1- Course Registration:

• Basically, course registration can be done by the graduate students electronically through the online academic system portal (Edugate) (https://edugate.ksu.edu.sa/ksu/init) .
• You may consult your academic advisor or the graduate studies advisor at your department.
• In case of any problem with the electronic registration, student can use the manual registration form (can be downloaded from the Deanship of Graduate Studies (DGS) web site).

2- Courses Grading Policy:

• Graduate student must pass any course with at least “C” (Good), otherwise, the student needs to retake the course.
• The student’s GPA must be at least 3.75 (Very Good), otherwise the student will get a warning.
• If the student’s GPA is lower than 3.75 out of 5, for two successive semesters, the student enrolment in the program will be terminated.

3- Academic Transactions:

• In certain circumstances, a freshman student (newly admitted student) may postpone his admission for one or two semesters. A student (after passing one semester or more) may postpone his study. These postponements should be submitted electronically though the online academic system portal (https://edugate.ksu.edu.sa/ksu/init)  or manually at least two weeks before the beginning of the semester.
• The student may apply, electronically or manually, for dropping all the courses registered in certain semester at least five weeks before the beginning of the final examination week, provided that this semester is not within the additional or exceptional opportunity.
• Postponements or dropping of a semester must not exceed four academic semesters (two academic years) and will not be counted toward the maximum period for obtaining the degree.

4- Research Proposal Submission:

• Upon completion of 50% of courses, according to the study plan, the MSc student is entitled to submit a research proposal.
• After agreement/discussion with a selected thesis supervisor on a research topic, the student can upload electronically his proposal via the Approval of the proposed research plans for Graduate Studies online system (https://eservices.ksu.edu.sa/prpa/Login.aspx)
• The proposal should be approved by the department and college councils and then forwarded to the DGS for the final approval.

5- Passing the Comprehensive Examination (for the PhD student)

• Upon passing all courses, according to the study plan, the PhD student must pass both the written and oral sections of the comprehensive examination.
• The student may be given one more chance to pass the comprehensive examination.
• After passing the comprehensive examination, the PhD student is entitled to submit a research proposal.

6- After Submitting the Research Proposal:

• Upon passing all required courses, according to the study plan, the graduate student must register for the course no. 600 (for the Master’s degree) or no. 700 (for the PhD degree) each semester up to and including the semester of forming thesis defense committee and thesis approval.
• The whole study period should not exceed 4 academic years (8 semesters) for the Master student and 5 academic years (10 semesters) for the PhD student excluding the following periods: admission delay, postponement of study, and the formally approved withdrawal periods.
• The concerned department may give the student an additional chance (one semester or two) to satisfy thesis requirements based on a written report from the supervisor and approval of department and college councils and a final approval of the DGS.

7- Thesis Defense Committee  Formation:

• Upon completion of the thesis, the supervisor should upload electronically the written thesis to the chairman of the department, in a PDF file format, via the online Approval of Dissertations  system (https://eservices.ksu.edu.sa/DiscussionThesis/)
• The department council will nominate and approve the defense committee, then the chairman of the department should submit a request to the dean for approval of college council. Finally the DGS will approve the committee.
• The time limit between the GSD Council’s approval of defense committee and the date of the defense should not exceed four months.

8- Scientific Publications:

Scientific publishing is a fundamental requirement for the formation of thesis defense committee and graduation as follows:

• PhD student must publish (or get the acceptance for publication) for at least one paper in scientific journal.
• Master student must publish (or get the acceptance for publication) for at least one paper in a conference.

9- Participation in Conferences:

The university may sponsor students’ attendance of scientific conferences to present research papers based on Master or PhD thesis subject to the following conditions:

• The student’s GPA must be at least 4.5 out of 5.0 .
• The student is the main author of the paper.
• An application should be submitted at least 40 days before the conference due date.
• Student should not absent from the university more than seven days (including travel and return days).
• The maximum number of sponsored conferences is two for Master student and four for PhD student.
• The student should submit a report on attending the conference after return.

10- The Deanship of Graduate Studies’ Website

 

Graduate students are advised to refer to the DGS’ Website (graduatestudies.ksu.edu.sa) which contains useful information for graduate students such as:

• Electronic services portal which includes systems such as:
  • The online academic system portal – (Edugate) (https://edugate.ksu.edu.sa/ksu/init)
  • The online Approval of the proposed research plans for Graduate Studies system (https:// eservices.ksu.edu.sa/PRPA/)
  • The online Approval of Dissertations  system (https://eservices.ksu.edu.sa/DiscussionThesis/)

 

• Issues and guides including:
  • The Unified Law of Graduate Students at Saudi Universities (in both Arabic and English)
  • Financial Rights of Saudi Students and Students on Scholarships, etc.

 

• Guides: such as:Freshman Graduate Student Guide
• Master’s and Doctoral Dissertations Guide
• Graduate Studies Admission Requirements Guide, etc.

 

• Forms: such as:
  • Course Registration
  • Admission Postponement Application
  • Study Postponement Application
  • Conference Participation Form, etc.