Marine Science (MarSE)
MSc Degree Program
The curriculum provides a strong introduction with courses on the fundamental of marine science and oceanography. The program is compromise of two tracks - Marine Biology & Conservation and Ocean Physics ∓ Modeling. Each track consists of lectures, seminars, laboratory classes and fieldwork. Each track includes introductory courses as well as courses with increasing level of specialization.
For a student to graduate with an MSc degree in Marine Science, they are required to complete 30 credit hours (with the typical course worth three credit hours) and maintain an average GPA of 3.0 (B grade). The MarSE student must take two of the core courses in their first semester. The passing grade for a course is a B-. If a student receives a grade of less than a B- in a core course, that course must be repeated.
One cognate course is required, and can be satisfied by passing any course outside of Marine Science.
The remaining course requirements are technical electives, directed research, and/or thesis. At least 24 units of formal coursework, exclusive of directed research or thesis credits, are required. At least 12 credits of thesis (MarSE 297) must be earned (see below for more details of thesis requirements).
A multi-disciplinary Marine Science Seminar Series will run continuously, featuring seminars offered by MarSE faculty, staff, students, and visitors. Credit is not awarded, but two semesters of satisfactory participation (and registration in MarSE 298) are mandatory to complete the MarSE degree.
Satisfactory participation in KAUST's Winter Enrichment Period (WEP) is mandatory. WEP courses do not earn credit towards the degree.
Marine Biology and Convercation Track (MSc)
Core Courses:
Students are required to the take the three core courses below. If the student can provide evidence that a subject has been studied and assessed at a high enough level at a previous institution, they are invited to apply for and may be awarded academic credit for a course.
- MarSE 221 Marine Life
- MarSE 228 Structure and Function of Marine Ecosystems
- MarSE 235 Introduction to Physical Oceanography
Three additional MarSE courses from:
- MarSE 212 Geophysical Fluid Dynamics I
- MarSE 217 Marine Genomics
- MarSE 226 Coral Reef Ecology
- MarSE 229 Marine Microbial Ecology
- MarSE 230 Ecological Genomics
- MarSE 243 Ecology and Management of Marine Fisheries
- MarSE 245 Special Topics in Marine Science
- Other MarSE courses (TBA)
Cognate requirement:
At least one non-MarSE course must be taken. Suggested cognate courses are listed below, but students may choose another elective with approval of their advisor.
- AMCS 210 Introduction to Statistics and Biostatistics
- B 201 Biophysics
- B 202 Plant Biology
- B 204 Genomics
- B 205 Protein Structure and Function
- B 206 Synthetic Biology and Biotechnology
- B 207 Physiology and Metabolic Engineering
- B 208 Biochemistry
- B 209 Molecular Genetics
- B 224 Fundamental of Cell Biology
- EnSE 201 Air & Water Quality
- EnSE 202 Environmental Chemistry
- EnSE 203 Environmental Microbiology
- EnSE 213 Environmental Organic Chemistry
Thesis requirement:
All students in the Marine Life and Conservation Track are required to complete a thesis based on original research under the direction of a MarSE faculty member. Students conducting supervised research should be registered for one of the two courses below. A minimum of 6 credits of MarSE 297 should be taken.
- MarSE 297 Thesis (6 credits minimum)
- MarSE 299 Directed Research (a maximum of 6)
Both courses are evaluated as Pass/Fail. A formal thesis must be written and will be evaluated by a committee comprised of at least two MarSE faculty members and may include one other KAUST faculty member as deemed appropriate by the supervising faculty member. The thesis must be presented at an oral defense with the same committee.
Ocean Physics and Modeling Track (MSc)
Core Courses:
Students are required to select two of the following three courses. If the student can provide evidence that a subject has been studied and assessed at a high enough level at a previous institution, they are invited to apply for and may be awarded academic credit for a course.
- MarSE 221 Marine Life
- MarSE 228 Structure and Function of Marine Ecosystems
- MarSE 235 Introduction to Physical Oceanography
Students are required to take four of the following six courses. If the student can provide evidence that a subject has been studied and assessed at a high enough level, they are invited to apply for and may be awarded academic credit for a course.
- MarSE 212 Geophysical Fluid Dynamics I
- ErSE 301 Geophysical Fluid Dynamics II
- MarSE 235 Introduction to Physical Oceanography
- ErSE 253 Data analysis in Geosciences
- ErSE 306 Ocean Physics and Modeling
- ErSE 203 Geophysical Continuum Mechanics
Electives (two of the below):
- ErSE 213 Inverse Problems and Data Assimilation
- ErSE 307 Atmospheric Chemistry and Transport
- ErSE 324 Parallel Scientific Computing in Earth Science
- EnSE 213 Environmental Organic Chemistry
- EnSE 201 Air & Water Quality
Math requirement:
Students must take two of the following Math courses
- AMCS 206 Applied Numerical Methods
- AMCS 231 Applied Partial Differential Equations
- AMCS 306 Numerical Analysis of Partial Differential Equations
Thesis requirement:
All students in the Marine Life and Conservation Track are required to complete a thesis based on original research under the direction of a MarSE faculty member. Students conducting supervised research should be registered for one of the two courses below. A minimum of 6 credits of MarSE 297 should be taken.
- MarSE 297 Thesis (6 credits minimum)
- MarSE 299 Directed Research (a maximum of 6)
PhD Degree Program
There are three possible entry points into the Marine Science PhD degree program: (i) students possessing a MSc degree in Marine Science or related field (the normal entry point); (ii) KAUST students pursuing a seamless Marine Science MSc/PhD; (iii) and students possessing a BSc degree (a more rare entry point). The seamless MSc/PhD option is intended for MSc students who decide, after their arrival at KAUST, to pursue a PhD. This option simply allows a student to begin to enter the PhD program before completing the full MSc requirements.
PhD students apply for and enter the Marine Science degree program. A Marine Science faculty advisor is either immediately designated (in the case of a student being recruited by a specific faculty member) or temporarily assigned (in the case of KAUST fellowship students); in the latter case, the student is expected to identify a research advisor by (at the latest) the end of the first year.
There are two phases and associated milestones for PhD students: (i) a qualification phase with a candidacy milestone and (ii) a dissertation phase with a final defense milestone. Qualification and advancement to candidacy are contingent upon: (a) designating a research advisor, and (b) preparing a written research proposal and orally defending it. The maximum time for advancement to candidacy for a student entering with an MSc degree is six months. For students entering the PhD in the seamless MSc/PhD option, students must advance to candidacy not more than two years after beginning the MSc program. Students entering in the BSc-degree entry option must advance to candidacy within two years.
A multi-disciplinary Marine Science Seminar Series will run continuously, featuring seminars offered by MarSE faculty, staff, students, and visitors. Credit is not awarded, but satisfactory participation (and registration in MarSE 298) for at least four semesters is mandatory to complete the MarSE PhD.
A) For students entering with an MSc:- Coursework: A minimum of six credit hours of PhD coursework (300 level, excluding Thesis and Directed Research) is required beyond the MSc degree. In the case where the MSc degree is from a major or degree program other than Marine Science, there may be additional deficiency courses specified by the advisor. In all cases, courses designated should be relevant to the dissertation topic, if defined, and/or proposed general area of research. A minimum GPA of 3.0 must be achieved on all doctoral coursework.
Students transferring from other PhD programs may receive some dissertation research and coursework credit, on a case-by-case basis, for related work performed at their original institution. However, such students must still satisfy the written and oral requirements for a research proposal as described below (if this phase was passed at the original institute, the proposal may be the same, if approved by the research advisor). The minimum residency requirement for enrollment of such students at KAUST is two years. - Research Proposal: Within five months of enrollment, the student must submit a formal research proposal. This proposal must be 5000-7000 words and include the following sections:
- Literature Review
- Background
- Methods
- Objectives
- Expected Outcomes
- Timeline
- the thesis advisor
- an additional MarSE faculty member
- one additional non-MarSE KAUST faculty member
- Confirmation Seminar: The research proposal must be presented in a public seminar and will be assessed by the thesis committee. There are four possible outcomes of the assessment: pass, conditional pass, failure with retake permitted, and failure. The student will have passed if all committee members accept the written research proposal and if the student receives no more than one negative vote from the proposal examination committee. If more than one member casts a negative vote, one retake of the oral defense is permitted if the entire committee agrees. A conditional pass involves conditions (e.g., another course in a perceived area of weakness) imposed by the committee, with the conditional status removed when the conditions have been met. Once constituted, the composition of the proposal examination committee can only be changed upon approval by both the faculty research advisor and the division dean.
- Annual Progress Report: The student will be required to submit an annual progress report to the committee, in particular commenting on the relevant timelines and any deviations from the approved research proposal.
- Thesis Submission: The student must submit a thesis, which contains the candidate's scholarly work. Thesis work must be published or deemed publishable in well-recognized journals. In order to proceed to the oral examination stage, two of the three committee members must approve the submitted thesis. To ensure the thesis work is of an acceptable international standard, the thesis must also be reviewed and approved by a non-KAUST member holding a faculty position or equivalent position at another institution, with approval by both the faculty research advisor and the division dean.
- Oral Defense: The oral examination of the candidate consists of a public thesis defense followed by a closed-door session with the candidate, thesis committee, and a non-MarSE KAUST faculty member (appointed by the Division Dean) to serve as a procedural (non-voting) monitor of protocol. This is concluded with a final session without the candidate present. In order to pass the oral examination stage, two of the three committee members must approve. The student cannot receive more than one negative vote from any member of the committee. If more than one member casts a negative vote, one retake of the oral defense is permitted if the entire committee agrees.
- Total Enrollment Requirement: In addition to the required six or more credit hours (see Coursework above), at least 60 units of dissertation research (MarSE 397 Thesis) credit must be earned during the degree. A full-time workload for PhD students is considered to be 12 credit hours per semester (courses and MarSE 397/399) and six credit hours in the summer term (MarSE 397/399). There is a minimum residency requirement (enrollment period at KAUST) of 2.5 years for students entering with an MSc degree, 3.5 years for a BSc degree. The maximum enrollment period is five years, extendable upon approval of both the faculty research supervisor and division dean.
B) For students electing the seamless MSc/PhD option, the student must complete at least 6 hours of coursework at the 300 level (excluding Thesis and Directed Research) after being admitted to the PhD portion of the program. In order to complete the program the student must earn a total of at least 30 credit hours (excluding Thesis and Directed Research). In all cases, courses designated should be relevant to the dissertation topic, if defined, and/or proposed general area of research. A minimum GPA of 3.0 must be achieved on all doctoral coursework.
From the point that the student is enrolled in the PhD program, the student has 6 months to submit a thesis proposal as above. All other aspects of the PhD program are the same as for the MSc entry option. The minimum residency requirement at KAUST for students in the seamless MSc/PhD option is 3.5 years.
C) For students who enter with a BSc degree, coursework requirement is the same as for the MSc degree described above in the first two semesters, excluding a thesis. During the second year, the student must complete at least two courses at the 300 level (excluding Thesis and Directed Research).
From the point that the student is enrolled in the PhD program via the direct BSc entry option, the student has 12 months to submit a thesis proposal as above. All other aspects of the PhD program are the same as for the MSc entry option. The minimum residency requirement at KAUST for students in the direct BSc to PhD entry option is 3.5 years.
PhD MarSE Courses:- MarSE 323 Advanced Topics in Pelagic Ecology
- MarSE 326 Advanced Coral Reef Ecology
- MarSE 329 Advanced Marine Microbial Ecology
- MarSE 330 Advanced Ecological Genomics
- MarSE 343 Advanced Ecology and Management of Marine Fisheries
- MarSE 345 Advanced Special Topics in Marine Science
- MarSE 397 Thesis
- MarSE 399 Directed Research
- Other MarSE PhD level courses (TBA)
Course Descriptions