The new CPG, with its distinctive industry engagement, is poised to build strength in already strong geosciences programs at KFUPM. The Geophysics program will enjoy state-of-the-art instructional and research facilities as well as additional faculty and staff in the next 3-5 years. The CPG will also help the Geophysics program to develop additional industry engagement and active research partnerships with leading institutions around the world. The Geophysics graduate students will have access to all these resources and will experience an increase in the value of their degree and enjoy the world-class educational experience during their stay at KFUPM.
The Geophysics Master of Science (M.Sc.) program has the following educational objectives:
Graduate leaders focused on research with a competitive edge (knowledge, soft skills, etc) to pursue an advanced (doctoral) degree in geophysics or other related fields, and in securing positions in the resources industries, government or academic institutions.
Through course work and research, offer a thorough understanding of theory, research methods, and recent developments in geophysics at the forefront of the natural resources exploration (oil, gas, mineral, etc), engineering, and environmental investigations, and the implications of those developments.
Accentuate the interrelationship of geophysics with other scientific and engineering disciplines and develop highly qualified graduates who maintain lifelong learning, professional ethics, and responsibilities, and
To help secure and improve the social and economic development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by preparing mature scientists and increasing their role in the world’s largest oil-producing country as a generator of new science, new technology, and a new life.
The Master degree program allow students the flexibility to either pursue a career path in the industry, respectively, guided by the afore-mentioned program objectives.
| NQF Domain | Program Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|
| Knowledge | Apply an advanced knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering (recognizing the interrelationship of geophysics with other scientific and engineering disciplines) to understanding issues associated with the formation, discovery, extraction and sustainable management of petroleum and other natural resources and assess natural and man-made geohazards. |
| Choose and apply a geophysical technique (including theory, instrumentation, field practice, data processing, and interpretation in exploration geophysics) appropriate for solving a specific petroleum-related problem (including natural resources) with minimum impact on the environment. | |
| An ability to understand the natural world in a global context and to apply knowledge of modern tools, techniques and computer programming skills in solving geophysical problems. | |
| Develop an appreciation for the need to engage in life-long learning. | |
| Skills | Develop and execute geophysical research and recognize the impact of geophysical solutions in oil and gas exploration and production problems, in an environmental and geohazards context, using conventional and specialized research techniques. |
| Be able to use up-to-date technology and theoretical knowledge to solve numerical problems in geophysics (static and dynamic corrections, velocity analysis, stack, filtering, deconvolution, migration, digital filtering and modeling, using computational and statistical methods) utilizing industry-wide utilized processing packages. | |
| Assess seismic and other natural hazards through advanced data analysis and rigorous statistical techniques. Interpret and integrate geophysical data employing scientific deductions as well as critical–thinking strategies to produce sound conclusions that add significantly to existing knowledge or professional practice | |
| Apply computational and statistical skills in the correction and processing of the measured data, and to solve numerical problems in Geophysics, including data inversion and filtering. | |
| Values | Work effectively in multi-disciplinary teams. Illustrate constructive interaction in group activities and exercise effective leadership. |
| Demonstrate basic critical thinking, and problem solving skills. | |
| Demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills (presenting the geophysical results to other professionals and the wider community) in order to document and transmit technical information in a clear and concise manner. Take initiative and show essential academic project management skills, or produce professional reports to develop significant new ideas and integrate them into or challenge established knowledge. | |
| Demonstrate responsibility in independent learning and the ability to design and prepare graphs, diagrams and multimedia material that effectively communicates quantitative information. | |
| Analyze exploration and/or engineering problems through all the stages of measurement, corrections, processing, interpretation and reporting. Prepare high-quality technical reports and research publications in peer-reviewed ISI journals. | |
| Demonstrate an ability in designing and operating various modern instrumentation and tools. |
Thesis Option: The program requires the completion of a minimum of 24 credit hours of course work and 6 hours of dissertation work, with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or more at all times. The program is designed to ensure sufficient exposure to laboratory and computational tools. The distribution of credit hours is as follows:
| Degree Requirements | Credit Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Geophysics Core Courses | 9 | |
| Geophysics Electives Courses | 6 | |
| Graduate Mathematics Courses | 3 | |
| Free Elective Courses | 6 | |
| Thesis | 6 | |
| Total Credit Hours: | 30 | |
Non-Thesis Option: The program requires the completion of a minimum of 33 credit hours of course work with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or more at all times. The program is designed to ensure sufficient exposure to laboratory and computational tools. The distribution of credit hours is as follows:
| Degree Requirements | Credit Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Geophysics Core Courses | 9 | |
| Geophysics Electives Courses | 9 | |
| Graduate Mathematics Courses | 3 | |
| Free Elective Courses | 9 | |
| Geophysics Masters' Report | 3 | |
| Total Credit Hours: | 33 | |
Students can choose from the graduate-level elective courses offered during a particular semester.
| Course # | Course Title |
|---|---|
| GEOP 504 | Applied Environmental Geophysics |
| GEOP 505 | Advanced Computational Geophysics |
| GEOP 510 | Seismic Data Analysis |
| GEOP 515 | Geophysical Inversion |
| GEOP 540 | Three-Dimensional Seismic Interpretation |
| GEOP 550 | Reservoir Characterization |
| GEOP 606 | Independent Research |
| GEOP 590-592 | Special Topics |
| GEOP 621 | Advanced Electromagnetic Fields |