PhD Course Requirements

Students entering the PhD Program must complete the requirements below:

• 300-level courses* (12 credits)
• Graduate Seminar (non-credit)
• Winter Enrichment Program (non-credit) 

The Academic Advisor may request the completion of additional courses. Courses taken while pursuing the KAUST MS degree cannot be counted towards the PhD course requirements. Courses must be technical courses and cannot be substituted with Research, Internship, or Broadening Courses to fulfill degree requirements. 

*At least two must be STAT '300-level' courses. PhD students cannot take STAT 210, AMCS 201, AMCS 202, or AMCS 206 on a letter-grade basis. Courses have to be approved by the Academic Advisor.

Graduate Seminar (non-credit)

Students must register for STAT 398 and receive a Satisfactory grade for two Semesters during their PhD.

Winter Enrichment Program (non-credit)

All students must register for WE 100 and successfully complete one Winter Enrichment Program (WEP), usually taken in the first year of study. Students who completed WEP as part of their KAUST MS must take the program again.

PhD Candidacy

In addition to the coursework requirements, students must successfully complete the required PhD candidacy milestones to progress toward PhD candidate status. These milestones are as follows:

• A subject-based qualifier
• PhD Proposal Defense

Qualifying Exam

The qualifier consists of three written subject exams, one in each of the core courses STAT 220, STAT 230, and STAT 250. It is given twice per year: during the final exams of the Fall Semester and immediately after the final exams of the Spring Semester, or as feasible. The Fall Semester qualifier is the final exam of each of the Core Courses given during the Fall Semester. The Spring Semester exam is a 3-hour exam per subject prepared by the Faculty teaching the Core Courses.  

Students must take all three (3) qualifiers in their first Semester of the PhD program. Students have two chances to take each exam and can retake only those they did not pass. They must pass all three qualifiers by the end of their third Semester.  

Each exam is Passed if students obtain a score of at least 70% in that exam. If students at the end of the third Semester of their PhD have only passed 2 out of 3 qualifiers, then the Qualifying Exam Committee reviews the case, and it is decided if students can proceed with the PhD Contact the STAT GPC for more details about the PhD qualifying exam. 

Note: Students who pass the final exam of a qualifying exam course with a score of 70% or higher during their MS do not have to retake that exam during their PhD as a qualifying exam. Exams taken during the MS do not count towards the two attempts, provided these correspond to courses in which students are enrolled. Students can take the final exam for a course they are not enrolled in. In that case, the exam counts towards the two attempts.  

Dissertation Proposal Defense

The Dissertation Proposal Defense aims to demonstrate that students have the ability and are adequately prepared to undertake PhD level research in the proposed area. This preparation includes necessary knowledge of the chosen subject, a literature review, and preparatory theory or experimentation. The exam consists of two parts:

• Proposal: submission of a 10-page (suggested length) proposal describing the proposed topic of research, relevant survey of the literature and any preliminary results. This should be submitted to the examining committee at least 10 days prior to the scheduled presentation.
• Presentation: approximately 30 minutes on the dissertation topic presented to the examining committee followed by questions to cover a total period of an hour.

The Dissertation Proposal Defense is the second part of the qualification milestones that must be completed to become a PhD candidate. PhD students must successfully defend the Dissertation proposal by the end of their fifth Semester after commencing the PhD program.

The 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. The Committee is as follows:

 

Member	Role	Program Status
1	Dissertation Advisor/Chair	Within program
2	KAUST Faculty	Within program
3	KAUST Faculty	Outside program
4	Faculty or approved Research Scientist	Inside or outside KAUST

Notes:

• If you have a co Academic Academic, 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 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-Chair.
• Once constituted, the composition of the Proposal Committee can only be changed with the approval of both the Academic Advisor and the Dean.

Proposal Defense Results

There are four possible outcomes from this dissertation proposal defense. A pass is achieved when the committee agrees with no more than one dissenting vote. In the instance of a pass with conditions, the entire committee must agree on the required conditions and if they cannot, the dean decides. The deadline to complete the conditions is three months after the defense date, unless the committee unanimously agrees to change it. Conditions must be met before the end of the students fifth Semester. In the instance of a fail without retake, the decision of the committee must be unanimous. Students who fail without retake or who fail the retake will be dismissed from the University.

 

Dissertation

The Dissertation is the final milestone of the PhD program. Students must complete the following:

• Petition to Defend Dissertation/ Form Dissertation Defense Committee 
• Defend Dissertation 
• Archive Dissertation

Petition to Defend Dissertation

Students must determine the Defense date with the agreement of all members of the Dissertation Defense Committee. It is the sole responsibility of students to submit the required documents in consultation with the GPC and the Dissertation Advisor by the deadline published in the Academic Calendar and at least 2 months prior to the Defense date.

Students must defend their Dissertation and obtain the final approval of the Dissertation Defense by the end of their fourth year (8 Semesters and 4 Summer Sessions). Students must follow the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines available on the KAUST Library webpage when they write their Dissertation.

Formation of Dissertation Defense Committee

The PhD 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.

Member	Role	Program Status
1	Chair	Within program
2	KAUST Faculty	Within program
3	KAUST Faculty	Outside program
4	External examiner	Outside KAUST
5	Approved Research Scientist	Inside KAUST
6	Additional Faculty	Inside or outside KAUST

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 position's requirements).

View a list of faculty and their affiliations here.

Dissertation Defense

The Dissertation Defense is a public presentation followed by a Q&A and an oral Defense. It should last three hours at most. 

A Pass is achieved when the Committee agrees with no more than one dissenting vote. In the case of a Pass, the Dissertation must be archived within 2 weeks. In the instance of a Pass with conditions, the entire Committee must agree on the required conditions and if they cannot, the Dean decides. The deadline to complete the conditions is three month after the defense date, unless the committee unanimously agrees to change it. If the conditions will take more than three months, or more than one member casts a negative vote, one retake of the defense is permitted. The deadline to complete the retake is decided by the Committee with a maximum of six months after the Defense date, unless the Committee unanimously agrees to reduce it. Students who have exceeded their duration of study must apply for an extension as per the Time Limit and Extension Policy. All conditions must be met by the end of the extension period which prevails over the date set by the Committee. In the instance of a Fail without retake, the decision of the Committee must be unanimous. Students who fail without retake or who fail the retake will be dismissed from the University.

The outcome of the Dissertation Defense must be recorded by submitting the Dissertation Defense Evaluation Form within 2 days after the Defense to the Office of the Registrar.

Dissertation Document

Students must follow the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines available from the KAUST Library when they write their Dissertation.

Dissertation Archiving

Students must archive the Dissertation in the KAUST Library two weeks from the final result form. This must not exceed the deadline published in the Academic Calendar. The required form is available from the Office of the Registrar.