Ph.D. Course Requirements

The required coursework varies for students entering the Ph.D. degree with a bachelor’s degree or a relevant master’s degree. Students holding a bachelor’s degree must complete all program core/mandatory courses and elective courses outlined in the master’s degree section and are also required to complete the Ph.D. courses below. Students entering with a bachelor’s degree will qualify to earn a master’s degree by satisfying the master’s degree requirements.

Students entering the Ph.D. degree with a relevant master’s degree must complete the requirements below, though additional courses may be required by the academic advisor and the qualifying exam.

Ph.D. Courses

• Two 300-level courses: one course can be a BESE/CEMSE/PSE course; one needs to be a CS course.

Ph.D. Qualifying Examination

The qualifying examination (qualifier) is course based. Students have to pass three courses to pass the qualifier using the following rules:

• One of the courses needs to have a grade of A- or A; two courses need to have a grade of B+ or better.
• All three courses need to be selected from eligible qualifier courses. The list of eligible qualifier courses is available on the CEMSE / CS webpages. The list sorts all eligible qualifier courses into several research areas. Students are not allowed to select more than one qualifier course from the same research area. 
  https://cemse.kaust.edu.sa/cs/study#csprogram
• The three courses need to be taught by three different faculty.
• Ph.D. students must pass the qualifier within a year of being formally registered as a Ph.D. student by the registrar according to university rules.
• If students fail to meet the qualifier requirements within a year, they will have failed the qualifier and be dismissed from the program.

Some additional details about the procedure of the qualifier:

• The KAUST Ph.D. program stipulates that students must take at least two 300 level courses during the Ph.D. candidacy. These two courses may be used as qualifier courses.
• Ph.D. students can use courses they completed before starting their Ph.D. as qualifier courses, e.g., courses taken while completing an M.Sc. from KAUST.
• No waiver will be given for any courses taken outside of KAUST.
• The list of eligible courses, the research areas, and the way the courses are sorted into research areas can change over time. Students have to choose courses and areas according to a single version of the course list: either the version of the eligible course list that was current at the time of the start of the Ph.D. or an eventual updated later version.
• As soon as students pass the qualifier, they should submit a filled out qualifier form to the GPC including a transcript. The qualifier form is available on the CEMSE / CS webpages. Upon verification, students will receive a confirmation that they passed the qualifier.

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. Once students have advanced to candidacy, students are designated as Ph.D. or doctoral candidates.

Ph.D. Proposal Defense Committee

The Ph.D. dissertation proposal defense committee, which must be approved by the dean, must consist of at least three members and typically includes no more than six members. The chair, plus one additional faculty member must be affiliated with the student’s program.

Notes:

• Members 1-3 are required, member 4 is optional
• 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.

View a list of faculty and their affiliations here.

Ph.D. Final Defense Committee

The Ph.D. dissertation defense committee, which must be approved by the 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 and one must be an external examiner who is external to KAUST. The chair, plus one additional faculty member must be affiliated with the student’s program. The external examiner is not required to attend the defense, but must write a report on the dissertation and may attend the dissertation defense at the discretion of the program.

Notes:

• Members 1-4 are required, members 5 and 6 are optional
• Co-chairs may serve as either members 2, 3 or 6
• 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, 3 or 6 depending upon their affiliation with the student’s program, they may also serve as co-chairs
• Visiting professors may serve as member 6, but not as the external examiner

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.

Co-supervisors 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 and their affiliations here.