The Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree is awarded upon successful completion of a minimum of 36 credits with a minimum of 3.0 cumulative GPA. Individual courses require a minimum of a B- grade for course credit.
Students are responsible for planning their graduate program in consultation with their Academic Advisor. Students must meet all deadlines and be aware that most core courses are offered only once per year. Students must complete the MS degree as follows:
Students must complete their Thesis by the end of the fourth Semester (not including Summer Session). Students who require additional time to complete their Thesis must apply for an extension per the time limits and extensions policy.
To facilitate the design of an individual study plan, all admitted students must take a written assessment test when they arrive on campus. The assessment determines whether students have mastered the prerequisites for undertaking graduate-level courses taught in the program. Students must prepare for the test by refreshing the general knowledge gained from their undergraduate education before arriving at KAUST. The study plan requirements must be satisfactorily completed, in addition to the university degree requirements.
The three topics covered by the assessment test for the ERPE program include (additional information can be found here):
Each examination is 25 minutes long, consists of 12 multiple-choice questions, and are taken one after the other in the week before the semester formally starts. Additional information about the three topics, including the covered material and references, will be provided to students in advance of the test.
In the case of Failure of the assessment test, MS students are mandated to take 100-level courses and will be graded Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U) for these courses but do not receive academic credit toward their degree. Students mandated to take the full Fall Semester of the PGDip Program and who wish to transfer to the PGDip Program in the Spring Semester must apply to do so before Week 1 of the Spring Semester.
MS Course Requirements
MS students must complete the following requirements:
- Core Courses (12 credits)
- Elective Courses (9 credits)
- Research/Capstone (15 credits)
- Graduate Seminar (non-credit)
- Winter Enrichment Program (non-credit)
Core and Elective Courses must be technical courses and cannot be substituted with Research, Internship, or Broadening Courses to fulfill degree requirements.
Core Courses (12 credits)
Core Courses provide students with the background needed to establish a solid foundation in the program area. Students must complete 12 credits (4 Core Courses) and be aware that Core Courses may be offered only once per academic year.
Elective Courses (9 credits)
Elective Courses allow students to tailor their educational experience to meet individual research and educational objectives with the permission of the Academic Advisor. Students must select three Elective Courses from any 200/300 level courses at KAUST. ERPE core courses listed above can also be considered elective courses. The Courses listed below are most often selected by ERPE students as elective courses:
Graduate Seminars (non-credit)
A minimum of two
ERPE 398 with Satisfactory grades must be completed within the duration of the MS degree. Students must attend a minimum of 8 Graduate Seminars to receive a Satisfactory (S) grade. The seminars can be chosen from any Graduate Seminar series offered by the PSE division. Students who fulfill the minimum requirement of two
ERPE 398 do not need to register for additional Graduate Seminars. However, they are highly encouraged to attend the seminars.
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.
MS Thesis
Students planning to pursue the Thesis option must complete a minimum of 12 credits of Thesis Research (ERPE 297). Students must complete the remaining 3 credits of their degree through one or a combination of the options listed below:
Thesis Application
Students must complete the application and have it approved by the Program Chair no later than the end of week one of their third Semester. The Thesis Advisor must be a full-time program-affiliated Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor at KAUST. The Thesis Advisor can only become project affiliated for the specific thesis project with the Program Chair’s approval. The application must include a Thesis Proposal endorsed by the Thesis Advisor and a timeline for completion.
Students who meet the graduation requirements of the non-thesis track may drop the thesis up until the end of their third Semester. Students not able to complete their thesis after this deadline will face academic dismissal.
Thesis Committee Formation
Students must form the Thesis Committee by the deadline published in the Academic Calendar. The Thesis Defense Committee, which must be approved by the Dean, consists of three KAUST Faculty. The Committee could be extended if additional expertise is needed, subject to the Dean's approval. At least two Committee members must be affiliated with the program. The chair may be any KAUST Faculty familiar with the program rules but cannot be the student's Thesis Advisor. This membership can be summarized as follows:
| Member |
Role |
Program Status |
| 1 |
Chair |
Within or outside program |
| 2 |
Faculty |
Within program |
| 3 |
Faculty |
Within or outside program |
| 4 |
Additional Faculty or Research Scientist |
Within or outside program |
Notes:
- Members 1, 2, and one of 3 or 4 are required.
- 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 1, 2, or 3 depending upon their affiliation with the student's program; they may also serve as Co-Chairs.
- Visiting Professors may serve as member 3.
View a list of Faculty and their affiliations here.
Petition to Defend Thesis
Students must submit a petition to defend their Thesis by the deadline published in the Academic Calendar. Students are responsible for scheduling the Thesis Defense Date. All committee members must attend the Defense.
Thesis Defense
The format of the oral Defense is left to the discretion of the Thesis Committee. Students defending their Thesis receive an outcome of Pass or Fail. A Pass is achieved when the Committee agrees with no more than one dissenting vote; otherwise, the outcome is a Fail. In the case of a Pass, students must send the Thesis Result Form within 2 days of the Thesis Defense to the GPC. In the case of a Fail, the Committee Chair must inform the GPC immediately to take the necessary action. Students must submit the Final Approval Form by the deadline published in the Academic Calendar.
Thesis Document
Students must follow the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines available from the KAUST Library when they write their Thesis. Once the Thesis is ready to be examined, students must determine the Defense date with the agreement of all members of the Thesis Committee.
Thesis Archiving
Students must archive the Thesis in the KAUST Library two weeks from the final result form. This must not exceed the duration of study or the deadline published in the Academic Calendar.
MS Non-Thesis
Students wishing to pursue the non-thesis option must complete a total of 15 Capstone credits, with a maximum of 6 credits of Directed Research (ERPE 299). Students must complete the remaining 9 credits through a combination of the options listed below:
*Students must take at least one ERPE Core Course as part of their Capstone credits.