[KAUST Fall 2015 Admission]

Thank you for your reply friend

Lot of help certainly

The KAUST fellowship is a $75000 offer (annual) which includes a base stipend of $25,000 per year (rising to $30,000 upon passage into doctoral candidacy), remission of tuition ($35,000), housing, relocation travel, and medical insurance ($15,000).

Housing is provided on campus, and all students are required to live on campus.

The scholarship is given monthly depending on your annual pay.

What is the fellowship usually in US universities?

No problem eshan and thanks for the info on the fellowship. In the US, you could expect an annual gross stipend of 25000-30000$ . You would loose a few hundred dollars of tax a month(most of which you get back end of the year). However you would have to bear housing expenses on your own . In UK it is about 14000 pounds nett(tax free) a year.

[KAUST Fall 2015 Admission]

Hey Sujith

Glad to hear back from you.

I had quite many non-funded offers in which I was not interested, because I could not have self-financed my doctoral studies.

I recently received offer from WayneState University and am positive about hearing from Colorado State University. 

I am aware of the prowess of KAUST in terms of experimental facilities, yet something makes me a little unsure, always.

Hope you can tell me about a comparison between the univs I mentioned.

I believe, its better to go for KAUST comapred to Wayne State Univ. 

Not quite sure which is better among KAUST, Colorado State University and Indian Institute of Science (thats where I currently am, so that is always an option).

Hope you can shed your share of knowledge on this.

Best Regards

Hey Eshan,

I can understand your apprehensions.You are right about wayne state. I had got an admit form wayne state for my masters but did not choose it. Colorado is a good option if you are getting 100% funding with a monthly stipend.IISC ofcourse would be the best amongst the three. However,an international outlook always helps and an international PhD would add a lot of value to your resume in the future. So it boils down to colorado vs KAUST. In terms of international recognition, a degree from the US is generally weighed more in the US and Europe when compared to a degree from the middle east. The big plus as you said about KAUST is the lab facilities they have. If you are really convinced with the research topic(based on your discussions with the prof), go with KAUST. the other thing to consider is what are your options after a PhD. If you are looking for a postdoc, a PhD from either Colorado or KASUT doesnt count much. The only thing that counts is your research topic. But if you are looking for work in the US or Europe, a degree from Colorado/any other US Universities will have a higher weightage compared to KASUT. Hope this helps.

If you dont mind, can you tell me the fellowship KASUT offered? Is it 30000 USD a year? Have they offerd free housing/medical insurance too?

[KAUST Fall 2015 Admission]

Hey sujith

I actually contacted professors before applying to KAUST. The professor informally interviewed me while his visit to India (I was a little lucky on this front you may say). 

I had a single interview which catered only to the life at KAUST, my credentials and diversity, why KAUST etc etc. (you know basically HR questions, because the interview was not by CCRC people but people in administration I guess.

Your profile is extremely good and I hope that you get a better college. 

I was however in double minds about KAUST. It would be very kind of you to throw some light on it (compared to US universities).

I hope I helped.

Please dont hesitate to ask anything you have in mind.

Best Regards

Eshan

Thanks for the reply Eshan.

Glad it worked out well for you. Good luck!

A few reasons why i chose KAUST were the work content advertised in CCRC lab, the project supervisor & ofcourse the stipend for Phd students which is by far the highest in the world.However, i have also applied to EPFL Lausanne & University of Exeter and few other Universities in Europe. I am only looking for fully funded positions with studentships on offer. I should know the outcome of all the Universities by end of April.

Do you have offers from any other Universities or are you awaiting replies from any?

[KAUST Fall 2015 Admission]

Hello Friends

I am a little new to this forum. 

Just wanted to share that I have recently accepted a doctoral position at KAUST in Mechanical Engineering in Fall, 2015. 

I had my interview on 11th Feb, 2015.

A few details about me are:

Nationality: Indian

GRE: 153(V)165(A)

TOEFL: 110

Journals: 2

Conferences: 3

Research experiences at National Laboratory and Indian Institute of Science.

I was initially waitlisted for sometime. My to-be-guide gave me full support during the application process and I believe, recommended my case of admission. 

However, he himself mentioned that the university seeks people from different countries (diverse backgrounds) as it has to portray itself as a global university with students from so many countries, and students who have been meritorious academically (topper of their batches). 

I hope to meet great minds like you people there and have a memorable time ahead. 

It would be great to hear from any of you admitted/waiting or rejected.

Thanks

Hello Eshan,

I too applied for a PhD in Mechanical Engineering.

I actually applied for an open position advertised in the University webpage in the CCRC (clean combustion) lab.

I had a skype interview with the project head and the director of the center . The professor later asked me to apply online .

I have not heard anyhting since then nor have i had an "academic interview".

Could you kindly share your interview experience? Did you have two rounds of interview as most people here in the forum seem to suggest?

I am from India, have a masters degree from US with 8 journal publications and 8 years of R&D experience.

Look forward to hearing from you.

 

Thanks