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 M.Sc. degree must complete the requirements below, though additional courses may be required by the academic advisor.

Ph.D. Courses

• At least two 300-level courses
• 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)
• 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.

Ph.D. Proposal Defense

To advance to candidacy, students must successfully complete the Ph.D. proposal defense. Once students have pass the proposal defense, students are designated as Ph.D. or doctoral candidates.

Students who will not complete their proposal defense after one full year will need to complete a pre-proposal committee review. Students will provide a research update to determine progress and readiness towards the Ph.D. proposal defense. The required contents and deadlines for the committee review will be communicated to students by their GPC. 

The proposal defense will be evaluated by a three member panel, consisting of two faculty from within the program, one of which is the academic advisor, and one outside of the program. The purpose of the proposal defense is to establish that students have the required academic and research ability and are adequately prepared to undertake PhD level research in the area proposed.

Expectations for the Proposal Defense:

• The Proposal Defense Committee is approved by the dean via the proposal committee form. Although guided by the academic advisor, students should have a say in committee formation and agree to its final composition (to be confirmed by GPC).
• The written proposal should include: 1) a literature review; 2) a statement of the research problem being addressed and the novelty (i.e. what new contribution will be explored); 3) an outline of the methodology to address these research questions; 4) detail of some preliminary results or analysis towards these research objectives; 5) a description of the research plan for future activity, together with a timeline for completion.
• The proposal (less than 30 pages or 12,000 words; excluding references), should be provided to the committee at least 10 days before the scheduled defense date.
• Students will prepare a 30 minute presentation that focuses on an introduction to the problem (i.e. research motivation), an elaboration of the research questions (i.e. the novelty and innovation), a description of relevant research activities, preliminary analysis and results (i.e. the research progress) and a description of the remaining research plans and efforts required for completion (i.e. the plan).
• The remaining time will be allocated to questioning students on the contents and scope of their research. In the event of a public defense, the audience will be asked to address their questions to students directly.
• On completion of this round of questioning, the audience will be asked to leave the room and the committee will address their questions to students directly. These can cover all aspects of candidature and should be designed to establish (and test)  knowledge and understanding of the chosen research topic.
• After a period of questioning, students are requested to leave the room, and a deliberation on their performance will be conducted.
• Students will be deemed to have either a) successfully defended and passed their proposal; b) unsuccessfully passed their proposal, but invited to re-sit the defense within a six month period (i.e. retake); unsuccessfully defended their proposal and be given a failing grade (i.e. fail without retake), resulting in the termination of their candidature.
• In the instance of a “fail without retake”, the decision of the committee must be unanimous and endorsed by the dean.

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:

• If you have a co-advisor this person can be considered one of the members, provided they come under the categories listed.
• Members 1-3 are required, member 4 is optional
• Co-chairs may serve as members 2 or 3
• Adjunct professors and professors emeriti m ay 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.