American University of Beirut

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences was established in 1866, the same year in which the Syrian Protestant College, now the American University of Beirut, was established. On December 13, 1866, the first class was held, attended by sixteen students, and in 1870 the first five students graduated. Arabic, which was the language of instruction since the inception of the college, was replaced by English in 1882. AUB, in general, and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, in particular, have survived many crises since 1866, including two world wars, regional and local wars, student strikes and economic crises. Despite all these hardships, the faculty has continued to develop and maintain its high academic standards.

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences embodies AUB’s core commitment to the liberal arts and sciences. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the arts, humanities and social, natural and mathematical sciences, and is dedicated to advanced research in all these domains. Through its freshman and general education programs, it is the university’s principal gateway to higher studies and professional education. The faculty, through its teaching and research, promotes free inquiry, critical thinking, academic integrity, and respect for diversity and equality.

Building upon its rich tradition, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences is determined to position itself at the heart of free inquiry in the Middle East. Liberal and critical thinking is central to the faculty’s teaching, its research, its engagements with the wider community and its commitment to the thoughtful transformation of all its activities and structures. The faculty’s enhanced undergraduate programs will graduate innovators with a breadth of vision who can be agents of positive change wherever they live and work. The faculty will strategically expand its graduate offerings, especially in areas where it can make a distinctive contribution, and it will educate graduate students who are themselves producers of knowledge. The faculty will be recognized internationally for the quality of its research and creative activities in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, mathematical sciences, and interdisciplinary areas, whether undertaken in response to regional and global needs or to human curiosity and imagination. The faculty will provide a vital forum for open discussion and engage contemporary issues in ways that resonate far beyond our campus walls.

Admission to the graduate programs in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences is competitively based on the applicant’s academic record, achievements, and research interests. All applicants to graduate study need the recommendation of the academic unit concerned. Academic units may add additional requirements that could assist in their admission recommendations, such as a writing sample, GRE (or GMAT) scores and/ or interview. FAS also offers an MS in environmental policy planning (as part of an interfaculty graduate environmental sciences program).

The following includes admissions information specific to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Additional requirements are described in the Office of Admissions section in this catalogue.

Applicants are considered for admission as regular students to a graduate program if they meet the following minimum admission requirements:

An undergraduate GPA of at least 3.3 (or standardized equivalent from other institutions of higher learning) in the major field of study and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 (or standardized equivalent) for all work done at the undergraduate level leading to a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from AUB or another recognized institution of higher learning. Applicants to the environmental policy planning specialization in the master’s degree program in environmental sciences are required to have a GPA of at least 3.3 in the last two years of undergraduate study or its equivalent at AUB or other universities as determined by the faculty Graduate Studies Committee.

Further requirements for admission to graduate work are found in the Office of Admissions section in this catalogue.

Applicants are considered for admission on probation if they meet the following minimum admission requirements:

An undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 (or standardized equivalent from other institutions of higher learning) in the major field of study and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 (or standardized equivalent) for all work done at the undergraduate level leading to a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from AUB or another recognized institution of higher learning. Applicants to the environmental policy planning specialization in the master’s degree program in environmental sciences are required to have a GPA of 3.0 in the last two years of study or its equivalent at AUB or other universities as determined by the faculty Graduate Studies Committee.

Further requirements for admission to graduate work are found in the Office of Admissions section in this catalogue.

Applicants who hold a bachelor’s degree in a major field of study, other than the one to which they are applying, and who do not have sufficient academic preparation in the field may be admitted as prospective graduate students who must complete specified undergraduate course requirements.

To be considered for admission as prospective graduate students, the applicants must have attained an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 (or standardized equivalent) in all work done at the undergraduate level leading to a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from AUB or another recognized institution of higher learning.

Further requirements for admission to graduate work are found in the Office of Admissions section in this catalogue. For the purpose of change of status (admission after completion of requirements) to regular graduate student, a minimum GPA of 3.3 will be required in all the undergraduate courses requested from the student upon admission. If a GPA of 3.0-3.3 is attained, students may have their status changed to graduate student on probation pending departmental recommendation and approval of the faculty Graduate Studies Committee. The supplementary courses must be completed within four consecutive regular terms.

The Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) requirement must be completed by all newly admitted degree-seeking graduate students. The requirement consists of a course that must be completed within the first month and is marked by a passing grade. Failure to fulfill this requirement in a timely manner results in a registration hold that is removed once the requirement has been fulfilled. The specific course/section to be taken is assigned by the student adviser. For more details on the requirement, please refer to General University Academic Information section of this catalogue. Below is the RCR course listing of FAS.

An online RCR course (Responsible Conduct of Research) from the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program). Required of all graduate students in the humanities. The course “covers core norms, principles, regulations, and rules governing the practice of research.” It consists of the following modules: Research Misconduct, Data Management, Authorship, Peer Review, Mentoring, Using Animal Subjects in Research, Conflicts of Interest, Collaborative Research, Research Involving Human Subjects and Case Study - Data Management. Every term.

An online RCR course (Responsible Conduct of Research) from the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program). Required of all graduate students in the sciences. The course “covers core norms, principles, regulations, and rules governing the practice of research.” It consists of the following modules: Research Misconduct, Data Management, Authorship, Peer Review, Mentoring, Using Animal Subjects in Research, Conflicts of Interest, Collaborative Research and Research Involving Human Subjects. Every term.

An online RCR course (Responsible Conduct of Research) from the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program). Required of all graduate students in the social and behavioral sciences. The course “covers core norms, principles, regulations, and rules governing the practice of research.” It consists of the following modules: Research Misconduct, Data Management, Authorship, Peer Review, Mentoring, Using Animal Subjects in Research, Conflicts of Interest, Collaborative Research and Research Involving Human Subjects. Every term.

Please refer to the General University Academic Information, section pertaining to “Credit Transfer.”

Please refer to the General University Academic Information, section pertaining to “Credit Transfer.”​​