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About

DEGREES & FIELDS OF STUDY

At KAUST, the research agenda will provide the foundation for the master's and Ph.D. degrees. Traditional "coursework" master's degrees will be limited, and the emphasis will be on research training.

KAUST will offer three degrees:

  • The M.E. – a taught master's degree. The M.E. degree will typically require one year of study, will be focused on professional development and training, and will be offered to full- and part-time students; for example, private sector-sponsored students on semester-long leaves from their organizations.
  • The M.S.E. – a two-year degree with coursework and a master's thesis. The courses will be prerequisites for entry into careers in research and its applications. The M.S.E. will be offered as a terminal degree but also will be the primary gateway at KAUST to the Ph.D. program.
  • The Ph.D. – typically a three- to four-year post-master's degree. The Ph.D. involves original research in one of the KAUST Research Institutes, culminating in a research thesis.

KAUST expects to open in the fall of 2009 with degrees in six fields of study

  • Chemical Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Materials Science and Engineering
  • Computational Earth Sciences and Engineering
  • Applied Mathematics and Computer Science
  • Biosciences and Bioengineering

It is anticipated that programs in Civil and Environmental Engineering and in Electrical Engineering will be added in subsequent years.

All of the courses at KAUST will be taught in English. See KAUST's special Curriculum Features.