The M.Sc. Requirements
- Core courses (12 credits)
- Elective courses (12 credits)
- Research/capstone experience (12 credits)
- Graduate seminar 398 (non-credit) – all students are required to register and receive a satisfactory grade for three semesters during their M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees (three seminars in each program)
- Completion of one Winter Enrichment Program (WEP)
Core Courses (12 credits) Mandatory for ALL tracks.
| B 241 | Molecular and Cellular Biology Lab | 3 |
| BioE 201 | Foundations of Bioengineering | 3 |
| BioE 202 | Foundations of Synthetic Biology | 3 |
| BioE 230 | Foundations of Bioengineering Lab | 3 |
These core courses are designed to provide students with the background needed to establish a solid foundation in the program area.
Elective Courses (12 credits)
Track 1: Biosensors and Bioelectronics
| B 316 | Foundations in Bioimaging | 3 |
| BioE 319 | Biomaterials and Biomedical Devices | 3 |
| ECE 202 | Analog Integrated Circuits | 3 |
| ECE 205 | Introduction to MEMS | 3 |
| ECE 208 | Semiconductor Optoelectronic Devices | 3 |
| ECE 304 | Integrated Microsystems | 3 |
| ECE 305 | Advanced MEMS Devices and Technologies | 3 |
| ECE 310 | Integrated Sensors | 3 |
| ME 222A | Mechatronics and Microsystems | 3 |
| ME 222B | Mechatronics and Intelligent Systems | 3 |
| MSE 201 | Fundamentals of Materials Science and Engineering | 3 |
| MSE 225 | Electronic Properties of Materials | 3 |
| MSE 318 | Nanomaterials | 3 |
| MSE 322 | Semiconductor Materials | 3 |
| MSE 324 | Photophysics of Organic Semiconductors | 3 |
Others upon approval of the academic advisor
ME 222A is equivalent to EE 272A
ME 222B is equivalent to EE 272B
Track 2: Bioinformatics and Machine Learning
| B 322 | Computational Bioscience and Machine Learning | 3 |
| B 324 | Machine Learning for Genomics and Health | 3 |
| CS 220 | Data Analytics | 3 |
| CS 229 | Machine Learning | 3 |
| CS 249 | Algorithms in Bioinformatics | 3 |
| STAT 210 | Applied Statistics and Data Analysis | 3 |
Others upon approval of the academic advisor
Track 3: Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering
| B 318 | Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine | 3 |
| B 320 | Stem Cells and Molecular Medicine | 3 |
| BioE 319 | Biomaterials and Biomedical Devices | 3 |
| ChemS 210 | Material Chemistry I | 3 |
| ChemS 215 | Polymers and Polymerization Processes | 3 |
| ChemS 360 | Advanced Physical Chemistry I | 3 |
| CS 249 | Algorithms in Bioinformatics | 3 |
| EnSE 310 | Colloids, Interfaces, and Surfaces | 3 |
| MSE 201 | Fundamentals of Materials Science and Engineering | 3 |
| MSE 225 | Electronic Properties of Materials | 3 |
| MSE 310 | Energy Storage Materials and Devices | 3 |
| MSE 318 | Nanomaterials | 3 |
Others upon approval of the academic advisor
Track 4: Synthetic Biology
| B 204 | Genomics | 3 |
| B 206 | Synthetic Biology and Biotechnology | 3 |
| B 306 | Synthetic Biology and Biotechnology | 3 |
| B 317 | Advanced Environmental Microbiology | 3 |
| EnSE 314 | Public Health Microbiology | 3 |
| EnSE 341 | Processes in Environmental Biotechnology | 3 |
| PS 302 | Biochemistry and Metabolic Engineering | 3 |
Others upon approval of the academic advisor
The elective courses (which exclude research and internship credits) are designed to allow students to tailor their educational experience to meet individual research and educational objectives, with the permission of the academic advisor.
M.Sc. Thesis
Students wishing to pursue the thesis option must complete a minimum of 12 credits of thesis research (297).
The thesis defense committee, which must be approved by the dean, must consist of at least three members and typically includes no more than four members. At least two of the required members must be KAUST faculty. The chair plus one additional faculty member must be affiliated with the student’s program. This membership can be summarized as:
| Member |
Role |
Program Status |
| 1 |
Chair |
Within program |
| 2 |
Faculty |
Within program |
| 3 |
Faculty or approved research scientist |
Outside program |
| 4 |
Additional faculty or research scientist |
Inside or outside KAUST |
Notes:
- Members 1-3 are required, member 4 is optional
- Co-chairs may serve as member 2, 3, or 4, but may not be a research scientist
- Members 2 and 3 must use primary affiliation only
- 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 4 depending upon their affiliation with the student’s program, they may also serve as co-chairs
- Visiting professors may serve as member 4
View a list of faculty and their affiliations here.
M.Sc. Non-Thesis
Students wishing to pursue the non-thesis option must complete a total of 12 research/capstone credits, with a minimum of 6 credits of directed research (299).
Students must complete the remaining credits through one or a combination of the options listed below:
- Broadening experience courses: courses that broaden a student’s M.Sc. experience
- Internship: research-based summer internship (295) – students are only allowed to take one internship
- Ph.D. courses: courses numbered at the 300 level
- Additional directed research