Research Assistants and Sponsored Graduate Students

Research Assistants for Research Groups

Each Dean, in consultation with its College Research Committee (CRC) and College Council shall define two areas that will be the major focus of developing research expertise for the college. For each of these two areas the University will provide complete financial support for a full- time Research Assistant (RA).

The procedure for selecting these RAs is as follows:

  1. The University shall invite applications for Research Assistant positions in all academic colleges through its website, English and Arabic newspapers, and other publications. The Deans or HODs can also contact their outstanding graduates with strong potential for research to apply for RA positions.
  2. Each Dean shall form a Selection Committee to review the applications, interview the short-listed candidates and recommend top two candidates to the Dean. 

  3. The Dean shall inform the selected candidates about their acceptance as RAs. The Dean shall also inform the HR Department to initiate the process of hiring them as Research Assistants. 

  4. The Research Group and its Coordinator for each selected area shall be responsible to ensure that the research tasks assigned to the RA are well-defined and properly supervised. 

  5. The Dean or HODs shall explicitly define the expected outcomes from the Research Group and the responsibility of the Research Group, including the Research Assistant, to achieve the specified outcomes. 

  6. The Research Group shall submit a progress report at the end of the semester to the respective HOD. They shall also submit a complete report to the HOD at the completion of the academic year. The HOD shall provide this report to the Dean who shall forward a copy to the Dean of GSR.
Sponsored Graduate Students (SGS)

Each graduate program is entitled to admit two very bright graduate students. They will do their graduate studies with half-load and will work up to 20 hours/week as Research Assistants in their college. For this, their tuition fees will be waived and they will also be paid a monthly stipend. The procedure for selecting these Graduate Students-cum-RAs is as follows:

  1. The University shall advertise on its website, English and Arabic newspapers, and other publications, provision of financial support for talented graduate students in its ten graduate programs. The financial support shall cover their tuition fees and they will also get a monthly stipend for working part-time as Research Assistants in their colleges. The Deans or HODs can also contact their outstanding graduates with strong potential for graduate studies and research to apply for these positions.
  2. Each Dean shall form a Selection Committee to review the applications, interview the short-listed candidates and recommend top two candidates to the Dean. 

  3. The Dean shall inform the selected candidates to formally apply for admission. The Dean shall also inform the Department of Admission and Registration about their selection as Graduate Students-cum-RAs. 

  4. The College Research Committee (CRC) and College Council shall discuss and decide the Research Supervisor(s) for each selected Graduate Student-cum-RA. The Research Supervisor(s) will be informed about expected outcomes and they shall be responsible to ensure that the research task is well-defined and properly supervised to achieve these outcomes. 

  5. The Research Supervisor(s) shall submit a progress report at the end of the semester to the respective HOD. They shall also submit a complete report to the HOD at the completion of the academic year and explain how the expected outcomes have been achieved. The HOD shall provide this report to the Dean who shall forward a copy to the Dean of GSR.