The study for a doctoral degree shall be approved by the University Council based on the recommendation of the Standing Committee as per Article 13 of the Regulation on Graduate Studies, Issued by Council of Universities’ Affairs (2022).
The Doctoral degree is awarded upon the successful completion of a minimum of (30) hours (accredited units) of advanced courses including a dissertation, after obtaining a master’s degree. It takes a minimum of three academic years, or equivalent on a full-time basis. The study for a doctorate degree is possible through a Course/ Dissertation mode: of minimally twelve hours of graduate courses of directed studies, symposia, and seminars, as called for by student’s academic interests and specific specializations, plus a dissertation.
6.2.1 Committee Roles and Responsibilities
A Dissertation Advisory Committee will be formed for each student by the College Program Director (FORM G09). The committee will consist of at least three members with a faculty member as the main academic advisor/supervisor and Chair. The Chair of the Committee must have research and graduate student advising experience and should be an Associate or full Professor. One member of the committee must be from outside the university. The Committee will assist the student in the formulation and approval of the Dissertation Proposal (see FORM G10 Structure of Thesis/Dissertation Research Proposal) and later advise the student in the execution of the research, the Dissertation write-up, and help the student to prepare for the oral defense.
Dissertations are supervised by professors and associate professors from the university faculty. An assistant professor may supervise graduation research and master’s thesis and assist in supervising doctoral dissertations if he has two published research papers or accepted for publication in a refereed academic journal in his field of specialization (As per article 38 of the Regulation on Graduate Studies 2022)
A faculty member can be an advisor or co-advisor for a maximum of four Doctoral dissertations simultaneously. The number can be raised to five following the recommendations of the Department Council concerned and the approval of the College Council, and the Graduate School. For calculating faculty members teaching loads, the supervision of a doctoral dissertation will be counted as one credit hour, whether the faculty member is the sole advisor or the major advisor.
On completion of the student’s dissertation and approval by the Dissertation Advisory Committee (see FORM G11: Thesis/Dissertation Submission for Defense), the College Vice Dean for Research and Graduate Studies sends the manuscript to an External Evaluator (FORM G13: External Evaluator’s Report) who has two weeks to review it. Once the External Evaluator approves the thesis then the CVDGS informs the respective College Graduate Office to set a date for the thesis defense. The Program Coordinator may recommend the names of the proposed voting members of the Thesis/Dissertation Examination Committee to the College Graduate Council for approval as per Article 51 of the Unified Laws.
The Thesis/Dissertation Examination Committee will consist of at least four members: a non-voting chair appointed by the respective College Graduate Office and three voting members recommended by the same Office. One of Committee members should be the Major Advisor, and another may be the External Evaluator from an outside university. Proposed committee members from outside the university must submit their CV to the GS before the advisory committee approval. The main advisor should always be consulted before asking someone to be on a thesis advisory committee. The thesis process flowsheet indicating the responsibilities of College Vice Dean for Graduate Studies, Graduate Program Director, Thesis/Dissertation Advisory Committee, External Evaluator, College Graduate Office, and the Graduate School is described in Figure 6.1.
Table 6.1. Forms Associated with Thesis and Dissertation Graduate Programs
FORM G09: ASSIGNMENT OF STUDENT THESIS/DISSERTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
FORM G10: APPROVAL OF THESIS/DISSERTATION RESEARCH PROPOSAL
FORM G11: THESIS/DISSERTATION SUBMISSION FOR DEFENSE
FORM G13: EXTERNAL EVALUATOR’S REPORT
FORM G14: CHAIR’S REPORT ON THESIS/DISSERTATION DEFENSE
FORM G15: THESIS/DISSERTATION DEFENSE SIGNATURE SHEET
FORM G16: DISSERTATION, THESIS, PROJECT, RELEASE FOR LIBRARY
FORM G17: NOTICE OF THESIS/DISSERTATIO DEFENSE
FORM G18: CHECKLIST TO COMPLETE BEFORE A CERTIFICATE CAN BE ISSUED
FORM G19: CHANGE IN THESIS/DISSERTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
FORM G20: UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT PERMISSION TO TAKE GRADUATE COURSES
6.2.1.2 Dissertation Registration Process and Milestones
Each graduate student shall have an academic supervisor/ advisor assigned by the program’s director with the approval of the College Vice Dean for Graduate Studies and Research. This is done at the beginning of a student’s enrollment in the program to guide them in their studies and help them choose the topic of the thesis and prepare a research plan in accordance with the rules approved by the University Council based on the recommendations of the RGC and PCGS.
A graduate student, before starting to write the proposal, must submit to their supervisor a request for approval of the title of the research project. Upon approval, the student submits to the supervisor a two-page research project proposal outlining reviews the topic of the research, its importance, and the proposed plan and time frame for implementation.
A graduate student has the right to register for Dissertation A in the online system in the third semester of a Doctoral program (i.e., second yr, first semester), During this semester the student should submit and pass a Thesis/Dissertation Research Proposal (FORM G10).
If a graduate student does not complete the thesis within the designated study period (three or four years, as applicable to the program), the student is required to formally extend their enrollment status. During the extension period, the student must register for a Dissertation Continuation course (0 credit hours) in each subsequent semester until the thesis is successfully completed and approved. Extension is subject to institutional policies regarding maximum time to degree.
Master’s and doctoral theses are written in the language of instruction approved for the program by the University’s Council, provided that the thesis contains an adequate summary in Arabic if the thesis is in a language other than Arabic.
| Table 6.1. |
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| 1. Program Director/Coordinator assigns a Thesis Advisory Committee to student |
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| 2. Thesis proposal reviewed & approved by Thesis Advisory Committee (FORM G10). Signed form sent to respective College Graduate Office with copy to GS |
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| 3. Student performs research & writes up draft using as guide Thesis & Dissertation Manual . |
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| 4. Thesis reviewed by Thesis Advisory Committee & once approved then draft & signed form is sent to GS by Program Coordinator along with two names & contact information of possible External Evaluators (FORM G11). |
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5. College Vice Dean for Research and Graduate Studies (CVDGS) sends Thesis to External Evaluator for assessment (FORMS G12 & G13). Evaluator will make one of following recommendations:
Once Evaluator approves the thesis then VDRGS informs College Graduate Office to set a date for the thesis defense. The Thesis Examination Committee must receive a copy of the thesis at least two weeks before the defense |
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6. College Graduate Office arranges all aspect of Thesis Defense including setting date, assigning Thesis Defense Chair & Thesis Examination Committee members, sending out “Notice of Thesis Defense” (FORM G17), preparing three (3) thesis defense signature sheets (FORMS G14-G16). This duty may be delegated to the Program Director/ Coordinator. The Thesis Examination Committee will make one of the following decisions: □ Passed □ Passed with Minor Revisions □ Passed Pending Major Revisions □ Not Passed |
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| 7. Once thesis is successfully defended then Chair of Thesis Examination Committee submits the three signed thesis defense signature sheets to GS (FORMS G14-G16). |
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| 8. Students submit PDF & Word versions of the completed final thesis containing the signed FORMS G15 and G16 to the Graduate School. |
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| 9. Graduate School issues a Graduation Certificate to student |
| Figure 6.1 Thesis process flowsheet showing responsibilities of Program Director/ Coordinator, Thesis Advisory Committee, External Evaluator, & College Graduate Offices & Graduate School (GS). Going from thesis proposal approval, to review by external examiner, to thesis defense & submission of the completed & signed thesis to the Graduate School. |
6.2.1.3 Student Evaluation
The supervisor evaluates the students’ performance at the end of each semester, and determines their progress in the thesis, in accordance with the mechanisms approved by the Standing Committee:
- The supervisor submits a quarterly report explaining the students’ progress in the thesis and mentioning the obstacles and their causes, if any.
- Any requests for an extension in the research period should be mentioned in the report, provided that the extension period does not exceed two semesters.
- The report is signed by the student and the supervisor and submitted to the program’s director for submission to the respective College Vice Dean for Graduate Studies and Research.
If it is established that a student is not serious at the thesis stage, based on the report of the thesis’s supervisor, then the student is warned by a letter from the concerned department, and if the student was warned twice and did not avoid the reasons for the warning, their enrollment will be canceled, based on the recommendation of the department and college councils.
6.2.1.4 Qualifying exam.
All students admitted to the Doctoral program must successfully complete the qualifying exam which consists of an oral defence of the dissertation proposal. This must be taken at least two semesters prior to the final defence. The student must pass all coursework with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 before taking the qualifying examination. The period between completing coursework and taking the qualifying examination must not exceed one academic semester.
The objective of the oral exam is to determine whether the candidate’s proposal and methodology are adequate for a Doctoral dissertation. The candidate must show considerable promise of original research. Students who do not pass the comprehensive exam are allowed to take it for a second time in the following semester. Failure on the second attempt will result in the student’s discontinuation from the graduate program. The qualifying examination committee consists of faculty members relevant to the subject area, external examiners are allowed.
6.2.1.5 Dissertation Defense:
The College Vice Dean for Research and Graduate Studies contacts an External Evaluator/Examiner and sends them a copy of the dissertation, along with FORM G13. The External Evaluator is given two weeks to review the dissertation.
Once the dissertation has been approved by the Advisory Committee (see Form G11: THESIS/DISSERTATION SUBMISSION FOR DEFENSE) and the External Evaluator (FORM G13: EXTERNAL EVALUATOR’S REPORT), the College Graduate Office or the Program Coordinator/Director will convene the dissertation Examination Committee.
6.2.2 Examination Committee
The examination committee for doctoral and master’s dissertation requires the following:
1. The number of its members shall be odd in number (including the supervisor).
2. The number of members of the committee shall not be less than three from among the faculty’s members.
3. The committee consists of a member from within the department, a member from outside the department for a master’s degree, and a member from outside the University for a doctorate degree, in addition to the main supervisor and the assisting supervisor, if any.
At the defense, the Chair is non-voting and is present to ensure that proper procedures are followed. The initial part of the defense is open to the public, including a brief question period. Thesis presentation suggested being 15- 20 minutes followed by 5-10 minutes of questions from audience. After this the public will be asked to leave by the Chairperson. The Dissertation Examination Committee will continue asking questions for up to 30 minutes. The candidate is then asked to leave the room by the Chair. The Committee after deliberation decides by majority vote on one of four decisions: Pass, Pass with Minor Revisions (corrections to be confirmed by the Chair/Supervisor), Pass Pending Major Revisions (corrections to be confirmed by the Advisor & the Chair), Not Passed. Decisions will be based on a majority (i.e., at least 2/3).
All Dissertation Examination Committee Members sign two report sheets (see FORM G15: THESIS/Dissertation DEFENS SIGNATURE SHEET and FORM G14: CHAIR’S REPORT ON THESIS/Dissertation DEFENSE). The candidate is then asked to come back into the room and is informed of the decision. The Chair will submit the reports to the Graduate School (GS). The Chair may add a page of comments, if necessary.
Students must submit a PDF version of the completed thesis containing the signed FORMS G15 and G16, online to ProQuest. Once this is done then the GS will issue a Graduate Certificate to the student. Students whose thesis are Not Passed may repeat the defense one more time but not earlier than two months after the first defense.
6.2.3 Changes in Thesis/Dissertation Advisory Committee Membership
Before planning to file their theses, students who wish to change the membership of their Thesis/Dissertation Advisory Committee must be sure that such a change has been approved by the College Graduate Office and the Graduate School (GS). A student may request a change in committee by submitting a written request to their Graduate Adviser. The Graduate Adviser should consult with any faculty members as appropriate to assure that they are aware of membership changes. However, the Graduate Adviser, rather than any committee member, has the final authority to recommend approval of the changes.
6.2.4 Completion of Courses for the Degree
PhD students must finish all courses required for the degree by the last day of the semester in which they expect the degree to be conferred. If students have Incompletes, No Reports, or In Progress grades, the college/ department must indicate on the list of courses-only master’s candidates whether the courses are required for the degree. After completion of requirements for the degree for which they were admitted, students may not register and enroll for a subsequent semester unless they have been previously approved for a new degree goal or a new major.