The only public university institution

The Lebanese University is the only public university institution in Lebanon that provides higher education almost free of charge to Lebanese, Arab and foreign students. It operates in three dimensions: providing quality education, promoting scientific research and serving the community.
The Lebanese University, which is linked to more than a hundred cooperation agreements with various local and international universities and institutions, seeks to excel, provide the labor market with the required competencies, achieve the goals of sustainable development - Agenda 2030, and encourage global dialogue to build peaceful societies that provide justice for all.

Since 1951

History

1951

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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’s 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. On this year, the first unit of the Lebanese University was created with the establishment of the Higher Normal School and the Institute of Statistics under the direction of Dr. Khalil Al-Jurr.
Soon after, Decree No. 25 was issued on 26 February 1953, stipulating the establishment of a Center for Financial and Administrative Studies that was affiliated to the University and later renamed the “Institute of Management and Finance”. The Decree also stipulated the renaming of the “Higher Normal School” with the “Higher Teachers Institution”.

1959

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Decree No. 2883 was issued on 16 December 1959 concerning the organization of the University. The first article stipulated the following: "The Lebanese University is an institution that performs the functions of public higher education in its different branches and degrees ...". However, the Statutes and Ordinances for the organization of the University, which established its academic, administrative and financial autonomy, were issued on 26 December 1967 under law No. 75/67.
Following that, the work of the University Teaching Staff was regulated under Law No. 6/70 dated 23 February 1970, and the financial system was established on 14 April 1970 under Decree No. 14246.
The University is headed by a President and a University Council. The Faculty or Institute is headed by a Dean and a Faculty Council. The University Branch is headed by a Director and a Branch Council. The Teaching Staff carries out its syndicate activities through the Association of Full-time Professors.

1975

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The University's faculties and institutes were located in Beirut and the suburbs, but the outbreak of the Lebanese war in 1975 and the difficulty of commuting between the regions, led to the establishment of branches in the governorates of Mount Lebanon, North Lebanon, South Lebanon and Beqaa, and the Central Administration remained as well in its entirety in Beirut.
There are currently branches of faculties and institutes in various Lebanese governorates, except for Faculty of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Agronomy and the Doctoral Schools, which remain located in Beirut.

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Accreditations & Classifications

In 2018, the Lebanese University received the Accreditation from the French High Council for Evaluation of Research and Higher Education (HCERES).

The “Commission des Titres d’Ingénieur” (CTI) granted the Faculty of Engineering of the Lebanese University the accreditation for Engineering programs, and the certificate of quality awarded to degree programs in Engineering “European Accredited Engineer” (EUR-ACE).

The Faculty of Economics & Business Administration also received accreditation from the Asian Association of Schools of Business International (AASBI).

The Faculty of Letters & Human Sciences and the Faculty of Information obtained accreditation for their various academic programs from the French High Council for Evaluation of Research and Higher Education (Hcéres).

The Center for Languages and Translation at the Faculty of Letters & Human Sciences received in 2021 the accreditation by the “International Conference of University Institutes of Translators and Interpreters” (CIUTI).

In 2020, the Lebanese University was listed for the first time in its history in the QS World University Rankings, reserving an advanced place among the international universities (701/750) out of +1,600 universities, despite being evaluated for only one year out of five, unlike the universities participating in the ranking for several years.

The Lebanese University progressed four ranks in the 2020 QS Arab University Rankings, and ranked among the top 21 in the Arab world in 2021 after ranking among the top 25 in 2020.

QS relied on a set of positive indicators to develop the new classification for the Lebanese University, most notably the level of higher education for its professors, good academic reputation, reputation in the labor market and employers, in addition to its large presence on the Internet.

The Lebanese University ranked also among the Top 300 universities globally, among the first 10 positions in the Arab world and the 2nd locally in the “Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020” (THE) that assess universities against the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 13, 17.

It also ranked 83rd worldwide at the level of “SDG 8 - Decent Work & Economic Growth”, translated in the desire and confidence of the local and global labor market to receive LU graduates.

The Lebanese University maintained its 3rd ranking in Lebanon in 2019 according to the WeboMetrics indicators and achieved a very distinctive rank in the “Presence” category.

It is also reported that the National Center for the Quality of Medicine, Food, Water and Chemicals at the Lebanese University obtained the ISO 9001:2015 certificate with a distinguished mention.

Based on the standards of quality management systems, the student affairs departments in the Faculties of Information, Pharmacy, Public Health, Tourism & Hospitality Management were awarded on 21 October 2015 an ISO certificate for a period of three years.