Chemistry PhD Program

Program Mission:
The mission of the Chemistry program is to provide a state-of-art environment in which students develop strong expertise and advanced research skills in chemistry, aligned to the national development goals of Saudi Arabia and global priorities. The program leverages world-class faculty, advanced facilities, and collaborative research to advance scientific knowledge and develop innovative solutions to fundamental and applied challenges in chemistry, while preparing graduates to contribute to the fields of science, engineering, education, and society at large.

Program Goals:
• Reinforce students’ technical knowledge of chemistry
• Expose students to cutting edge topics and interdisciplinary challenges that are shaping the modern field of chemistry
• Develop an environment for students to propose independent research projects
• Nurture students to execute, summarize, and communicate research outcomes independently
• Be able to conduct science with integrity in a socially, ethically, and legally responsible manner

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

Knowledge and Understanding:
• K1: Demonstrate advanced knowledge and comprehension of fundamental concepts in the core fields of chemistry and their relevance to their own research.
• K2: Explain key concepts in related fields of chemistry, and understand their relevance and significance to their own current and future research directions and broader impact
• K3: Engage with cutting-edge research in chemistry, demonstrating a deeper understanding for selected topics.

Skills:
• S1: Apply original or advanced methods to analyze, interpret, and critically evaluate data for chemistry and related disciplines.
• S2: Design and execute suitable experimental or computational methods to investigate and solve chemistry-related research problems in their research projects, generating new conclusions and insight.
• S3: Communicate research results effectively through reports, publications and proposals that demonstrate innovation and independence as researchers at an international level.

Values, Autonomy, and Responsibility:
• V1: Demonstrate independence, and exercise leadership in making strategic, academic, and professional decisions.
• V2: Conduct research for the benefit of society, with strong moral integrity
• V3: Collaborate actively in research environments and contribute to thementoring, training, and teaching of junior scientists
• V4: Commit to continuous learning and professional development throughout a research career.

PhD Course Requirements

Students on PhD Program must complete the requirements below:

300-level courses* (6 credits)
Dissertation Research (66 credits minimum)
Graduate Seminar (non-credit
Winter Enrichment Program (non-credit)

The Academic Advisor may request the completion of additional courses. Courses taken while pursuing the KAUST MS degree cannot be counted towards the PhD course requirements. Courses must be technical courses and cannot be substituted with Research, Internship, or Broadening Courses to fulfill degree requirements.

*Only one 300-level “Contemporary Topics in Chemistry” course (Chem 394 or Chem 394A) can be counted towards this requirement.

Graduate Seminars (non-credit)

Students must register for five semesters of Chem Graduate Seminar courses (Chem 398) and receive a Satisfactory (S) grade in all. for each of these semesters students must attend a minimum of 8 individual seminars to receive a Satisfactory (S) grade. These attended individual seminars can be chosen from any Graduate Seminar courses offered by the PSE division. As the Chem Graduate Seminar course schedule permits, third-year Ph. D. students will be asked to present their research (~20 min) as a necessary preparation for the Proposal Defense; no publications are required to be eligible to present.

Winter Enrichment Program (non-credit)

All students must complete the Winter Enrichment Program (WE 100) for credit at least once during their studies at KAUST. Students who have previously completed WEP will be exempt from this requirement in their future studies.

PhD Candidacy

In addition to the coursework requirements, students must successfully complete the required PhD candidacy milestones to progress toward PhD candidate status. These milestones are as follows:

A subject-based qualifier
PhD Proposal Defense

Once students have advanced to candidacy, students are designated as PhD or Doctoral Candidates.

Qualifying Exam

The purpose of the qualifying exam is to test the student's creativity, independence, and knowledge of the subject matter within the field of study. All PhD students must pass their qualifier by the end of their third semester. Students may take the exam earlier with their Academic Advisor’s approval. Every student needs to fill out the required QE form and submit the QE proposal (written document, see description below) to the GPC at least two (2) weeks prior to the QE date. The GPC will get the signature of the Chemistry Program Chair to proceed.

The QE consists of an oral presentation of an original idea, which is related to the area of research, but not the exact work done in the lab (same approach as a grant application). The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session regarding both the presented project and general chemistry knowledge. Students must also submit a written proposal. Click here for more information.

QE Committee

The QE Committee, which must be approved by the Program Chair, should consist of three members. In addition to the Academic Advisor, two Chemistry Program Faculty members (primary or affiliated) need to serve as Committee Members. Students must schedule the QE at a time acceptable to the Committee members, who are expected to make every reasonable effort to be available for the exam.

Member	Role	Program Status
1	Academic Advisor	Within program
2	Faculty	Within program
3	Faculty	Within program

The Committee Members are expected to carry forward to serve on the Dissertation Proposal Committee. Once constituted, the composition of the Committee can be changed with the approval of the Academic Advisor and the Program Chair.

the qualifying exam evaluation will take up to 1.5 hours will be allotted for the qualifier (30 min presentation, 60 min questions).

View a full list of the Chemistry Program Faculty here.

For more details on the Qualifying Exam results, Dissertation Proposal Defense and committee formation, Proposal Defense results, Petition to Defend the Dissertation and committee formation, Dissertation Defense results, Dissertation document, and Dissertation archiving, please refer to the Policy page.