Curricular Plan:
- Bridging Courses: The Scientific Committee may require the student to study a number of specialized bridging courses available in the University programs, though no more than four courses which the student must complete during the registration period in the program.
- A research plan should be prepared by the student in coordination with the supervisor and the co-supervisor, if there is one, within three months of the date of the registration and payment of the fees for handling the file and the registration exams in line with the accepted research axes at the university and a form determined by the Council of the Scientific Affairs.
- The Scientific Committee shall assess the research plan depending on the report of the plan and an oral presentation given by the student before the committee and in the presence of the supervisor.
- Being approved by the Scientific Committee, the research plan shall be presented to the Supervisory Committee attached to the opinion of the Scientific Committee. The Supervisory Committee has the right to summon and ask the student about some thesis-related specifics.
- The University Council shall confirm the student’s doctorate registration after the approval of both the Scientific and the Supervisory committees of the plan. The registration decision shall be issued by the President of the University.
- The student shall complete the PhD thesis within a period of not less than three years since the date of the Council of Scientific Affairs acceptance of the research plan.
- The follow up and supervision shall be conducted by the supervisor of the research through monthly guidance meetings (at least one monthly meeting), face-to-face meetings or through the system of synchronized sessions recognized by the university with the need to record all meetings and digitally document them. The recorded sessions should be uploaded within a maximum of two weeks of being recorded to be adopted as part of the dissertation. The defense of the thesis shall not be accepted without submitting monthly recordings of the meetings and considering them as part of the required documents.
- The University Council may assign a PhD student to pursue a number of scientific activities necessary to complete his / her qualification upon the proposal of the supervisor of the PhD thesis. These activities may include taking part in teaching courses or seminars and participating in conferences or scientific activities.
Article 11- The Doctoral Thesis:
- The thesis shall be completed under the supervision of a faculty member or their equivalent or a specialist approved by the Council of Scientific Affairs with a doctorate degree at the rank of at least an Assistant Professor.
- Another supervisor may participate in the supervision, approved by the Council of Scientific Affairs.
- The PhD thesis shall be written in Arabic, and the student has the right to prepare the thesis in English after the approval of the Council of Scientific Affairs providing that it is attached with a sufficient abstract in Arabic.
- The student submits a study at the university to approve the research plan at the end of each academic year before the scientific committee in which he/ she presents the state of progress of the research and this requires the attendance of the student in person. The scientific committee submits periodic reports on the status of doctoral program students to the Supervisory Committee for a follow-up and submission of appropriate proposals to develop the scientific research system to the Board of Trustees.
- The student shall be held fully responsible for the conduct of his / her research and the following-up of communication with the supervisor.
- After the completion of the doctoral thesis, the supervisor, and the co-supervisor, if any, shall submit a detailed report on the thesis to the scientific committee indicating the validity of the thesis to be presented to the Thesis Committee.
- The Scientific Committee shall decide on the validity of the thesis for adjudication based on the thesis report and interim reports and studies submitted by the student and the supervisor.
- A committee of specialists or experts in the field of the thesis shall be established of at least five members of PhD holders, one of whom is the supervisor. The number of the members should be odd and at least two of them should be rapporteurs with no less than a rank of an assistant professor or a chair researcher from the universities of the country or any Arab or foreign universities, as well as at least one member of the Scientific Committee.
- The two rapporteurs shall submit a report on the validity of the thesis for discussion, and the date of which is to be set after receiving two positive reports.
- All reports shall be submitted to the Council of Scientific Affairs for decision and approval by the University Council.
- The thesis shall be discussed in a publically announced open hearing, of which the Vice-president for Scientific Affairs is notified two weeks prior to the meeting.
- The Thesis Committee shall evaluate the thesis in accordance with the rules set by the University Council upon the proposal of the Council of Scientific Affairs. The student shall be considered to have succeeded in the thesis on the basis of one of the positions approved in the University Regulation Act.
- The Thesis Committee may give a period of no more than three months starting from the date of discussion (viva voca) for amendments (if necessary).
- The student shall not be awarded a PhD degree and his/her registration shall be cancelled if the committee does not approve the amendments requested from the student within less than three months of the date of the discussion (viva voca), and if the amendments are not made.
- After the final discussion, the Thesis Committee shall write minutes containing the student’s final agreed-upon result according to the university's assessment system, which shall be submitted to the specialized councils for approval. The reports of the two rapporteur members shall be attached to the minutes.
- The student's registration shall be suspended and his/her program registration shall be cancelled in case a decision on the validity of the thesis for adjudication is not issued within the maximum period allowed in the program.
Article12- The registration payment for the bridging year and for the PhD years shall be determined at the beginning of each academic year by the Board of Trustees upon the proposal of the University Council. The cost of the extension of one semester for students enrolled in the year shall be determined at the same rate of the bridging year in the year of registration.
Article13- After paying the fees and financial installments incurred by the student in accordance with the financial system, the following is required of the student to obtain the doctorate degree:
- Completion of bridging courses in case the Scientific Committee asserts the student’s need for a follow-up.
- Publication of three subject-related research papers (at least two of which are in English and classified at least Q3). The three articles should be published in one of the dually peer-reviewed and refereed scientific journals or conferences indexed and approved by SCOPUS or web of science, or should have the approval of the journal or the conference for publishing. The student is required to translate his/ her English articles fully into the Arabic language, and to publish them in the University Encyclopedia.
- Submission of the thesis in a public hearing before the Thesis Committee, and obtaining an assessment according to the system of evaluation adopted in the University Regulation Act.
Article 14-The PhD degree is awarded by a decision of the University Council upon the proposal of the Council of Scientific Affairs.
Article 15-The certificate shall be issued signed by the President of the University and the Minister.