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PhD in Physics

The PhD in Physics builds on Khalifa University’s internationally leading research activity in science, engineering, and medicine. It supports the University’s alignment with the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 plan through the provision of internationally excellent education and student experience in Physics, producing highly skilled science professionals capable of transferring state-of-the-art technologies to priority sectors of industry, business and government. The aim of the PhD in Physics program is to produce graduates who are able to conduct independent research in Physical sciences at the highest levels of originality and quality. The degree will be awarded to students who demonstrate a range of advanced knowledge and skills at the forefront of Physics and who complete an independent investigation of a novel specialist topic in order to present a dissertation addressing a problem in cutting edge research. Candidates for the degree will be supervised by teams of experienced researchers.

Program Educational Objectives

The objectives of the PhD in Physics program are to produce graduates who have the ability to:

  1. Synthesize and critically evaluate complex current knowledge in the Physical sciences in order to plan and implement new and creative approaches so as to generate new knowledge and solve research challenges with effective dissemination of the results to a variety of audiences;
  2. Work to the highest professional and ethical standards in an area of Physical sciences and develop their individual academic, professional and career skills; and
  3. Keep abreast of the latest developments in Physics that contribute to the advancement of knowledge for the benefit of society.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the PhD in Physics, a graduate will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate and critically analyze comprehensive, deep and overarching knowledge that is at the frontier of recent developments in Physical sciences.
  2. Conduct and defend original independent research that creates significant new knowledge in Physical sciences of publishable quality that leads to scholarly articles or other intellectual outputs.
  3. Analyze and critically evaluate the uses and limitations of diverse methodologies and techniques for solving problems in Physical research, leading to informed and valid judgements.
  4. Select and deploy advanced experimental and related skills to investigate and solve complex problems in Physical research.
  5. Communicate effectively and professionally, in written and oral forms as appropriate, the major tenets of areas of Physics and their individual specializations to a variety of audiences.
  6. Demonstrate a commitment to safe, responsible and ethical behavior in all research and professional activities.
  7. Reflect upon their role(s) in their research specialization and in the wider research community to ensure that they take responsibility for their own development and that of peer groups and networks.

Completion Requirements

Students admitted to the PhD program with a Master’s Degree must satisfy the following requirements:

•   Complete a minimum of 24 credits of coursework (8 courses of 3 credit hours each).This is in addition to two zero-credit PhD Research Seminar courses.Subject to the advisor's approval, up to two PhD level courses (maximum of 6 credits) can be taken from other doctoral programs offered at KU.

•   Pass all courses with a minimum passing grade of C in every course.

•   Achieve an overall CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) of at least 3.0 out of 4.

•   Pass the Written Qualifying Exam (WQE), which assesses the technical background of the student. WQE is typically administered at the end of the 2nd regular semester after a full-time student’s admission into the PhD program, and before the end of the 4th semester in the case of a part-time student.

•   Pass the Research Proposal Examination (RPE), typically before the end of the 4th semester for full-time students and before the end of the 6th semester for part-time students.

•   Have at least one full paper accepted for publication in a quartile one ranked journal, per Scopus, in the research field of the dissertation before submitting the request of intent to defend the dissertation. The paper must be based on one of the research contributions in the dissertation, and the student must be the lead author of the paper.

•   Complete a Dissertation on original research and defend it successfully in a viva voce Dissertation Defense examination.

 

Students admitted to the PhD program with only a Bachelor’s Degree must satisfy the following requirements:

•   Complete a minimum of 36 credits of coursework (12 courses of 3 credit hours each).This is in addition to two zero-credit PhD Research Seminar courses. Subject to the advisor's approval, up to two PhD level courses (maximum of 6 credits) can be taken from other doctoral programs offered at KU.

•   Pass all courses with a minimum passing grade of C in every course.

•   Achieve an overall CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) of at least 3.0 out of 4.

•   Pass the Written Qualifying Exam (WQE), which assesses the technical background of the student. WQE is administered after the student successfully completes a minimum of 27 credits of formal coursework.

•   Pass the Research Proposal Examination (RPE), typically before the end of the 6th semester of full-time study.

•   Have at least one full paper accepted for publication in a quartile one ranked journal, per Scopus, in the research field of the dissertation before submitting the request of intent to defend the dissertation. The paper must be based on one of the research contributions in the dissertation, and the student must be the lead author of the paper.

•   Complete a Dissertation on original research and defend it successfully in a viva voce Dissertation Defense examination.