The purpose of the EE Ph.D. program qualifying exam is to evaluate the student’s understanding in fundamental topics of the course track (Electrophysics or Systems) he/she is following and his/her ability to analyze problems and construct solutions. The exam is offered once in every Fall, Spring, and Summer term. The student has to pass the exam within 9 months after joining KAUST with an M.S. or after converting to Ph.D. after completing their M.S. at KAUST. The qualifier is administrated in the form of a written exam. Details are described below.

• The exam is administered on the first Thursday of the Fall, Spring, and Summer terms from 9 AM to noon.
• The exam involves 12 questions per track. These questions cover topics within the core EE courses taught at KAUST as described in the table below.

• The student has to choose 5 out of the 12 questions within his/her course track and has to return his/her solutions to only those 5 problems.
• The exams are graded in an anonymous fashion (i.e. the professors grading the exams do not have access to the names of the students)

EE faculty then evaluates the student’s research potential/progress (as recommended by his/her research/thesis adviser) and the results of the written exam. One of the following outcomes is possible

• Pass: The student is qualified for the Ph.D. program.
• Retake: The student is not qualified for the Ph.D. program but allowed to retake the exam one more time. Students who fail the retake are dismissed from Ph.D. program.