Ph.D. in Computer Engineering
Department of Computer Engineering · Doctoral Program
Program Information
The Department of Computer Engineering at King Saud University was founded in 1984, starting with nine full-time faculty members. The faculty has grown significantly over the years, engaged in education, research, and working closely with students from throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the world. Distinguished faculty members provide professional and consulting services across diverse computer technology areas for governmental, public, and private sectors.
In recent decades, the world has witnessed tremendous developments in computer engineering. The increasing reliance on these technologies has created growing demand for specialized cadre with high expertise in computer engineering to work in teaching and research in universities and research centers.
The Ph.D. program in Computer Engineering is proposed to contribute to providing graduate studies and advanced research in the fields of computer engineering. Our research and teaching cover a broad range of fields including:
Computer Architecture & High-Performance Computing
Cloud Computing & Internet of Everything (IoE)
Robotics & Signal Processing
Computer Networks & Network Security
This will contribute to creating qualified researchers and faculty members in the area of computer engineering. Degree Name: Ph.D. in Computer Engineering.
Educational Objectives
To promote advanced research and scientific publication and to contribute to the future scientific and technical world advancement in computer engineering.
To prepare highly specialized scholars, professionals, and Saudi research personnel that meet the Saudi society's development needs, jobs demand, and support the transfer of advanced information technologies across industry, academic, and scientific sectors.
To create solutions for persistent Computer Engineering problems in public and governmental institutions through a higher level of applied research and technology transfer.
To provide graduate students and Saudi researchers with the skills, methodology, innovation, and scientific approaches necessary for distinguished professionals in Computer Engineering sectors.
Admission Requirements
In addition to the admission requirements enumerated in the Unified Law Organizing Graduate Studies at Saudi Universities, the department has the following additional requirements:
BSc from King Saud University or equivalent in one of the following: Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or related computing disciplines.
MSc from King Saud University or equivalent in one of the following: Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or related computing disciplines.
Minimum standardized scores required:
or equivalent
(or 144 GRE Quantitative)
minimum score
Degree Requirements
Successful completion of 26 units of graduate courses in the Ph.D. program.
Pass the Comprehensive Exam (COMP 700).
Publish or obtain acceptance for at least one publication in a specialized refereed venue in computer engineering.
Completion and successful defense of an original thesis (24 units).
Program Structure
from List (1)
from List (2)
Courses
from List (3)
Exam
Study Plan
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours | Co-/Pre-Requisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| — — | General Course from List (1) | 3 | — |
| CEN 6-- | Core Course (1) from List (2) | 3 | — |
| CEN 6-- | Core Course (2) from List (2) | 3 | — |
| Sub Total | 9 | ||
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours | Co-/Pre-Requisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEN 601 | Engineering Stochastic Processes and its Applications | 3 | — |
| — — | Elective Course (1) from List (3) | 3 | — |
| — — | Elective Course (2) from List (3) | 3 | — |
| Sub Total | 9 | ||
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours | Co-/Pre-Requisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEN 696 | Independent Research Study I | 2 | — |
| — — | Elective Course (3) from List (3) | 3 | — |
| CEN 699 | Thesis Proposal Preparation | 1 | — |
| Sub Total | 6 | ||
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours | Co-/Pre-Requisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEN 697 | Independent Research Study II | 2 | — |
| Sub Total | 2 | ||
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours | Co-/Pre-Requisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| COMP 700 | Comprehensive Exam | 0 | — |
| Sub Total | 0 | ||
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours | Co-/Pre-Requisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEN 700 | Thesis | 24 credit hours | CEN 699 / COMP 700 |
| Total | 26 units + 24 units for thesis | ||
Courses
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CEN 601 | Engineering Stochastic Processes and its Applications | 3 |
| CEN 696 | Independent Research Study I | 2 |
| CEN 697 | Independent Research Study II | 2 |
| CEN 700 | Thesis | 1 |
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MATH 505 | Numerical Linear Algebra | 3 |
| MATH 507 | Advanced Operations Research | 3 |
| STAT 503 | Probability and Mathematical Statistics | 3 |
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CEN 628 | Advanced Parallel Computing | 3 |
| CEN 629 | Fault-Tolerant Systems | 3 |
| CEN 633 | Network Design and Algorithms | 3 |
| CEN 635 | Telecommunication Network: Protocols and Performance Analysis | 3 |
| CEN 645 | Speech and Video Signal Processing | 3 |
| CEN 647 | Pattern Recognition | 3 |
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CEN 611 | Design of CAD Tools | 3 |
| CEN 632 | Graphs and Network Flows Theory and Applications | 3 |
| CEN 634 | Personal Communication Systems | 3 |
| CEN 636 | Optical Networks | 3 |
| CEN 637 | Sensor Networks | 3 |
| CEN 638 | Wireless and Multimedia Networks | 3 |
| CEN 639 | High-Performance Interconnection Networks | 3 |
| CEN 651 | Nanorobotics | 3 |
| CEN 691 | Advanced Topics in Computer Engineering | 3 |
| CSC 612 | Analysis and Design of Algorithms | 3 |
| CSC 619 | Selected Topics in Computer Security | 3 |
| CSC 662 | Artificial Intelligence | 3 |
| CSC 663 | Machine Learning | 3 |
Course Schedule
| First Semester | Second Semester | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | CEN 601 | CEN 601 | |
| Elective Courses | Signals & Systems | 1 from {CEN 647, CEN 651} | 1 from {CEN 645, CEN 651} |
| Computer Networks | 1 from {CEN 634, CEN 635, CEN 632} | 1 from {CEN 633, CEN 637, CEN 638} | |
| Computer Architecture | CEN 628 * | CEN 628 | |
