Financial Support
All admitted students receive the benefits of the KAUST Fellowship which support students for the duration of their graduate studies. The benefits of the KAUST Fellowship include:
- Full tuition support
- Monthly living allowance (ranging between $20,000-30,000 annual, depending on qualifications and progression through degree programs)
- Housing*
- Medical and dental coverage*
- Relocation support
M.S. Degree
The Master’s Degree (M.S.) 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.S. degree in three semesters and one Summer Session. Satisfactory participation in every KAUST's Summer Session is mandatory. Summer Session courses are credit-bearing and apply towards the degree.
M.S. Milestones
Getting Started
2 weeks
Course Work
3 semesters and 1 summer session
Research for Thesis Option
1 semester
Done!
∞
Getting Started
Placement Exam - 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.
Cultural Orientation - duration 1 week
Academic Orientation - duration 1 week
Course Registration
Course Work
Course Requirements - 24 Credits. The Students must successfully complete a set of courses specified by the respective academic program guide - total of 24 credits.
Each Program is administered by a Graduate Committee and a Graduate Chair. Courses for each program will be listed at the 100 (non-credit), 200 or 300 Level.
Research
M.S. Thesis option
Students wishing to pursue the thesis option must apply by the ninth week of their second semester for a thesis and must have at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA. A minimum of 12 credits of Thesis Research (297) is required. Students are permitted to register for more than 12 credits of M.S.
M.S. Non-Thesis option
Students must complete a minimum of six credits of Directed Research(299). Students must complete the remaining 6 credits through one or combination of the options: Internship or, Broadening Experience Courses or, PhD courses
Ph.D Degree
The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree is designed to prepare students for research careers in academia and industry. It is offered exclusively as a fulltime program. The PhD degree is awarded upon successful completion of a minimum of 72 credits. A minimum GPA of 3.0 must be achieved on all doctoral coursework. Individual courses require a minimum of a ‘B-’ to earn course credit.
Ph.D. Milestones
Securing a Dissertation Advisor
Successful completion of Program Coursework
within 2 semesters and 1 summer session
Passing the Qualifying Examination
within 2 semesters and 1 summer session
Passing the Dissertation Proposal Defense to obtain candidacy status
within the end of the fifth semester
Preparing, submitting and successfully defending a Doctoral Dissertation
within 8 semesters and 4 summer sessions
Done!
∞
Securing a Dissertation Advisor
The selected Dissertation Advisor must be a full time program-affiliated Assistant, Associate or Full Professor at KAUST. The student may also select an advisor from another program at KAUST. This advisor can only become project-affiliated for the specific thesis project with program level approval. Project-affiliation approval must be completed prior to commencing research.
Successful completion of Program Coursework
Every PhD student is required to fulfill the criteria set by their respective program, which typically encompass a blend of 300-level Courses (totaling 12 credits), participation in the Graduate Seminar (non-credit), and engagement in the Winter Enrichment Program (non-credit).
Passing the Qualifying Examination
In addition to the coursework requirements, the student must successfully complete the required Ph.D. qualification milestones to progress toward Ph.D. candidacy status. These milestones consist of the subject-based qualifying examination and Ph.D. Proposal Defense.
Passing the Dissertation Proposal Defense to obtain candidacy status
Preparing, submitting and successfully defending a Doctoral 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
Done!
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