It is the responsibility of students to plan their graduate program in consultation with their academic advisor. Students are required to be punctual. Students should be aware that most core courses are offered only once per year.
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. Individual courses require a minimum of a B- for course credit. Students are expected to complete the M.Sc. degree in four semesters (including Summer; thus for Fall admissions, student should complete the M.Sc. degree by the end of their second Fall semester). Satisfactory participation in every KAUST summer session is mandatory; this participation may take the form of course enrollment, internships, or directed research.
The M.Sc. Requirements
- Core courses (12 credits)
- Elective courses (12 credits)
- Research/capstone experience (12 credits)
- Graduate seminar ECE 398 (non-credit) – all students are required to register and receive a satisfactory grade for the first two semesters
- Completion of one Winter Enrichment Program (WEP)
Core Courses (12 credits)
This portion of the degree is designed to provide students with the background needed to establish a solid foundation in the program area. Students should be aware that most core courses are offered only once per year.
Core Courses:
Elective Courses (12 credits)
- One elective course (3 credits) in ECE. Any ECE can be used to fulfill this requirement.
- Two additional courses (6 credits) from any 200- or 300-level course in any degree program at KAUST.
- One AMCS or STAT course (3 credits). If a core course is from AMCS or STAT, then this course can fulfill the applied mathematics/statistics requirement. In this case, the elective curriculum requirement would need to fulfilled using another 200- or 300- level course (3 credits) from any degree program.
The course selection process, including core courses, applied mathematics/statistics requirement, and elective ECE courses, should be done with the consent of the academic advisor. Students must also register for ECE 398 (non-credit seminar course) for the first two semesters of the degree program. The elective courses exclude research, internship credits, and IED courses.
M.Sc. Thesis
Students wishing to pursue the thesis option must apply by the ninth week of their second semester for a thesis and must be in Good Academic Standing. A minimum of 12 credits of Masters Thesis Research (ECE 297) is required. Students are permitted to register for more than 12 credits of Master’s Thesis Research, as necessary, and with the permission of the thesis advisor. The selected thesis advisor must be a full-time program-affiliated Assistant, Associate or Full Professor at KAUST. Advisors that are not program-affiliated can become project-affiliated for the specific thesis project upon program level approval. Project-affiliation approval must be completed prior to commencing research.
M.Sc. Thesis Defense Requirements
A thesis oral defense is required, although a public presentation and all other details are left to the discretion of the thesis committee. Students are responsible for scheduling the thesis defense date with their thesis committee.
A written thesis is required. It is advisable that the student submits a final copy of the thesis to the thesis committee members at least one month prior to the defense date. Students are required to comply with the University formatting guidelines provided by the library
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 or inside program |
| 4 |
Additional Faculty or Approved Research Scientist |
Inside or outside KAUST |
Notes:
- The affiliation status of the within/outside program refers to the faculty’s primary affiliation.
- 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 capstone credits, with a maximum of 6 credits of directed research (ECE 299).
Students must complete the remaining credits through one or a combination of the options listed below:
- IED 210 Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- IED 220 New Venture and Product Innovation Challenge
- Internship: research-based summer internship (ECE 295) – students are only allowed to take one internship
- Ph.D. courses: courses numbered at the 300 levels