Material Science and Engineering Program
The Material Science and Engineering program offers students pursuing a Master of Science (MS) or a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree two types of courses: Core and Elective courses. Each of the courses will consist of 3 credits hours (42 hours of lectures) and will be evaluated by written exams, coursework, and where necessary by an individual oral presentation. The Core and Elective Courses along with titles are defined in the following:
Core Courses
MSE 216 Crystallography & Diffraction Fall (1st)
MSE 219 Electronic, Optical, Magn., Thermal Properties Fall (1st)
MSE 224 Statistical Thermodynamics & Equilibrium Processes Fall (1st)
MSE 205 Materials Modeling Fall (3rd)
MSE 210 Functional Ceramics Fall (3rd)
MSE 232 Applied Quantum Mechanics Spring (2nd)
MSE 217 Kinetics & Phase Transformations Spring (2nd)
MSE 202 Mechanical Behavior of Engineering Materials Spring (2nd)
MSE 222 Solar Cell Materials and Devices Spring (2nd)
MSE 204 Electrochemistry & Corrosion Spring (2nd)
Elective Courses
MSE 200 Advanced Engineering Mathematics (Fall 1st)
MSE 201 Fundamentals of Materials Science and Engineering Fall
MSE 203 Materials Characterization Fall
MSE 218 Thin Film Science & Engineering Fall
MSE 206 Structural Ceramics Fall
MSE 209 Polymeric Materials Fall
MSE 223 Soft Materials Fall
MSE 208 Nanomaterials Spring
MSE 213 Materials for Energy Spring
MSE 212 Mechanical Behavior of Composite Materials Spring
MSE 207 Biomaterials Spring
MSE 221 Defects in Solids Spring
MSE 211 Engineering Alloys Spring
MSE 299 Directed Research- MS Fall, Spring
MSE 399 Directed Research- PhD
MSE 392 Advanced Topics in Materials Science 1 Fall, Spring
MSE 393 Advanced Topics in Materials Science 2 Fall, Spring
MSE 394 Advanced Topics in Materials Science 3 Fall, Spring
MSE 398 Graduate Seminar (visitors present 1 credit) Fall, Spring
MSE 297 MS Thesis Research Fall, Spring
MSE 397 PhD Thesis Research Fall, Spring
Masters Degree Courses
Students can choose to enroll in MS program or apply directly to the PhD program. Direct enrollment in PhD program will undergo an approval process through the Admission Committee. There are two options for the master’s program.
Thesis Option:
The MS degree requirements are 36 credit hours. This includes 5 MSE Core courses (MSE 216, 217, 219, 224, 232), 2 MSE Elective courses or interdisciplinary courses (upon approval of advisor), one course of Mathematical Methods, and 6 credits of Thesis. The time needed to finish the thesis option MS degree is up to two years.
Student in the MS thesis program must take 6 direct research credits during the summer. The directed research credits count toward the 36 credits required for graduation.
The students in this option must pass a thesis defense in order to graduate. The thesis defense shall be done publicly in the presence of a committee consisting of the student’s thesis advisor and two committee members, one from the MSE program, and the other can be from any program at KAUST, including MSE.
The student is responsible for scheduling the defense date with his/her advisor and committee members. It is advisable that the student gives her/his thesis at least six weeks prior the defense date.
Course Option:
Although the program strongly encourages students to pursue the Thesis Option for their MS degree, an option for a course-based MS degree is also offered. In this case, the student must take 30 credits consisting of the following: 5 MSE Core courses chosen by the student, one course of Mathematical Methods, and 3 courses of approved elective courses. The elective courses can be selected from the list of approved MSE courses. However, students can choose to broaden their educational experience by taking interdisciplinary courses from other KAUST programs. These will count as electives.
Students in the non-thesis option shall successfully complete 2 courses of directed research (6 credit hours) during the summer. The directed research credits count toward the 30 credits required for graduation.
The expected duration of this option is one calendar year.
Passing Grade for Master’s Students
The passing grade for any course during the Master’s program is B. A student scoring below B is allowed to repeat the class once. If the grade upon repeating the class falls below B, the student will be terminated from the program.
Ph.D Degree Requirements
The requirements for the PhD degree depend on the stage at which the student enters the Ph.D program at KAUST.
BS to PhD
Students entering the PhD program with a BS degree will be awarded the PhD degree upon the successful completion of 102 credit hours, of which 60 credits are for thesis research, distributed as follows:
- 8 Core courses (5 of which are obligatory: MSE 216, 217, 219, 224, 232)
- 3 Elective courses from MSE or other interdisciplinary programs
- 1 Course of Mathematical Methods
- 60 credits of research thesis
- 6 seminar credits
Seminar credits can be earned by attending MSE offered seminars or seminars offered in other programs whose focus compliments the students thesis research or directed research activities.
Up to six directed research credits can replace two classes if approved by the student’s advisor.
MS to PhD
Students entering the PhD program with a master’s degree either from KAUST or elsewhere are expected to take a minimum of 4 MSE courses.
The total number of credit hours such student is expected to complete is 78 hours, of which 60 credits are for thesis research distributed as follows:
- A minimum of four approved MSE courses (12 credits)
- 60 credits of research thesis
- 6 seminar credits
Up to six directed research credits can replace two classes if approved by the student’s advisor.
Seminar credits can be earned by attending MSE offered seminars or seminars offered in other programs whose focus compliments the student’s thesis research or directed research activities.
Passing Grade
PhD candidates must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 in order to remain in the program. The passing grade in any class is B. Getting a grade below B will result in the termination the student from the PhD program.
PhD Examinations
Upon completion of core course requirements, the student must complete the required Ph.D examinations. These include a written test, henceforth referred to as the written subject examination, and an oral test, henceforth referred to oral thesis proposal examination.
Students entering the PhD program with an MS degree must pass the written subject examination in their first year of attendance at KAUST. Students entering the PhD program with a BS degree must pass the written subject examination during the first four semesters at KAUST.
The written subject examination is governed by the following rules and procedures:
- Written examination will cover the content of the five required Core Courses (MSE 216, 217, 219, 224, 232).
- Written exam will be held on two separate days within one week. Three core course exams will be held on the first day and two additional core course exams on the subsequent day.
- The maximum length of the examination on one of the two days cannot exceed 3 hours.
- The written examination will be offered twice per year (May and December) and on as needed basis as determined by MSE faculty.
- Students must declare their intent to take the exam 3 months before the actual date.
The oral thesis proposal examination is governed by the following rules
- The oral thesis proposal must be presented in the presence of the student’s thesis committee
- The content of the oral proposal are based on the student’s planned thesis research project
- This part of the exam can be attended by other students and faculty
- Students are responsible for scheduling the oral proposal examination with their advisor and faculty member
- The thesis proposal examination can only be taken after passing the written subject examination
There are three possible outcomes for students who take the written subject exam or thesis proposal exam:
- Pass
- Fail with option to retake
- Fail without option to retake
The decision to allow (or deny) a student to re-take an exam shall be decide by the faculty on a case-by-case basis. Students allowed to retake the PhD examinations (written or Oral) a second time do not have to retake the entire exam. For example, if the student passes the written subject exam but fails the oral exam, only the oral exam must be retaken.
Students who twice fail either exam will be terminated from the program. The student allowed to retake the written qualifying exam a second time is expected to only retake the subject that he or she failed.
PhD Candidacy
A PhD student is officially considered a PhD Candidate after he or she passes both the written subject examination and the oral thesis proposal examination. The oral thesis proposal examination can only be taken after the student passes the written subject examination. Students entering KAUST with a B.Sc. degree are expected to complete the requirements of PhD candidacy no later than 4 semesters after joining the PhD program at KAUST. Students entering KAUST with a MS degree are expected to become PhD candidates within 1 year of starting at KAUST.
PhD Thesis
The student must write in English his/her thesis which should be an original work.
The Thesis Defense is the final exam and must be done publicly. The Thesis defense consists of an oral presentation followed by questions. As a general rule, the research advisor (thesis supervisor) is appointed to chair the defense committee which consists of a total of five faculty members, three of which must be MSE faculty members. One of the non-MSE members should be from another program at KAUST and should be in charge of conducting the defense proceedings to make sure they are run in an unbiased fashion and in accordance with KAUST university requirements. The fifth member of the thesis committee should preferably be from outside KAUST. It is the responsibility of the student to keep the thesis committee informed of his/her progress, deadlines for submitting graduation forms, defense date, etc. It is advisable that the student gives her/his thesis six weeks prior the defense date in order to receive feedback from the committee members in a timely manner. The public defense of the thesis may last up to a maximum of three hours. The student must receive a passing grade (PASS) by unanimous agreement.
Transferring Credits
The student can petition to transfer graduate credits from another university. The curriculum committee in consultation with the admission committee has the final authority to approve or deny the petition. The following rules apply:
MS Student Transfers (students who have not yet graduated from Master’s program)
- Courses with grade below B+ will not be transferred.
- Two courses not to exceed six credits for MS program will be considered for transfer, after evaluation on a case by case basis.
- Transfer of a given course will not be accepted if the latter was taken more than two years prior to admission to KAUST.
PhD Student Transfer
- Courses with grade below B+ will NOT be transferred.
- Each student’s application will be reviewed by the curriculum committee and dealt with on a case by case basis.
- Up to six courses not to exceed a total of 18 credits may be transferred for Ph.D. program.
- These courses should be relevant to the MSE program, as approved by the program.
- Transfer of a given course will not be accepted if the particular course was taken more than two years prior to admission into KAUST.
A transfer student has the option of challenging the five core courses for the written qualifying exam. If the student passes this exam, he/she receives credit for the five courses. For a transfer student, the written subject examination has to be completed during the student’s first year at KAUST.
MS and PhD advisor
The Ph.D. thesis advisor can be any MSE faculty member of the MSE program. The student may also elect an advisor who is a faculty in another program at KAUST. In this case, the student must seek the approval of the MSE Program prior to commencing research.
Students Program Planning
It is the sole responsibility of the student to plan her/his graduate program in consultation with their advisor. All forms and deadlines must be met. Most core courses are offered once a year.
Required Training Sessions
Every student in MSE must pass required training session in:
- Laboratory safety and practices
- Ethical conduct in academia and research
- Cultural differences and acceptance