The program educational objectives have been developed in alignment with missions of College and University. The PEO ensure that graduates of this program keep pace with the inexorable increase both in the basic sciences underlying our understanding of geosciences, and in the technological sophistication of exploration of oil and gas. In addition, this program is aimed at making a difference within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and beyond in the fields of geosciences.
The educational objectives of the M.S. in Geology program are for the graduates to attain the following within a few years of graduation:
-
- Attain employment in governmental or private sector, or engage in entrepreneurship. (PEO1)
- Advance their careers by demonstrating leadership and interpersonal skills including teamwork and communication skills. (PEO2)
- Pursue their professional development through self-learning or pursue advanced degrees. (PEO3
Program Learning Outcomes - For Thesis Option
| NQF Domain | Program Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|
| Knowledge | Appraise geological problems, judge characteristics of a range of potential interpretations, and recognize processes responsible for the geologic outcomes. |
| Apply practical and theoretical knowledge to solve geological problems. | |
| Skills | Develop and execute geological research related to petroleum geology, hydrogeology, geochemistry, or other geological topics in an original and creative manner using common and specialized research techniques. |
| Competence | Demonstrate responsibility in independent learning. |
| Prepare high quality technical reports and research publications in peer-reviewed ISI journals; and, deliver effective oral presentations of geological research to other professionals and the wider community. |
Program Learning Outcomes - For Non-Thesis Option
| NQF Domain | Program Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|
| Knowledge | Appraise geological problems, judge characteristics of a range of potential interpretations, and recognize processes responsible for the geologic outcomes |
| Apply practical and theoretical knowledge to solve geological problems | |
| Skills | Develop and execute geological problems related to petroleum geology, hydrogeology, geochemistry, or other geological topics in an original and creative manner. |
| Competence | Demonstrate responsibility in independent and life-long learning |
| Prepare high quality technical reports; and, deliver effective oral presentations of geological research to other professionals and the wider community |
Thesis Option: The program requires the completion of a minimum of 24 credit hours of course work and 6 hours of thesis work, with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or more at all times. The distribution of credit hours is as follows:
| Thesis Option | |
|---|---|
| Geology Core Courses | 9 |
| Geology Elective Courses | 9 |
| Free Elective Courses | 6 |
| Thesis | 6 |
| Total Credit Hours | 30 |
Non-Thesis Option: The program requires the completion of a minimum of 30 credit hours of course work, with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or more maintained at all times. The distribution of credit hours is as follows:
| Non-Thesis Option | |
|---|---|
| Geology Core Courses | 9 |
| Geology Elective Courses | 12 |
| *Free Elective Courses | 6 |
| Non-Technical Elective | 3 |
| Geology Master Report | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours | 33 |
Students admitted in the Master of Science in Geology program are required to prepare and submit a degree plan in consultation with their academic advisors during their first semester in the program. Students will be prohibited from registering for any additional courses in the following semester unless the degree plan is approved. Students admitted conditionally into the program must satisfy the imposed conditions at the earliest available opportunity. The plans outlined below apply to the Master of Science in Geology program.
| COURSE | TITLE | LT | LB | CR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | ||||
| GEOL 501 | Geology of the Middle East | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL xxx | Geology Elective I | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL xxx | Geology Elective II | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | 0 | 9 | ||
| Second Semester | ||||
| GEOL 521 | Advanced Petroleum Geology | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL xxx | Geology Elective III | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| XXXX xxx | Free Elective I | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL 599 | Seminar | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 0 | 9 | ||
| Third Semester | ||||
| GEOL 531 | Advanced Stratigraphy | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| XXX xxx | Free Elective II | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL 610 | Thesis (grade will be "in progress") | - | - | - |
| 6 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Fourth Semester | ||||
| GEOL 610 | Thesis | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Total Credit Hours: 30 | ||||
Students admitted in the Master of Geology program are required to prepare and submit a degree plan in consultation with their academic advisors during their first semester in the program. Students will be barred from registering for any additional courses in the following semester unless the degree plan is approved. Students admitted conditionally into the program must satisfy the imposed conditions at the earliest available opportunity. The plan outlined below applies to the Master of Geology degree program.
| COURSE | TITLE | LT | LB | CR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | ||||
| GEOL 501 | Geology of the Middle East | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL xxx | Geology Elective I | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL xxx | Geology Elective II | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | 0 | 9 | ||
| Second Semester | ||||
| GEOL 521 | Advanced Petroleum Geology | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL 599 | Seminar | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| GEOL xxx | Free Elective III | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Third Semester | ||||
| GEOL 531 | Advanced Stratigraphy | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL xxx | Free Elective IV | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| XXX xxx | Free Elective I | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | 0 | 9 | ||
| Fourth Semester | ||||
| XXX xxx | Free Elective II | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| XXX xxx | Non-Technical Elective (KBS or EM course)* | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL 600 | Geology Master Report | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | 0 | 9 | ||
| Total Credit Hours: 33 | ||||
*Business elective requirement; must be taken from KBS/EM departments
Degree Plan (Thesis Option)
Students admitted in the Master of Science in Geology program are required to prepare and submit a degree plan in consultation with their academic advisors during their first semester in the program. Students will be prohibited from registering for any additional courses in the following semester unless the degree plan is approved. Students admitted conditionally into the program must satisfy the imposed conditions at the earliest available opportunity. The plans outlined below apply to the Master of Science in Geology program.
| COURSE | TITLE | LT | LB | CR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | ||||
| GEOL 501 | Geology of the Middle East | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL xxx | Geology Elective I | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL xxx | Geology Elective II | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | 0 | 9 | ||
| Second Semester | ||||
| GEOL 521 | Advanced Petroleum Geology | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL xxx | Geology Elective III | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| XXXX xxx | Free Elective I | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL 599 | Seminar | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 0 | 9 | ||
| Third Semester | ||||
| GEOL 531 | Advanced Stratigraphy | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| XXX xxx | Free Elective II | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL 610 | Thesis (grade will be "in progress") | - | - | - |
| 6 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Fourth Semester | ||||
| GEOL 610 | Thesis | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Total Credit Hours: 30 | ||||
Degree Plan (Non-Thesis Option)
Students admitted in the Master of Geology program are required to prepare and submit a degree plan in consultation with their academic advisors during their first semester in the program. Students will be barred from registering for any additional courses in the following semester unless the degree plan is approved. Students admitted conditionally into the program must satisfy the imposed conditions at the earliest available opportunity. The plan outlined below applies to the Master of Geology degree program.
| COURSE | TITLE | LT | LB | CR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | ||||
| GEOL 501 | Geology of the Middle East | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL xxx | Geology Elective I | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL xxx | Geology Elective II | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | 0 | 9 | ||
| Second Semester | ||||
| GEOL 521 | Advanced Petroleum Geology | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL 599 | Seminar | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| GEOL xxx | Free Elective III | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Third Semester | ||||
| GEOL 531 | Advanced Stratigraphy | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL xxx | Free Elective IV | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| XXX xxx | Free Elective I | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | 0 | 9 | ||
| Fourth Semester | ||||
| XXX xxx | Free Elective II | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| XXX xxx | Non-Technical Elective (KBS or EM course)* | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOL 600 | Geology Master Report | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | 0 | 9 | ||
| Total Credit Hours: 33 | ||||
*Business elective requirement; must be taken from KBS/EM departments
Students can choose from the elective courses offered during a particular semester. The entire list of Geology elective courses is given below and can also be found in the course catalog, available on line.
| Course # | Course Title |
|---|---|
| GEOL 502 | Advanced Structural Geology |
| GEOL 503 | Carbonate Microfacies |
| GEOL 505 | Basin and Petroleum System Modeling |
| GEOL 506 | Advanced Field Methods in Sedimentary Geology |
| GEOL 507 | Carbonates and Evaporates |
| GEOL 508 | Sedimentology and stratigraphy of unconventional reservoirs (3-0-3) |
| GEOL 511 | Fundamentals of Ichnology (3-0-3) |
| GEOL 512 | Micropaleontology |
| GEOL 515 | Carbonate and Evaporite Sedimentology |
| GEOL 522 | Advanced Micropaleontology |
| GEOL 523 | Graduate Field Work |
| GEOL 524 | Current Topics in Carbonate Geology |
| GEOL 525 | Isotope Geochemistry |
| GEOL 531 | Advanced Stratigraphy |
| GEOL 532 | Advanced Sedimentology |
| GEOL 534 | Seismic and Sequence Stratigraphy |
| GEOL 541 | Advanced Mineralogy |
| GEOL 542 | Advanced Petrology |
| GEOL 543 | Geology of Mineral Deposits |
| GEOL 551 | Advanced Geochemistry |
| GEOL 561 | Advanced Hydrogeology |
| GEOL 562 | Groundwater Modeling |
| GEOL 563 | Development of Groundwater Resources |
| GEOL 572 | Geo-Environment |
| GEOL 573 | Environmental Issues in the Unconventional Oil and Gas Exploration Industry |
| GEOL 580 | Geology Field Seminar |
| GEOL 581 | Geophysical Exploration |
| GEOL 582 | GIS Applications in Geology |
| GEOL 583 | Photogeology and Remote Sensing |
| GEOL 584 | Applied Geostatistics |
| GEOL 585 | Geological Laboratory Techniques |
| GEOL 590 | Independent Studies |
| GEOL 591 | Special Topics in Sedimentary Geology |
| GEOL 592 | Special Topics in Stratigraphy |
| GEOL 593 | Special Topics in Geochemistry |
| GEOL 594 | Special Topics in Physical Geology |