Ph.D. Graduation Requirements

To successfully graduate with a Ph.D. degree from KAUST all students must meet the minimum University graduation requirements and be approved by the Office of the Registrar and the division dean. Individual programs may have additional requirements, which must be met to graduate (see division/program requirements for further details). Programs cannot require less than the minimum degree requirements or waive university degree requirements. If there is any perceived conflict between program and university degree requirements, the university degree requirements will prevail.

The Ph.D. degree has the following minimum graduation requirements:

Minimum 6 credits at the 300 level
Minimum residency requirement of two and half years for Ph.D. only, and three and a half years for M.Sc./Ph.D.
Cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or above
Completion of one Winter Enrichment Program (WEP) (can be taken during the master’s degree)
Successful defense and approval of doctoral dissertation
The final Ph.D. dissertation must be format reviewed and archived in the library by the semester deadlines published in the academic calendar