| Lebanese University | |
| Type: | Public |
| President: | Bassam Badran |
| Endowment: | 386,596,272,000 LBP (2018) |
| Students: | 80,874 (2018–2019) |
| Country: | Lebanon |
| Campus: | Main Campus in Hadath, Baabda District, Urban, 705,000 m2[1] |
| Free Label: | Accreditations |
| Free: | Hcéres |
| Administrative Staff: | 2,834 |
| Academic Staff: | 5,465 |
The Lebanese University (LU;) is the only state-funded public university in Lebanon. Established in 1951, the Lebanese University has played a major role in expanding general education in Lebanon.
The university's main campus was originally located in Beirut, but a few satellite campuses were opened due to travel restrictions during the Lebanese Civil War. It has three geographically distributed campuses: Rafic Hariri Campus, Fanar Campus and North Campus.[2]
The university currently enrolls thousands of students and is organized into 16 faculties. It offers a range of degree programs, include undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels. The primary language of instruction is Arabic.[3]
The creation of the Lebanese University was an idea first mentioned in the speech of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hamid Frangieh, during the closing ceremony of the Third UNESCO Conference in Beirut held on 11 December 1948, during which he said: "Lebanon hopes to see the creation of a Lebanese university having the spirit of UNESCO."
The establishment of the Lebanese University came as a result of a popular and student mobilization initiated on 23 January 1951 with a general strike that lasted for a long period during which, secondary and university students, mostly from Saint Joseph University participated. The movement included demonstrations and clashes with security forces that lead the Council of Ministers to meet on 5 February of the same year.[4]
Since its inception, the Lebanese University has been headed by:
| Khalil Al-Jurr | (1951–1953) | |
| Fouad Afram al-Bustani | (1953–1970) | |
| Edmond Naim | (1970–1976) | |
| Boutros Dib | (1977–1980) | |
| Georges Tohme | (1980–1988) | |
| Michel Assi | (1988–1990 by delegation) | |
| Hashem Haidar | (1990–1992 by commission) | |
| Asaad Diab | (1993–2000) | |
| Ibrahim Qubaisi | (2001–2006) | |
| Zuhair Shukr | (2006–2011) | |
| Adnan Al Sayed Hussein | (2011–2016) | |
| Fouad Hussein Ayoub | (2016–2021) | |
| Bassam Badran | 2021–present |
The university issued successive decrees since its inception, establishing faculties and institutes, which contributed to its expansion and development until reaching 16 faculties:[6]
| Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences[7] | |
| Faculty of Law and Political and Administrative Sciences[8] | |
| Faculty of Sciences[9] | |
| Institute of Social Science[10] | |
| Faculty of Fine Arts and Architecture[11] | |
| Faculty of Pedagogy[12] (which replaced the Higher Teachers Institution) | |
| Faculty of Information[13] | |
| Faculty of Economics and Business Administration[14] | |
| Faculty of Engineering[15] | |
| Faculty of Agronomy[16] | |
| Faculty of Public Health[17] | |
| Faculty of Medical Sciences[18] | |
| Faculty of Dental Medicine[19] | |
| Faculty of Pharmacy[20] | |
| Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management[21] | |
| Faculty of Technology,[22] in cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation in France |
| Doctoral School of Literature, Humanities & Social Sciences[23] | |
| Doctoral School of Law, Political, Administrative and Economic Sciences[24] | |
| Doctoral School of Science and Technology[25] |
The university is also affiliated with the Institute of Applied Sciences and Economics[26] (CNAM-ISAE), which operates in cooperation with CNAM in France.
The university awarded honorary doctorates to a number of heads of state and officials, including in chronological order:
| The Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi | (1957) | |
| The King of Morocco, Mohammed V | (1960) | |
| The Tunisian President, Habib Bourguiba | (1965) | |
| The Senegalese President, Leopold Senghor | (1966) | |
| The Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie | (1967) | |
| The Romanian President, Nikolai Ceausescu | (1972) | |
| The Armenian President, Robert Kocharian[27] | (1999) | |
| The Iranian President, Seyed Mohammad Khatami | (2003) | |
| The Saudi Minister of Interior, Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud | (2009) | |
| The Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad[28] | (2010) | |
| Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan | (2013) | |
| The German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier[29] | (2018) |
Minister Fouad Boutros, Minister Ghassan Tueni, Minister Laila Solh Hamada, Former Head of Press Syndicate Mohamed Baalbaki, As-Safir's Editor-in-Chief Talal Salman, Governor of the Banque du Liban Riad Salamé, Archbishop Grégoire Haddad, writer and poet Salah Stétié, Architect Rahif Fayad, Professor Philip Salem, and artist Majida El Roumi.
The Lebanese University collects registration fees from its affiliated students for the academic year 2023-2024 as follows:
A- Lebanese students, students born to Lebanese mothers, and Palestinians:
For the bachelor’s degree in theoretical colleges, the amount is 12,500,000 LBP.
For the bachelor’s degree in applied colleges, the amount is 12,500,000 LBP.
For the postgraduate level, the amount is 17,500,000 LBP.
For the doctoral studies stage, the amount is 22,500,000 LBP.
B - Foreign students:
For the bachelor’s degree in theoretical colleges, the amount is 60,000,000 LBP.
For the bachelor’s degree in applied colleges, the amount is 60,000,000 LBP.
For the postgraduate level, the amount is 100,000,000 LBP.
The doctoral studies stage: an amount of 300,000,000 LBP.
C - Participation fee for the entrance competition in colleges and institutes to which affiliation is subject to the competition condition: 500,000 LBP.
E- Foreign language course fees: 50,000 LBP
The Lebanese University is the only public institution in Lebanon carrying out the functions of the public higher education with its various majors and degrees, scientific research, and continuous training.[30]
In the 2024 QS World University Rankings, the Lebanese University ranks 577 worldwide, a record-high after being placed 701–750 in 2021.[33]