanimously agrees to reduce it.

Fail without Retake

Students who fail the QE, or who Fail without Retake will be dismissed from the University.

06. Submission of Ph.D. QE Results

After the evaluation by the Committee Members, the final QE proposal document and QE form (form_4, part_2) must be submitted to the GPSA within two (2) working days after the QE, regardless of the exam outcome. The GPSA will collect all required signatures.

For those students with retake of QE, the final QE proposal document and QE form (form_4, part_3) must be submitted to the GPSA within two (2) working days after the retake, regardless of the exam outcome. The GPSA will collect all required signatures.

07. Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal (DP)

The Dissertation Proposal (DP) Defense is the second part of the qualification milestones that must be completed to become a Ph.D. Candidate. The purpose of the DP Defense is to demonstrate that students have the ability and are adequately prepared to undertake Ph.D. level research in the proposed area. This preparation includes necessary knowledge of the chosen subject, a review of the literature and preparatory theory or experiment as applicable (data presentation).

Every Ph.D. student is required to complete the DP within one (1) year after passing the QE. The DP date will be determined by the student, Academic Advisor, and DP Committee. A Ph.D. student must submit the request (form_5) to form the DP Committee to the GPSA at least two (2) weeks prior to the DP date. The GPSA will collect all required signatures. Ph.D. student must share the oral presentation with the DP Committee at least one (1) week prior to the DP defense.

*A student with two or more first-author (or first co-author) publications (status: published) in highly ranked journals, related to the Ph.D. work, can apply to waive the oral DP presentation. For the application, the student is requested to prepare a single page summary to describe the results of all the published work and submit it together with the request (form_6) and copies of the publications to the GPSA at least two (2) weeks prior to the DP date. The application will be further evaluated by the Program Chair in consultation with the DP Committee. The GPSA will collect all required signatures.

DP format

There are only few guidelines on the DP so make it more flexible for the student:

Prepare ONLY an oral presentation (e.g., MS PowerPoint slides)
Use the same style as for presenting research results during group meetings
Proposal should cover classical sequence describing existing problem, current solutions and their drawbacks, your proposal, obtained experimental results with their discussion, and further plan

08. Ph.D. DP Committee

The Dissertation Proposal (DP) Committee, which must be approved by the Program Chair and the Associate Dean, must consist of at least three KAUST Faculty members and typically includes no more than four KAUST members.

Member	Role	Program Status
1 (Chair)	Faculty	Primary or Secondary Chem Affiliation, Inside KAUST
2	Faculty	Primary or Secondary Chem Affiliation, Inside KAUST
3	Faculty	No Primary or Secondary Chem Affiliation, Inside KAUST
4 (Optional)	Faculty/Research Scientist	Inside KAUST

Notes:

Members 1-3 are required, Member 4 is optional
Co-Chairs may serve as Member 2 or 3
Adjunct Professors and Professors Emeriti may retain their roles on current Committees, but may not serve as Chairs on any new committees
Professors of Practice and Research Professors may serve as Member 2 or 3 depending upon their affiliation with the Chemistry Program, they may also serve as Co-Chairs

Once constituted, the composition of the DP Committee can only be changed with the approval of the Academic Advisor, the Program Chair, and the Associate Dean.

View a list of Faculty members and their affiliations here.

09. Ph.D. DP Evaluation

Scheduling the DP Defense

Students must schedule the DP Defense at a time acceptable to the Committee members, who are expected to make every reasonable effort to be available for the DP Defense.

DP Evaluation

There are four possible outcomes from the DP Defense:

Pass

A pass is achieved when the Committee agrees with no more than one dissenting vote, otherwise the student fails.

Pass with Conditions

In the instance of a Pass with Conditions, the entire Committee must agree on the required conditions and if they cannot, the Associate Dean decides. The deadline to complete the conditions is one (1) month after the Defense date, unless the Committee unanimously agrees to change it.

Fail with Retake

The deadline to complete the retake is six (6) months after the Defense date, unless the Committee unanimously agrees to reduce it.

Fail without Retake

In the instance of a Fail without Retake, the decision of the Committee must be unanimous. Students who fail the DP Defense will be dismissed from the University.

10. Submission of Ph.D. DP Results

After the evaluation, the Committee Members will receive automatically the online DP Evaluation form to submit within two (2) working days after the DP Defense, regardless of the DP outcome.

11. Ph.D. Final Defense (FD)

The Ph.D. Candidate requires the passing of the Final Defense (FD) and acceptance of the dissertation. The FD is a public presentation that consists of an oral defense followed by questions and may last a maximum of three (3) hours.

Students must determine the Defense date with the agreement of all the members of the Dissertation Committee, meet deadlines for submitting graduation forms, and inform the Committee of their progress. It is the student’s responsibility to submit the required documents through the online petition form (form_7) at the beginning of the semester they intend to defend. Your petition must be submitted at least two (2) months prior to your planned Defense. Once the final draft and petition date are approved by the GPSA and Associate Dean, your dissertation will be automatically sent to the FD Committee in order to receive feedback. The petition period for graduating in:

Fall 2023 – from August 27 to September 07
Spring 2024 – from January 21 to February 01
Summer 2024 – from May 26 to May 30

The required documents include:

List of proposed FD Committee Members, including the External Committee Member (and CV of the External Committee Member)
Current CV of the Ph.D. Candidate
Current transcript of the Ph.D. Candidate
List of publications of the Ph.D. Candidate
Final draft of the Ph.D. Dissertation

FD Procedure

Step 1. Presentation – up to 45 minutes.

Step 2. Questions from the general audience – up to 15 minutes.

Step 3. Break – 5 minutes.

Step 4. Questions from the Committee Members – up to 2 hours.

12. Ph.D. FD Committee

The FD Committee, which must be approved by the Associate Dean, must consist of at least four members and typically includes no more than six members. At least three of the required members must be KAUST Faculty members and one must be an External Committee Member who is external to KAUST. The Committee Chair, plus one Faculty Member must be affiliated to the Chemistry Program. The External Committee Member should attend the Dissertation Defense in person; if this is not possible, a remote participation via video-conference is acceptable. The External Committee Member must submit the assessment report to the GPSA two (2) weeks prior to the Defense date.

Member	Role	Program Status
1 (Chair)	Faculty	Primary or Secondary Chem Affiliation, Inside KAUST
2	Faculty	Primary or Secondary Chem Affiliation, Inside KAUST
3	Faculty	No Primary or Secondary Chem Affiliation, Inside KAUST
4 (External Committee Member)	Faculty	Outside KAUST
5 (Optional)	Research Scientist	Inside KAUST
6 (Optional)	Faculty	Inside or Outside KAUST

Notes:

The Chair cannot be the Academic Advisor
Members 1-4 are required, Members 5 and 6 are optional
Co-Chairs may serve as either Member 2, 3 or 6
Adjunct Professors and Professors Emeriti may retain their roles on current Committees, but may not serve as Chairs on any new committees
Professors of Practice and Research Professors may serve as Member 2, 3 or 6 depending upon their affiliation with the Chemistry Program, they may also serve as Co-Chairs
Visiting Professor may serve as Member 6, but not as the External Committee Member

The only requirement with commonality with the DP Committee is the Academic Advisor, although it is expected that other members will carry forward to this Committee.

Co-Advisors can be considered one of the above four members required, provided they come under the categories listed (i.e., meets the requirements of the position).

View a list of Faculty members and their affiliations here.

For more information, please check the Ph.D. Dissertation Procedure.

13. Ph.D. FD Evaluation

There are four possible outcomes from the FD:

Pass

A pass is achieved when the Committee agrees with no more than one dissenting vote.

Pass with Conditions

In the instance of a Pass with Conditions, the entire Committee must agree on the required conditions and if they cannot, the Associate Dean decides. The deadline to complete the conditions is three (3) months after the Defense date, unless the Committee unanimously agrees to reduce it.

Fail with Retake

If the conditions will take three months or more, or more than one member casts a negative vote, one retake of the Defense is permitted. The deadline to complete the retake is as decided by the FD Committee with a maximum of six (6) months after the Defense date, unless the Committee unanimously agrees to change it.

Fail without Retake

Students who Fail without Retake will be dismissed from the University.

14. Submission of Ph.D. FD Results

Evaluation of the Ph.D. Final Defense is recorded by Committee Chair submitting the report and signed form “Results of Ph.D. Dissertation Defense” within three working (3) days after the oral defense to the Office of the Registrar.

For more information, please check the Ph.D. Dissertation Procedure.

15. Final Approval and Dissertation Submission

Once the post-Defense corrections are made, the student must follow the KAUST Repository Guide and do the following:

Submit the M.Sc. Thesis/Ph.D. Dissertation Final Approval (form_3)
Create ORCID account, if absent
Submit Dissertation and all supplemental files to KAUST Repository
Add some details like names of Committee Members, Abstract, Keywords and so on
Confirm the distribution license

Program Related Forms and Other Documents

PSE Forms

Program forms:

Form_1 Petition for M.Sc. Thesis Examination

Form_2 Results of M.Sc. Thesis Examination

Form_3 M.Sc. Thesis/Ph.D. Dissertation Final Approval

Form_4 Ph.D. Qualifying Exam

Form_5 Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal

Form_6 Skipping Dissertation Proposal

Form_7 Ph.D. Final Defense Petition Form

Form_8 Application for Master with Thesis

Form_9 Request for Time Extension to Complete Degree

Related documents:

Ph.D. Dissertation Procedure

Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines

KAUST Repository Guide

Registration

Credits Add-Drop Form

Transfer Credit

Completing In Absentia

Enrollment

Change of Program - Academic Advisor

Application for Travelling Scholar Status

Withdrawal from KAUST

General Information

Academic Calendar 2023-2024

Chem Program Guide 2023-2024

Graduate Student Handbook 2023-2024

1. ASK US QUESTIONS

2. APPLY NOW

3. ASSESSMENT TEST

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What should I know about Graduate Seminar (X 398) as a Ph.D. student?

X = {Chem, CE, AP, MSE, ErSE, ERPE, ME}

Students must register for X 398 and receive a Satisfactory grade for five semesters of the program they attend; students must attend a minimum of 8 Graduate Seminars to receive a Satisfactory (S) grade. The seminars can be chosen from any Graduate Seminar series offered by the PSE division

Third year Ph.D. students will be asked to present (~20 min) their research as a necessary preparation for the Dissertation Proposal Defense, no publications are required to be eligible to present.

What should I know about Graduate Seminar (X 398) as a M.Sc. student?

X = {Chem, CE, AP, MSE, ErSE, ERPE, ME}

Students must register for X 398 and receive a Satisfactory grade for two semesters of the program they attend; students must attend a minimum of 8 Graduate Seminars to receive a Satisfactory (S) grade. The seminars can be chosen from any Graduate Seminar series offered by the PSE division

How can I know the type of program affiliation for a faculty?

Step 1. View a list of Faculty members and their affiliations here.

Step 2. Open the profile of selected Faculty.

Step 3. Check the "Affiliations" section:

On the top you will see primary affiliation, the following affiliations are secondary.

How can I audit a course?

A step-by-step guide is available in this User Guide for Registration.

Please be reminded of the following points about formally auditing courses:

Audit courses will be reflected on your transcript.
Credits earned will be listed as 0 (zero).
You will receive a Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U) grade for audit courses, based on the grading criteria set for individual courses.
Given that audit courses are not credit-bearing, they will not directly count towards your degree requirements, nor impact your Cumulative Grade Point Average.
Course registration rules remain the same for audit courses. Students are responsible for ensuring their registration is accurate for each semester/session of registration.
As with regular courses, class participation will be required as they are with your regular credit-bearing courses.
Similar to regular courses, prerequisites for audit courses will have to be met in advance of registration.
Audit courses may be a prerequisite for a credit-bearing course only if an S (satisfactory grade) is achieved.
Audit courses must be approved by your Academic Advisor before registration.
The add/drop deadline remains the same for audit courses, including changing the course's status to or from audit.

If you would like to audit courses unofficially and not have audit courses listed on your transcript, then please email the course instructor directly to obtain his/her approval, copying blackboard@kaust.edu.sa, so you can gain access to course material, once approved. Please do not register to unofficially audit courses via the course registration page. Any registration for audit courses via the registration page will be treated as an official audit.

If you have questions about auditing courses, please speak with your Academic Advisor and/or GPSA.

Should you face any difficulties registering for formal audit courses, please email registrarhelpdesk@kaust.edu.sa.

What is the deadline to defend my M.Sc. Thesis?

The deadline to defend the Thesis is no later than two (2) weeks before the last day of a semester (Fall, Spring, or Summer).

Is there minimum number of credits I have to receive for Doctoral Dissertation Research (X 397) to complete the Ph.D. degree?

X = {Chem, CE, AP, MSE, ErSE, ERPE, ME}

66 credits for X 397.

How my stipend will change along the pursuing degree?

1. Masters only students will receive stipends as per the offer of admission for the tenure of their program.

2. Students admitted to the M.Sc./Ph.D. program will receive a master’s stipend at the onset of their program. At the recommendation of the program, once students complete 36 credits of the program requirements, they will receive a stipend increase. The second stipend increase will be applied after total 66 credits are completed. The stipend will additionally rise with successful passing Dissertation Proposal.

3. Students admitted to the Ph.D. program will receive stipends as per the offer of admission. Upon completion of 30 credits, students will receive a stipend increase. The stipend will additionally rise with successful passing Dissertation Proposal.

Can I start courses in the Academic Year 2023-2024 distantly without entering KAUST?

No.

Can I register for courses before arriving to KAUST?

Yes, you can. However, make sure to meet the requirements of course in terms of attendance, homework, etc.

What are the exact values to get Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U) grades?

KAUST does not have a mandatory grading rubric. The determination of a Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U) grade is at the discretion of the instructor.

Who can be eligible for External Committee Member?

1. Be affiliated with another university/institute than KAUST.

2. If a professor is retired, he/she should have Emeritus title.

3. If a professor moved to other university/institute during the procedure, he/she should have Adjunct title.

4. KAUST visiting professor can't be External Committee Member.

What is the length of my vacation?

Graduate students may take vacation days during each academic year, defined by the published Academic Calendar. Unused vacation days do not carry over to the following year. All M.Sc. with Thesis and Ph.D. students must discuss their vacation plans with their Academic Advisors at least four (4) weeks prior to the proposed vacation.

• M.Sc. Degree, Non-Thesis: M.Sc. graduate students (Non-Thesis) are entitled to an annual vacation that is defined as the official University holidays and intersession days.

• M.Sc. Degree with Thesis: Upon transitioning into the M.Sc. with Thesis program, students are entitled to two weeks’ vacation (inclusive of any Eid holidays) for the duration of the degree program. Students receive Saudi National Day, Founding Day, and any other national holidays in addition.

• Ph.D. Degree: Ph.D. students are entitled to annual vacation, limited to three (3) weeks. In addition, they receive Eid holidays and any other national holidays.

M.Sc. with Thesis and Ph.D. students, with authorization from the student’s Academic Advisor, can work through the Eid periods taking the corresponding number of days at a later/prior time during the same year.

Extra vacation time requires approval by the Division and the Dean of Graduate Affairs.

For the reference, see Graduate Student handbook.

Can I register for courses before passing assessment test?

No.

What is maximum length of Ph.D. program?

4 years is maximum period to get Ph.D. degree.

Can I apply for skipping oral presentation of Dissertation Proposal (DP) prior to getting my DP Committee being approved?

No. The skipping request can be submitted ONLY after prior approval of DP Committee request.