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Unified Regulation for Graduate Studies at the Saudi Universities
CHAPTER 8: THESIS / DISSERTATION
Preparation of Thesis/Dissertation and Supervision
Article Forty-one
On joining the program, each graduate student should be assigned an academic advisor. The advisor will guide and help the student to choose the subject of the thesis/dissertation and research plan according to the regulations approved by the University Board, as per recommendations of the Council of the Deanship of Graduate Studies.
Article Forty-two
After passing all the admission requirements and completing at least 50% of the required courses, with a minimum cumulative GPA of "B”, the graduate student should submit his/her thesis/dissertation proposal, if any, to the department concerned. If the proposal is approved, the Department Council will assign either a thesis advisor, and co-advisor if required, or a thesis committee members and its chairman. Subsequently, this information should be submitted to the Council of the Deanship of Graduate Studies for approval, as per the recommendations of the College Council.
Article Forty-three
Master’s thesis should reflect originality and involve a new contribution, and Doctoral dissertation should also reflect originality and innovation, together with an effective contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the student’s field of study.
Article Forty-three
Subjects of Master theses and Doctoral dissertations should be written in Arabic. Other languages can be used in some majors with the approval of the University Board as per recommendations of the Department and College Councils, and the Council of the Deanship of Graduate Studies. In such cases, an Arabic abstract must be included.
Article Forty-five
The thesis/dissertation advisors must be of professorial or an associate professorial rank who are faculty members of the University. An assistant professor may be a Master’s thesis advisor, if he has spent at least two years in the University as assistant professor and has at least two papers published or accepted for publication in his field of specialty in refereed scientific journals.
Article Forty-six
The thesis/dissertation advisor may be a non-faculty member of the University with distinguished qualifications and experience in scientific research. This requires the approval of the University Board, based on recommendations by the Department Council concerned, the College Council, and the Council of the Deanship of Graduate Studies.
Article Forty-seven
Based on the nature of the thesis/dissertation, a co-advisor can be assigned from other Departments in the University, provided that the thesis/dissertation advisor is assigned from the Department awarding the degree.
Article Forty-eight
A faculty member can be a thesis advisor or co-advisor for a maximum of four Master’s theses and/or 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 Council of the Deanship of Graduate Studies. For the purpose of calculating a faculty-member’s teaching load, the supervision of a thesis /dissertation will be counted as one credit hour, whether the faculty member is the sole advisor or the major advisor.
Article Forty-nine
If the advisor cannot continue supervising the thesis/dissertation or if his service to the University is discontinued, the Department concerned should suggest a replacement, to be approved by the College Council concerned and the Council of the Deanship of Graduate Studies.
Article Fifty
By the end of each semester, the advisor should report, in detail, to the Chairman of the Department concerned, about the progress of the student’s work. A copy of the report should be sent to the Dean of Graduate Studies.
Article Fifty-one
Student completion of the thesis/dissertation must be reported by the advisor to the Chairman of the Department concerned, in order to initiate the completion of the procedure determined by the Council of the Deanship of Graduate Studies.
Article Fifty-two
Based on the academic advisor’s report, a lack of commitment by a student towards his studies and other academic duties will result in an academic warning by the Department Council concerned. If, after two warnings, no improvement is evident, the Council of the Deanship of Graduate Studies may dismiss the student as per the recommendation of the Department Council.
Article Fifty-three
The minimum period between the approval of the proposal by the Deanship of Graduate Studies and submission of the Master’s thesis to the Department concerned is two semesters. For the Doctoral dissertation, the minimum period is four semesters.
Thesis/Dissertation Defense
Article Fifty-four
Based on the recommendations of the Department and College Councils concerned, a Defense Committee is formed by the Council of the Deanship of Graduate Studies.
Article Fifty-five
The Master’s Thesis Defense Committee must fulfill the following requirements:
1. It must comprise an odd number of members, chaired by the thesis advisor.
2. The Committee must comprise of at least three members. The advisor and coadvisor if any should not constitute a majority in the Committee.
3. The Committee members should meet the conditions of the thesis supervision.
4. At least one member of the Committee must be a professor or an associate professor.
5. Decisions of the Committee should be based on a majority vote of at least two thirds of the total number of members.
Article Fifty-six
The Doctoral Dissertation Defense Committee must fulfill the following requirements:
1. It must comprise an odd number of members, not less than three, and chaired by the thesis advisor.
2. The Committee members must be of professor or associate professor. The advisor and co-advisor (if any) should not constitute a majority in the committee.
3. At least one member of the Committee must be of a professorial rank.
4. One member of the Committee must be from outside the University.
5. Decisions of the Committee should be based on a majority vote of at least two thirds of the total number of members.
Article Fifty-seven
If, for any reason, the thesis/dissertation advisor cannot participate in the defense committee, due to his death or his service to the University is discontinued, or his presence outside the country is task for a long time, the Department concerned should suggest a replacement who should be approved by the College Council and Council of the Deanship of Graduate Studies.
Article Fifty-eight
A report is prepared and signed by all members of the Thesis/Dissertation Committee. The report must be submitted to the Department Chairman concerned within one week of the date of the public defense. The report must include one of the following recommendations:
1. The thesis/dissertation is accepted and recommended for the award of the degree.
2. The thesis/dissertation is accepted with some modifications, without a re-defense being necessary. A member of the committee is delegated to recommend awarding of the degree after ensuring that the required modifications are implemented within three months from the date of the first public defense. This period can be waived by the University Board.
3. Further work is recommended on the thesis/dissertation, followed by a second defense within a certain period of time to be decided by the Council of the Deanship of Graduate Studies, based on the recommendations of the Department Council concerned. This period must not exceed one year from the date of the first defense.
4. The thesis/dissertation is rejected.
Each committee member has the right to submit his own comments or reservations in a separate report both to the Department Chairman concerned and the Dean of Graduate Studies, within two weeks of the date of the defense.
Article Fifty-nine
The Department Chairman concerned must submit the report of the Thesis/Dissertation Committee to the Dean of Graduate Studies no later than three weeks after the date of the defense.
Article Sixty
The Dean of Graduate Studies must submit the recommendations to award the degree to the University Board for approval.
Article Sixty-one
A Master’s thesis advisor from outside the University will be given compensation of five thousand Saudi Riyals (SR 5,000.00). A Doctoral dissertation advisor from outside the University will be given compensation of seven thousand five hundred Saudi Riyals (SR7,500.00).
Article Sixty-two
A faculty member of the University to whom the thesis/dissertation is submitted receives one thousand Saudi Riyals (SR1,000.00) for participation in a Master’s or Doctoral Defense Committee. An external member or a non-faculty member from the University to whom the thesis/dissertation is submitted receives one thousand five hundred Saudi Riyals (SR1,500.00) for participation in the Doctoral Defense Committee and one thousand Saudi Riyals (SR1,000.00) for his participation in the Master’s Defense Committee. A committee member from outside the Kingdom receives two thousand five hundred Saudi Riyals (SR2,500.00). If the Committee member is from outside the city in which the University is located, whereby the thesis/dissertation is defended, he should be given a roundtrip air ticket form his residence and rent of suitable accommodation and living for a maximum of two nights in addition to honorarium indicated above, whether the Committee member is from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or from outside. If the Committee member is blind or a female, the companion should be given air ticket and accommodation rent for a maximum of two nights.
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