The study for a master’s degree can follow two modes or options as per Article 33 of the Unified Law Organizing Graduate Studies in Saudi Universities (2009):
- Thesis option: masters’ students must take at least 24 credit hours of courses plus a thesis.
- Course-only option: master’s students must take at least 42 credit hours of courses inclusive of a capstone/research project.
The duration for obtaining a master’s degree is a minimum of four semesters (i.e., 2 years) and a maximum of eight semesters (i.e., 4 years) (Article 36 of Unified Law). The academic year has two semesters of at least fifteen weeks each. A summer session is minimally eight weeks (Article 35 of Unified Law). A graduate student at Alfaisal University must take at least 70% of the program’s credit hours at the University (Article 38 of Unified Law). The same course work cannot be used toward two different master’s degrees unless it is part of an approved concurrent master’s program. Colleges/departments set their own subject requirements for degrees. If colleges/departments change requirements, they must obtain approval from the Research & Graduate Council (RGC). All affected students must be informed in writing. Colleges/departments also must permit students who entered under the former requirements to elect to follow either the new or old rule
6.3.1 Thesis Option
6.3.1.1 Committee Roles and Responsibilities:
A Thesis Advisory Committee will be formed by the Program Coordinator/ Director for each student. The committee will consist of 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 as per Article 45 of the Unified Laws Organizing Graduate at Saudi Universities. Assistant Professors holding this rank for two years, may supervise masters’ theses only on having published two research papers in student’s area of specialization in a refereed academic journal. The Committee as per Article 42 of the Unified Laws will assist the student in the formulation and approval of the Thesis Proposal (see FORM G10 Structure of Thesis Research Proposal ), and later advise the student in the execution of the research, the Thesis write-up, and help the student to prepare for the oral defense.
After writing a draft of the research proposal, the student must present it to the Thesis Advisory Committee for feedback & comments. The presentation should last about 15 minutes and may be in person or virtual after which the Committee will ask questions. The student should submit the proposal to the committee at least seven days before the scheduled presentation date. Based on the feedback the student will revise the thesis research proposal, if necessary. Once the proposal is approved by the Thesis Advisory Committee, then the main supervisor must submit the proposal along with a completed Form G10, to the College Vice Dean for Graduate Studies.
According to Article 45 of the Unified Law, a faculty member may supervise a maximum of four (7) theses at a time; the number of theses may in urgent cases (on the recommendation of relevant Department Head and the consent of both College and Graduate Councils) be increased to five (8). Theses supervision as the main adviser counts as 0.33 credit hour each in faculty members teaching loads.
On completion of the student’s thesis and approval by the Thesis Advisory Committee (see FORM G11: Thesis Submission for Defense), the GS upon the recommendation of the respective College Graduate Office 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 GS 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 Examination Committee to the College Graduate Council for approval as per Article 51 of the Unified Laws.
The Thesis 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 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
6.3.1.2 Thesis 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 Thesis A (9 cr) in the online system in the third semester of a master’s program (i.e., second yr, first semester) and after passing 80% of the total courses and with a GPA of no less than very good.
During this semester the student should submit and pass a Thesis Research Proposal (FORM G10).
In the fourth semester (i.e., 2nd yr second semester) the student must register for Thesis B (9 cr) in the system after submitting a report explaining the progress of the thesis. The student should write up & defend the thesis in this period.
If a thesis is incomplete at the end of the second year, then the student must register for Thesis C (0 cr) to indicate a continuation.
There are no credits attached to Thesis C. The process for completing a master’s degree is a minimum of four semesters (i.e., 2 years) and a maximum of eight semesters (i.e., 4 years) (Article 36 item 5 of Rules & Regulations for Graduate Studies in Universities).
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.
| Figure 6.1. |
|---|
| 1. Program Director/Coordinator assigns a Thesis Advisory Committee to student |
| ↓ |
| 2. Thesis proposal reviewed & approved by Thesis Advisory Committee (FORM G10). Signed form sent to respective College Graduate Office with copy to GS |
| ↓ |
| 3. Student performs research & writes up draft using as guide Thesis & Dissertation Manual . |
| ↓ |
| 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). |
| ↓ |
|
5. GS sends Thesis to External Evaluator for assessment (FORMS G12 & G13). Evaluator will make one of following recommendations:
|
| ↓ |
|
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 |
| ↓ |
| 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). |
| ↓ |
|
8. Students submit PDF & Word versions of the completed final thesis containing the signed FORMS G15 and G16 to the Graduate School. |
| ↓ |
| 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. |
6.3.1.3 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.
6.3.1.4 Thesis Defense:
The thesis supervisor or program manager contacts an External Evaluator/Examiner and sends them a copy of the thesis, along with FORM G13. The External Evaluator is given two weeks to review the thesis.
Once the thesis has been approved by the Advisory Committee (see Form G11: THESIS 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 Thesis Examination Committee.
6.3.1.5 Examination Committee
The examination committee for master’s and doctoral dissertation requires the following:
1. The number of its members shall be odd 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 Thesis 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 Thesis Examination Committee Members sign two report sheets (see FORM G15: THESIS DEFENSE SIGNATURE SHEET and FORM G14: CHAIR’S REPORT ON THESIS 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.
A student must submit a hard copy of the final thesis with signature sheets to the Graduate School (GS).
Students must also 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
6.3.2 Courses-only Option
This option is ideally suited to, for example, people holding full time jobs in the public or private sectors who want to enhance their careers through continuing education. Students in this track will have a Graduate Advisor appointed by the respective College Graduate Office. Master’s students must take at least 42 credit hours of courses inclusive of a capstone/research project
6.3.3 Changes in Thesis Advisory Committee Membership
Before planning to file their theses, students who wish to change the membership of their Thesis 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.
6.3.4 Completion of Courses for the Degree
Master’s 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.
6.3.5 Time in Candidacy
The duration for obtaining a master’s degree is a minimum of four semesters (i.e. 2 years) and a maximum of eight semesters (i.e. 4 years) (Article 36 of Unified Law). If they do not finish in that period, their candidacy will lapse unless the Major Adviser/Supervisor requests an extension of time from the Graduate Council (GC).