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Mechanical Engineering Program

Master of Science Degree

A minimum of 33 units of courses numbered 200 or above, that meet the distribution requirements listed below, must be completed with a grade of at least B-while maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.00 to earn the master’s degree in mechanical engineering. The M.Sc. degree in mechanical engineering at KAUST is offered without a thesis option.

All units must be taken for grades, except for courses offered only on a pass/fail basis. Each student’s program must be approved by his or her advisor in mechanical engineering. Admitted students are expected to complete the Master’s degree program in mechanical engineering in one year of graduate residence at KAUST, which includes the Fall Semester, Winter Enrichment Program, Spring Semester and Summer Session.

Program Requirements

Graduate Mechanical Engineering core—12 units
These units should provide a solid base for the student’s engineering interest. The courses may be selected from the following list: ME 200 ab ME 211 ab, ME 212 ab, ME 221 ab, ME 232 ab, ME 234 ab, ME 241, and ME 242.

Mathematics, Engineering, and Research electives—12 units, (6 in mathematics)
Students who have not taken the equivalent of AMCS 201 and AMCS 202 are required to take these two courses for 6 units. Mechanical engineering students are urged to consider taking 6 units of courses in automation, robotics and mechatronics (ME 222 ab, ME 224, ME 234 ab); engineering design (ME 256); experimental methods (ME 214); or any additional courses listed in the Graduate Mechanical Engineering courses.

Courses in other disciplines may also be taken. Students who are considering study beyond the master’s degree are encouraged to take directed research units, ME 299, up to a maximum of 6.

Free Electives—6 units
These units may be selected from any course with a number of 200 or greater.
Research units may not be included.

Engineering Seminar, ME 290 — 3 units (1 unit in Fall, WEP and Spring)
May be substituted for a WEP class with the student advisor approval.

Any course taken from the aforementioned areas that is not listed as a Mechanical Engineering course, including mathematics, will satisfy the cognate course requirement in the KAUST catalog.

Students admitted for study toward a Master’s degree but interested in pursuing subsequent study toward a Ph.D. degree should also read the section below relating to this degree.

Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Approximately two years of course work are required, and two or more additional years are usually needed for preparation of the dissertation.

Advising and Thesis Supervision

An interim adviser is appointed for each student upon admission to a graduate degree in mechanical engineering. The interim adviser will serve as the primary mentor until the student finds a research adviser. It is the responsibility of the student to find an academic and research adviser within two terms of graduate residence at KAUST as a Master’s student if the student wished to continue to the Ph.D. program.

In consultation with the adviser, the student must form a Ph.D. dissertation ”supervision” committee within one year of graduate residence at KAUST. This committee shall consist of at least three members of the KAUST professorial faculty, with two members from the faculty in mechanical engineering and one from outside the degree program. The adviser shall serve as chair of this committee. This committee shall meet as requested by the student.

Further, this committee shall meet annually to review progress and to approve the registration of the student beyond the fifth year of graduate residence at KAUST. The adviser and the thesis supervision committee provide the majority of mentoring to the student. In addition, the degree program coordinator and other members of the faculty are always available to provide advice and mentoring on any aspect of research, progress toward the Ph.D., future careers, and other aspects of life in graduate school and as a professional scientist.

Acceptance to Candidacy

To be accepted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering, the student must, in addition to meeting the general KAUST requirements, do the following:

Obtain the agreement of a KAUST professorial faculty member to serve as his or her academic and research adviser and form a three-member dissertation supervision committee with the adviser as the chair.

Successfully complete at least 12 units of research and demonstrate satisfactory research progress.

Pass with a grade of at least B-a minimum of 12 units of course work in any two core mechanical engineering subjects spanning at least two broad areas listed below. This may be waived, or part thereof, for students who already hold a Master’s degree. Examples of suitable courses are given in parentheses.

Area 1: Fluid Mechanics (ME 200ab),

Area 2: Mechanics of Structures and Solids (ME 211ab), Continuum Mechanics of Solids and Fluids (ME 212ab)

Area 3: Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics (ME 241, ME 242), Combustion (ME 244)

Area 4: Controls and Dynamical Systems (ME 221 ab, ME 231 ab), Dynamics (ME 232ab), Design (ME 256)

The student may petition the mechanical engineering degree program coordinator to accept alternate subjects or areas. These changes should retain core mechanical engineering knowledge and represent sufficient breadth. The petition must be submitted to the degree program coordinator and approved before the student registers for the course. These 12 units may also be used in the student’s program for the master’s degree. Students must also do the following:

Pass with a grade of at least B-an additional 6 units (with a course number 300 or above) and 6 units of advanced courses in applied mathematics other than AMCS 201 and AMCS 202 that pertain to the student’s specialty and are approved by the student’s adviser. An overall GPA of 3.30 must be maintained in the courses taken in this category. The requirement in mathematics is in addition to the requirements above for the Master’s degree program.

Pass both the comprehensive subject and research components of the oral candidacy examination by the end of two full semesters as a Ph.D. student at KAUST (or the end of four full semesters as a Ph.D. student if admitted directly to the Ph.D. degree program with only a Bachelor’s degree).

The oral candidacy examination must be taken before the end of the second year of graduate academic residence at KAUST for students who obtained their MS degree at KAUST and must be taken before the end of the first year of academic residence at KAUST if the student was admitted to KAUST directly to the PhD. degree program. The comprehensive subject component examination will be given at the end of WEP and allowed re-takes will be given at the end of the Spring Semester.

The subject component will include one oral examination in mathematics and two oral examinations in any two areas mentioned above. Each oral examination will last one hour and will be closed book and closed notes. The student will be given a list of the examination topics in each area in advance.

The research component examination will be given at the end of the Spring Semester and will include the following:

1. Presentation by the student to the examining committee about the thesis topic proposal.
2. Submission of a 10 page thesis proposal to the examining committee at least 14 days prior to the scheduled presentation.
3. The requirement of a minimum grade of B-will be waived for a 300 level course which lists one of the courses in Areas 1, 2, and 3 as a prerequisite, is offered only pass/fail.

The faculty will evaluate the student’s research progress, class performance, adviser’s input, and oral candidacy exam results to determine whether a student will be accepted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree.

Registration beyond Fifth Year of Graduate Residence.

The annual approval of the Ph.D. dissertation supervision committee and the Dean is necessary for registration beyond the fifth year of graduate residence at KAUST.

Thesis and Final Examination (tentative).

The thesis examination will be given after the student has completed at least 60 units of Ph.D. Dissertation credits (ME 397) and the thesis has been formally completed. This examination will be a defense of the doctoral thesis and a test of the candidate’s knowledge in the specialized field of research. The format of the examination will be a public seminar presented by the candidate, with an open question period, followed by a private examination by the examining committee. The examining committee shall consist of five members with the following structure:

• Two KAUST professorial faculty members from Mechanical Engineering.
• One KAUST professorial faculty member not from Mechanical Engineering.
• One member external to KAUST and must hold a doctoral degree. The external member would review the written thesis and his/her attendance of the thesis defense is not mandatory.
• One KAUST professorial faculty member not from Mechanical Engineering who would act only as an observer and will not have voting rights.

The committee must be chaired by one of the aforementioned members other than the student’s advisor. The Ph.D. degree is awarded once the written thesis is formally accepted and the thesis defense examination is passed with a minimum of three votes.

Course Descriptions