UAE : PhD (Doctoral) Students

The Institute is in the process of establishing a large and active PhD program, with full scholarships for students from all parts of the world. We hope to start the program as early as January 2013 (the exact start date depends on the decision of local accreditation authorities).

NOOR Lab has multiple open positions for PhD students interested in photonic research. Here is some information about the PhD program and our application requirements:

• For the PhD program, we plan to admit students both for FALL TERM and SPRING TERM. Other options might be possible on a case-by-case basis.
  
• APPLICATIONS FOR THE PHD PROGRAM ARE ACCEPTED NOW. You can submit your application online at Masdar Institute Admissions page. We will stop accepting applications for Fall 2013 term on May 31.
  
• If you are interested in starting your PhD program as early as Spring 2013, you need to act soon by preparing your application materials and receiving the test scores.
  
• To enter our PhD program, you must have Masters degree. You can apply if you don't have your MSc degree yet, but you are in the process of receiving it, in which case please indicate your expected graduation date (and be sure to graduate by that date).
  
• If your ultimate goal is the PhD degree but you do not have a Masters degree yet, you should you should first apply to our Masters program. Then, in the last year of your Masters program, you will submit another application the PhD program. Admission into the PhD program for current Masters students is not guaranteed. However, if a student did a good job in his/her Masters studies, and is capable of making progress in his research projects, it makes very little sense for his advisor not to support his application but to start from zero with a new student.
  
• Application requirements for the PhD program are the same as for the Masters program; please make sure to check the Masters program section above. The additional requirement for PhD applicants is to submit a research proposal. TOEFL/IELTS and GRE are currently required. We are now considering new rules which might allow to apply without GRE. These rules has not been finalized yet, please check our website for updates around mid-December. Please note that whether GRE is required or not, a good GRE score makes an application more convincing and improves the chances of admission.
  
• As mentioned above, PhD applicants must submit a research proposal as a part of their application. Please do not be intimidated by this requirement. The proposal is about the general areas which interests you, the topics which you find exciting, how do you think you can contribute given your background, and whether you are more inclined to working on theory, experiment, or fabrication. We do not expect you to present a specific research project you will undertake at Masdar - we understand that most (if not all) students need help from their advisor and familiarity with the available facilities and the currently ongoing activities to formulate such a project. If you can formulate a specific research project, which is both interesting and technically feasible, this will definitely strengthen your application. However, this is not something which is expected from all applicants. (Please also note that if you really want to work on some specific project/topic and nothing else, there must be a faculty who is willing to work on this project, and there must have funding available for conducting this research, which is something you should confirm prior to coming to Masdar). As mentioned above, we welcome applicants from backgrounds other than photonics, and we will take into account that for such students composing a feasible research proposal is especially challenging.
  

Note that the above is unofficial information and advice from the NOOR faculty; the only official source of information on admission process is the Masdar Institute Admissions page (see the relevant section is at the bottom of this page). 

 

Application Deadline : 31 May 2013