Energy Resources and Petroleum Engineering M.Sc. Program
The Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree is awarded upon successful completion of a minimum of 36 credit hours. A minimum GPA of 3.0 must be achieved to graduate.
The academic advisor must be a full-time program-affiliated assistant, associate, or full professor at KAUST. The academic advisor can only become project affiliated for the specific thesis project upon program level approval. Project affiliation approval must be completed prior to commencing research.
It is the sole responsibility of students to plan their graduate program in consultation with their advisor. Students are required to meet all deadlines and should be aware that most core courses are offered only once per year.
Individual courses require a minimum of a ‘B-’ for course credit. Students typically complete the M.Sc. degree within four semesters (18 months), however, they are strongly encouraged to complete the M.Sc. in three semesters (Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters, i.e., 12 months). Satisfactory participation in every KAUST's summer session is mandatory. Summer session courses are credit-bearing and apply towards the degree.
The M.Sc. Requirements
- Core courses (12 credits)
- Elective courses (12 credits)
- Thesis research including capstone experience (12 credits)
- Graduate seminar
- Winter Enrichment Program (WEP)
Core Courses (12 credits)
Core courses are designed to provide students with the background needed to establish a solid foundation in the program area. Students must select a minimum of four ERPE core courses from the list below to satisfy program requirements.
| ERPE 200 | Energy and the Environment | 3 |
| ERPE 210 | Fundamentals of Carbonate Geology | 3 |
| ERPE 211 | Data Integration for Geomodelling | 3 |
| ERPE 220 | Sediments: Properties and Processes | 3 |
| ERPE 221 | Geoscience Fundamentals | 3 |
| ERPE 230 | Rock Mechanics for Energy Geo-Engineering | 3 |
| ERPE 240 | Fractals, Percolation and Pore-scale Flow | 3 |
| ERPE 250 | Reservoir Engineering Fundamentals and Applications | 3 |
| ERPE 260 | Drilling Engineering | 3 |
| ERPE 331 | Subsurface Geomechanics and Field Applications | 3 |
Elective Courses (12 credits)
Students may select four elective courses from any 200 or 300 level courses at KAUST. Courses above (under core courses) and those listed below are most often selected by ERPE students. Note: selections require approval from the academic advisor. The elective courses are designed to allow students to tailor their educational experience to meet individual and educational objectives.
M.Sc. Thesis
Students must have at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA. A minimum of 12 credits of thesis research (297) is required. Students are permitted to register for more than 12 credits of M.Sc. thesis research with the permission of the academic advisor. The selected academic advisor must be a full time program-affiliated assistant, associate, or full professor at KAUST. This advisor can only become project-affiliated for the 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. It is advisable that students submit a final copy of the thesis to the thesis committee members at least two weeks prior to the defense date.
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:
| Member |
Role |
Program Status |
| 1 |
Chair |
Within or outside program |
| 2 |
Faculty |
Within program |
| 3 |
Faculty |
Within or outside program |
| 4 |
Additional faculty or research scientist |
Within 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
M.Sc. Non-Thesis
The non-thesis option is not supported by the ERPE program. All M.Sc. and M.Sc./Ph.D. students must conduct a capstone experience, and therefore the M.Sc. thesis option should be selected.
Graduate Seminar
All students are required to register and receive a satisfactory grade in the graduate seminar (non-credit) for every semester of the program they attend, except for the last semester of graduation. The attendance of the graduate seminar is optional for the graduation semester.
Winter Enrichment Program (WEP)
Students are required to satisfactorily complete at least one full Winter Enrichment Program (WEP).