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ABOUT
ACADEMICS INFORMATION
RESEARCH OVERVIEW
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1. ASK US QUESTIONS
2. APPLY NOW
3. ASSESSMENT TEST

 

Earth Science & Engineering Program

In the Earth Science and Engineering (ErSE) program at KAUST, faculty and their students engage in interdisciplinary research to understand and model geophysical and geological processes in the complex and changing nature of our planet. The ErSE curriculum provides graduate-level education in earth sciences and their applications in four distinct specializations represented by four tracks:

 

  • Geophysical Fluids and Climate System Science
  • Geophysics
  • Geology
  • Machine Learning in Geosciences

 

The program is rich with opportunities, for both M.Sc. and Ph.D. students, with a focus on modern computational and advanced data-analysis as well as laboratory and field methods to study geoscience problems. Depending on the chosen track, students in this program receive broad training in numerical methods, mathematical modelling, geophysics and/or geology. M.Sc. students have an option to participate in scientific research activities that include computational and mathematical modelling or field- and/or lab study projects (M.Sc. with thesis). Ph.D. candidates in the program conduct original research publishable in international high-ranking peer-reviewed journals.

 

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

ErSE_requirements_2023_2024

 

Summary of Program Timelines:

ErSE_timeline_2023_2024

 

View Online ErSE Program Guide

University Course List & Syllabi

 

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:

1. Engineering Mathematics

2. Physics and Mechanics

3. 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 what follows, an outline of the material covered in each of these examinations is given in the document and below.

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.

 

Courses

Elective Courses

Geophysics Track

Elective Courses (12 credits)

Students must choose at least four courses from the following:

AMCS 312High Performance Computing

3

AMCS 350Spectral Methods for Uncertainty Quantification

3

CE 202Advanced Transport Phenomena

3

CS 207Programming Methodology and Abstractions

3

CS 229Machine Learning

3

ErSE 201Geophysical Fluid Dynamics I

3

ErSE 212Geophysical Geodesy and Geodynamics

3

ErSE 214Seismic Exploration

3

ErSE 217Structural Geology

3

ErSE 218Geophysical Field Methods

3

ErSE 221Magmatic Systems

3

ErSE 222Machine Learning in Geoscience

3

ErSE 260Seismic Imaging

3

ErSE 294Contemporary Topics in Earth Science

3

ErSE 323Igneous Geochemistry

3

ERSE 326Computational Geophysics

3

ErSE 327Multiscale Modeling of Geological Reservoirs

3

ErSE 328Advanced Seismic Inversion

3

ErSE 331Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) in Earth Sciences

3

ErSE 360Mathematical Methods for Seismic Imaging

3

ErSE 394Contemporary Topics in Earth Science

3

ERPE 270/ME 214Experimental Methods in Research

3

ERPE 310Sequence Stratigraphy

3

ERPE 311Carbonate Diagenesis

3

ERPE 315Energy Geoscience

3

ME 305AComputational Fluid Dynamics

3

MSE 200Mathematics for Material Science and Engineering

3

Geology Track

Elective Courses (12 credits)

Students must choose at least four courses from the following:

ErSE 210Seismology

3

ErSE 212Geophysical Geodesy and Geodynamics

3

ErSE 214Seismic Exploration

3

ErSE 218Geophysical Field Methods

3

ErSE 219Field Geology

3

ErSE 226Marine Geology – The Oceanic Crust

3

ErSE 294Contemporary Topics in Earth Science

3

ErSE 323Igneous Geochemistry

3

ErSE 331Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) in Earth Sciences

3

ErSE 394Contemporary Topics in Earth Science

3

ERPE 200Energy and the Environment

3

ERPE 220Sediments: Properties and Processes

3

ERPE 230Rock Mechanics for Energy Geo-Engineering

3

ERPE 270/ME 214Experimental Methods in Research

3

ERPE 310Sequence Stratigraphy

3

ERPE 311Carbonate Diagenesis

3

ERPE 315Energy Geoscience

3

MarS 326Coral Reef Ecology

3

MarS 335Oceanography

3

 

Machine Learning in Geosciences Track

Elective Courses (12 credits)

Students must choose at least four courses from the following:

ErSE 201Geophysical Fluid Dynamics I

3

ErSE 210Seismology

3

ErSE 211Global Geophysics

3

ErSE 214Seismic Exploration

3

ErSE 260Seismic Imaging

3

ErSE 294Contemporary Topics in Earth Science

3

ErSE 301Geophysical Fluid Dynamics II

3

ErSE 303Numerical Methods of Geophysics

3

ErSE 305Multiphase Flows in Porous Media

3

ErSE 328Advanced Seismic Inversion

3

ErSE 331Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) in Earth Sciences

3

ErSE 353Data Assimilation

3

ErSE 360Mathematical Methods for Seismic Imaging

3

ErSE 394Contemporary Topics in Earth Science

3

AMCS 211Numerical Optimization

3

AMCS 241/STAT 250Stochastic Processes

3

AMCS 308Stochastic Numerics with Application in Simulation and Data Science

3

AMCS 312High Performance Computing

3

AMCS 350Spectral Methods for Uncertainty Quantification

3

CS 201Introduction to Programming with Python

3

CS 204Data Structures and Algorithms

3

CS 207Programming Methodology and Abstractions

3

CS 220Data Analytics

3

CS 323Deep Learning for Visual Computing

3

CS 331Stochastic Gradient Descent Methods

3

CS 340Computational Methods in Data Mining

3

CS 341Advanced Topics in Data Management

3

ERPE 221Geoscience Fundamentals

3

ME 200AIncompressible Flows

3

MSE 200Mathematics for Material Science and Engineering

3

 

ErSE Core Courses

Geophysical Fluids and Climate System Science Track

Core Courses (12 credits)

Students must choose at least four courses. At least two courses must be from the ErSE program and at least one course must be from the AMCS program.

ErSE 201Geophysical Fluid Dynamics I

3

ErSE 211Global Geophysics

3

ErSE 213Inverse Problems

3

ErSE 253Data Analysis in Geosciences

3

AMCS 206Applied Numerical Methods

3

AMCS 231Applied Partial Differential Equations I

3

AMCS 251Numerical Linear Algebra

3

AMCS 252Numerical Analysis of Differential Equations

3

Geophysics Track

Core Courses (12 credits)

Students must choose at least four courses. At least two courses must be from the ErSE program and at least one course must be from the AMCS program.

AMCS 206Applied Numerical Methods

3

AMCS 231Applied Partial Differential Equations I

3

AMCS 251Numerical Linear Algebra

3

AMCS 252Numerical Analysis of Differential Equations

3

ErSE 210Seismology

3

ErSE 213Inverse Problems

3

ErSE 253Data Analysis in Geosciences

3

Geology Track

Core Courses (12 credits)

Students must choose at least four courses from the following:

ErSE 211Global Geophysics

3

ErSE 217Structural Geology

3

ErSE 221Magmatic Systems

3

ErSE 223Geological Systems of Arabia

3

ErSE 253Data Analysis in Geosciences

3

ERPE 210Fundamentals of Carbonate Geology

3

ERPE 211Data Integration for Geomodelling

3

ERPE 221Geoscience Fundamentals

3

Machine Learning in Geosciences Track

Core Courses (12 credits)

Students must choose at least four courses from the following:

AMCS 251Numerical Linear Algebra

3

CS 229Machine Learning

3

ErSE 213Inverse Problems

3

ErSE 222Machine Learning in Geoscience

3

ErSE 253Data Analysis in Geosciences

3

STAT 220Probability and Statistics

3

 

M.Sc. Degree Requirements:

ErSE master’s students must choose one of the available tracks. Students in the Geophysical Fluids and Climate System Science track study flow and transport processes both beneath and above the Earth’s surface, including ocean and atmospheric circulation, flows in subsurface porous media, transport of dust and anthropogenic pollutants in atmosphere and ocean, and their effect on climate. Students in the Geophysics track focus on seismology, geophysics, geodynamics and geomechanics. The Geology track focuses on (carbonate) sedimentology and stratigraphy, petrology/geochemistry and structural geology. The Machine Learning in Geosciences track equips graduate students with the fundamentals of machine learning (ML) methods and their applications to geoscience problems.

 

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 comprises thesis and non-thesis options. It is awarded upon successful completion of a minimum of 36 credit hours. A minimum 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 semesters. Satisfactory participation in every KAUST summer session is mandatory

 

The non-thesis option is available in the ErSE Program.

01. M.Sc. Course Requirements
  • Core Courses (12 credits)
  • Elective Courses (12 credits)
  • M.Sc. Thesis Research or Research/Capstone Experience (12 credits) designed to provide students with the research experience
  • Graduate Seminar (ErSE 398, non-credit) – students must register for ErSE 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.
  • Successful 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. Non-Thesis

Students wishing to pursue the non-thesis option must complete a total of 12 capstone credits, with a minimum of 6 credits of the Master’s Directed Research (ErSE 299). Students must complete the remaining credits through one or a combination of the options listed below:

  • Master’s Internship (ErSE 295): research-based summer internship; students are only allowed to take one internship. Summer internships are subject to approval by the student’s Academic Advisor and the Division.
  • 200 or 300-level courses

Also, all students are required to register and receive a satisfactory grade for every semester of the Graduate Seminar (ErSE 398, non-credit) they attend and complete one Winter Enrichment Program (WEP).

    03. M.Sc. Thesis Defense

    Students wishing to pursue the thesis otion must have at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA. A minimum of 12 credits of Master's Thesis Research (ErSE 297) is required. Students are permitted to register for more than 12 credits of ErSE 297h with the permission of the academic advisor. The selected academic advisor must be a fulltime program-affiliated assistant, associate or full professor at KAUST. The faculty not affiliated with the ErSE Program can become project-affiliated for the only specific thesis project upon program-level approval. Project-affiliation approval must be completed prior to commencing research.

    A written thesis and an oral defense of the M.Sc. thesis are required. The students have to submit a final copy of the thesis to the thesis committee members at least two weeks prior to the defense date.

    04. M.Sc. Thesis Defense Committee
    The thesis defense committee, which must be approved by the dean, consists of three KAUST faculty. If additional expertise is needed the committee could be extended, subject to dean’s approval. At least two committee members must be affiliated with the program. The chair may be any KAUST faculty familiar with the program rules. This membership can be summarized as:

     

    MemberRoleProgram Status
    1ChairWithin or outside program
    2FacultyWithin program
    3FacultyWithin or outside program
    4Additional faculty or research scientistWithin or outside program

    Notes:

    • Members 1, 2, and one of 3 or 4 are required
    • 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 chair on any new committees
    • Professors of practice and research professors may serve as members 2 or 3 depending upon their affiliation with the student’s program, they may also serve as co-chairs
    • Visiting professors may serve as member 3

       

      View a list of faculty and their affiliations here.

    05. M.Sc. Thesis Defense Evaluation
    06. Submission of M.Sc. Thesis Defense Results
    07. Final Approval and Thesis Submission

    ​​

    Ph.D. Degree Requirements:

    The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree is designed to prepare students for research careers in academia and industry. The PhD degree is awarded upon successful completion of a minimum of 72 credits. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 must be achieved to graduate. Individual courses require a minimum of a B- for course credit.

    Duration of Study

    Students are expected to complete the PhD program in 8 semesters and 4 summer sessions. The PhD program includes the following steps: 

    • Securing a Dissertation Advisor
    • Successfully completing the program coursework 
    • Passing the Qualifying Exam
    • Passing the Dissertation Proposal Defense to obtain PhD candidacy status 
    • Preparing, submitting, and Defending the Dissertation
    Ph.D. Course Requirements

    Students must complete the following requirements:

    • 200- or 300-Level Courses* (12 credits)
    • Graduate Seminar (non-credit)
    • 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 Broadening Courses to fulfill degree requirements. 

    *At least three courses that comprise at least two 300-level courses. At least two courses should be from the ErSE curriculum (including at least one 300-level course) for students coming with a master's from another university or a different KAUST program, and at least one 300-level course from ErSE curriculum for students with MS from KAUST-ErSE. 

    Graduate Seminars (non-credit)

    Students must register for ErSE 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.

    Winter Enrichment Program (non-credit)

    All students must register for WE 100 and successfully complete one Winter Enrichment Program (WEP), usually taken in the first year of study. Students who completed WEP as part of their KAUST MS must take the program again.

    Ph.D. Qualifying Exam
    UNDER MAINTENANCE
    Designation of Dissertation Advisor

    ​The selected academic advisor must be a full-time program-affiliated professor at KAUST. Students may also select an academic advisor from another program at KAUST. The academic advisor can only become project affiliated for the specific dissertation project with program level approval. Project affiliation approval must be completed prior to commencing research.

    View a list of faculty and their affiliations here.

    Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal Defense

    The dissertation proposal defense is the second part of the qualification milestones that must be completed within one year after passing the qualifying exam to become a Ph.D. candidate. Students have to submit to the Ph.D. dissertation proposal committee a written research proposal and pass an oral research proposal defense.

    The Ph.D. dissertation proposal defense committee, which must be approved by the dean, consists of three members. If additional expertise is required the committee could be extended, subject to dean’s approval. The chair can be any KAUST faculty member familiar with the program rules. Two committee members must be KAUST faculty affiliated with the program and one must be a KAUST faculty outside the program.

     

    MemberRoleProgram Status
    1ChairWithin or outside program
    2FacultyWithin or outside program
    3FacultyOutside program

     

    Notes:

    • Co-chairs may serve as members 2 or 3 
    • Adjunct professors and professors emeriti may retain their roles on current committees, but may not serve as chair on any new committees 
    • Professors of practice and research professors may serve as members 2 or 3 depending upon their affiliation with the student’s program, they may also serve as co-chairs 

      Once constituted, the composition of the proposal committee can only be changed with the approval of both the academic advisor and the dean.

      This committee should also make itself available for subsequent periodic review meetings with students. The composition of the committee could change over time.

      View a list of faculty and their affiliations here.

    Dissertation Committee Formation

    To graduate, Ph.D. candidates have to finalize the Ph.D. dissertation, form a Ph.D. dissertation defense committee, and successfully defend a Ph.D. dissertation.

    The Ph.D. dissertation defense committee, which must be approved by the dean, consists of four mandatory members. If additional expertise is required the committee could be extended, subject to the dean’s approval. Three of the mandatory members must be KAUST faculty and one must be an external examiner who is external to KAUST. The chair can be any KAUST faculty familiar with the program rules. At least two committee members must be KAUST faculty affiliated with the program, and one must be a KAUST faculty outside the program. The external examiner must write a report on the dissertation and attend the dissertation defense either in person or remotely.

     

    MemberRoleProgram Status
    1ChairWithin or outside program
    2FacultyWithin program
    3FacultyWithin or outside program
    4External ExaminerOutside KAUST

     

    Notes:

    • The chair cannot be the academic advisor
    • Co-chairs may serve as either members 2 or 3 
    • Adjunct professors and professors emeriti may retain their roles on current committees, but may not serve as chair on any new committees 
    • Professors of practice and research professors may serve as members 2 or 3 upon their affiliation with the student’s program, they may also serve as cochairs 

    Visiting professors may serve as member 2 or 3 depending upon their affiliation 

    The only requirement with commonality with the proposal committee is the academic advisor, although it is expected that other members will carry forward to this committee.

    If students have a co-supervisor, this person can be considered one of the four mandatory members required, provided they come under the categories listed (i.e. meets the requirements of the position).

    View a list of faculty and their affiliations here

    https://www.kaust.edu.sa/en/study/faculty

     

    Oral Defense and Result Submission

    The Ph.D. requires the passing of the defense and acceptance of the dissertation. The final defense is a public presentation that consists of an oral defense followed by questions and may last a maximum of three hours.

     

    Students must determine the defense date with 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 students’ responsibility to submit the required documents to the graduate program coordinator (GPC) at the beginning of the semester they intend to defend. The required documents include (i) the list of proposed committee members, including the external examiner (and a CV of the external examiner, (ii) a current CV of the student, (iii) a current transcript, (iv) a list of publications, and (v) a final draft of the Ph.D. dissertation.

    Students must submit the written dissertation to the committee one month prior to the defense date in order to receive feedback.

     

    There are four possible outcomes from the dissertation final defense:

     

    • Pass
    • Pass with conditions
    • Retake
    • Fail without retake

      A pass is achieved when the committee agrees with no more than one dissenting vote. In the instance of a pass with conditions, the entire committee must agree on the required conditions, and if they cannot, the dean decides. The deadline to meet conditions is three months after the defense date, unless the committee unanimously agrees to reduce it. 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 defense committee with a maximum of six months after the defense date, unless the committee unanimously agrees to change it. Students who fail without retake or who fail the retake will be dismissed from the University.

       

      Evaluation of the Ph.D. dissertation defense is recorded by submitting the result of the Ph.D. dissertation defense examination form within three days after the defense to the Office of the Registrar. 

       

    Submission of Dissertation and final approval form

    All graduation candidates will submit the final thesis/dissertation directly to the KAUST Repository .Formatting review will be done in the repository workflow. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Registrar HelpDesk registrarhelpdesk@kaust.edu.sa and your GPC.  Please use the step-by-step user guide HERE.

     Q&A

    Q: How do I know if I am ready to archive?

    A: You will have the final PDF file of your thesis complete (along with all supplementary files)

     

    Q: How do I get my advisor’s final approval for archiving?

    A: After you send the Turnitin report to your advisor, you can initiate their final approval for you to archive HERE.

     

    Q: What’s the first thing I do to start the archiving process?

    A: go to the KAUST Repository and “submit an item”: https://repository.kaust.edu.sa/

     

    Q: Do I have to have an ORCID before archiving? 

    A: Yes, you do.   http://orcid.kaust.edu.sa

                 

    Q: I want to hold making my thesis public for up to a year (embargo).  How do I do this?

    A: This is part of the repository submission process (see user guide for screenshots).

     

    Program Related Forms and Other Documents

    Registration

    Credits Add-Drop Form

    Transfer Credit

    Completing In Absentia
    Enrollment

    Change of Program - Academic Advisor

    Application for Travelling Scholar Status

    Withdrawal from KAUST

    PSE Forms

    Program forms:

    Petition for M.Sc. Thesis Examination

    Results of M.Sc. Thesis Examination

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

    Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal

    Final Defense Petition Form

    Application for Master with Thesis

    Request for Time Extension to Complete Degree

    Related documents:

    Ph.D. Dissertation Procedure

    Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines

    KAUST Repository Guide

    General Information

    Academic Calendar 2022-2023

    ErSE Program Guide 2022-2023

    Graduate Student Handbook 2022-2023
    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:

    1. Audit courses will be reflected on your transcript.
    2. Credits earned will be listed as 0 (zero).
    3. You will receive a Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U) grade for audit courses, based on the grading criteria set for individual courses.
    4. Given that audit courses are not credit-bearing, they will not directly count towards your degree requirements, nor impact your Cumulative Grade Point Average.
    5. Course registration rules remain the same for audit courses. Students are responsible for ensuring their registration is accurate for each semester/session of registration.
    6. As with regular courses, class participation will be required as they are with your regular credit-bearing courses.
    7. Similar to regular courses, prerequisites for audit courses will have to be met in advance of registration.
    8. Audit courses may be a prerequisite for a credit-bearing course only if an S (satisfactory grade) is achieved.
    9. Audit courses must be approved by your Academic Advisor before registration.
    10. 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}

    There is no fixed minimum value of 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.
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