American University of Beirut

As early as 1913, the university recognized the need for engineering education and training in the Middle East, and courses in this field were offered in the School of Arts and Sciences. By 1944, sufficient additional courses had been added to permit the granting of the degree of bachelor of science in civil engineering. The last class in this program graduated in June 1954. In 1951, a separate School of Engineering was established, and curricula were initiated in civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and architectural engineering. The years from 1951 to 1954 were a transitional period of continuous development towards the new curricula, which were established in 1954. In 1963, a program leading to the degree of bachelor of architecture was introduced, replacing the bachelor of architectural engineering program, the last class of which graduated in June 1966. In that year, the school was renamed the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture. Since then, curricula have been under constant review with changes introduced as necessary to keep pace with modern technology, conform to sound developments in engineering and architecture education, and meet the evolving needs of the region. In 1986, a new undergraduate major in computer and communications engineering was added within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. In 1992, a new major in graphic design was added within the Department of Architecture and Design leading to a bachelor of graphic design. In 2006, the name of the degree was changed to bachelor of fine arts in graphic design, and the name of the bachelor of engineering in electrical engineering degree was changed to bachelor of engineering in electrical and computer engineering. In 2009, two bachelor of science programs were introduced, the first in construction engineering, housed in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the second in chemical engineering, housed in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. A bachelor of engineering program in chemical engineering was simultaneously launched in 2009 with the bachelor of science program. In 2014, a bachelor of engineering program in industrial engineering was introduced. The chemical engineering programs are now housed in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, while the industrial engineering program is housed in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management. The faculty was renamed Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture in 2017.

In 2019, a bachelor of engineering program in computer science and engineering was started in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The program of landscape architecture previously at FAFS, was transferred to MSFEA starting July 2024.

The bachelor of engineering programs in chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer and communications engineering, electrical and computer engineering, industrial engineering, and mechanical engineering, and the bachelor of science program in chemical engineering are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET.

The bachelor of landscape architecture (BLA) is accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB), the academic arm of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).

We offer world-class educational programs that prepare students for the engineering, architecture, and design professions. Rooted in the liberal education model, our programs also prepare students to be engaged citizens and leaders, entrepreneurs and researchers who deploy their skills with ingenuity, integrity, and a sense of responsibility towards future generations. Our faculty produces transformative knowledge and technology through internationally-recognized research and design, and seeks to leverage the special contexts of Lebanon and the region to define highly novel and relevant research programs. We impact policy and practice through our alumni and by directly engaging industry, government, and the public at large.

A viable, livable, and equitable world.

The Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture offers programs of study leading to the degrees of bachelor of architecture (BArch), bachelor of fine arts (BFA) in graphic design, bachelor of landscape architecture (BLA), bachelor of engineering (BE), with majors in chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer and communications engineering, computer science and engineering, electrical and computer engineering, industrial engineering, and mechanical engineering; and bachelor of science (BS) with majors in chemical engineering and construction engineering. The curriculum of the BArch degree extends over 14 terms (ten 16-week terms and four eight-week summer terms), totaling 192 weeks. Although the program is completed in five calendar years, it is equivalent to a program of six academic years that does not include summers. The curriculum of the BLA degree and of the BE degree and that of the BFA degree are divided into 11 terms (eight 16-week terms and three eight-week summer terms), totaling 152 weeks. This duration is equivalent to five academic years without summers, but the programs are completed in four calendar years. The curriculum of the BS degree extends over eight or nine terms (six 16-week terms and two or three eight-week summer terms).

The faculty reserves the right to make changes to the curriculum, course content, and regulations as it deems appropriate and without prior notice.

Admission is by selection of a limited number of the most promising, eligible applicants. All candidates for admission to the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture must have completed the pre-professional educational requirements of the candidate’s country and the approved freshman program in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of this university as described in this catalogue, or a program recognized as equivalent. The certificates, recognized for admission to the first year in the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, are listed in the the Office of Admissions section of this catalogue. Holders of the technical baccalaureate (BT) are only eligible for admission to the same major as that of their BT.

Students attending recognized institutions of higher learning, including AUB, may apply for transfer to any of the undergraduate majors in the MSFEA, depending on availability of places and subject to the following conditions. Students admitted to the architecture or graphic design programs can start in the fall term only. Applicants must have:

​Applications of transfer students are evaluated and approved by the departments and the Undergraduate Admissions Committee of the faculty. The term in which the students are placed and the complete program of study in the major in which they are admitted, are determined by the department concerned.

The class status of students is as follows:

Students’ status is changed to that of a higher year if their cumulative number of failed, withdrawn, or unregistered credits from the regular credit hour requirements does not exceed seven.​

Students of the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture must meet the following minimum residency requirements:

Engineering, Graphic Design, or Landscape Architecture Majors: Students must register in residence at the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture for the last four regular terms and should complete at least 50 credits during this period.

Architecture Major: Students must register in residence at the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture for the last five regular terms and should complete at least 65 credits during this period.

The course is designed to familiarize first year students with the different disciplines in engineering and architecture, including: architecture, civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical, industrial and technologies used in the fields. The course takes a unique interdisciplinary approach to the field and introduces the related disciplines in the world of engineering and architecture. One key objective is to promote interdisciplinary interaction and innovative thinking. The course is organized into modules covering the different disciplines within the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture (MSFEA). The last module of the class showcases interdisciplinary projects demonstrating interactions among the different fields. The lectures explain as applicable to each discipline, through examples, notions of problem solving, design thinking, process of invention and innovation, environmental and civic responsibility, and measures of success in aesthetics and performance. The course project is a key component of the course. It is interdisciplinary in nature bringing ideas and solutions from all disciplines in engineering and architecture. Annually.

This course places students in a recognized firm in Lebanon or abroad for a supervised immersive learning experience in which they work as junior-level professionals in their fields of study. For a minimum of six months, students work full-time in a paid position where they apply their knowledge to challenging problems related to their field of study. This course extends over two terms and is registered twice as FEAA 500 and FEAA 500A in order to cover the six-months period. FEAA 500: 0 credit- 3 billing - grade (PR) – prerequisites: approval of the course coordinator and completion of a minimum of 90 credits for engineering students (120 credits for architecture students). FEAA 500A: 3 credits – 0 billing – prerequisite: FEAA 500.

This sequence of two courses provides selected Final-Year Project (FYP) students with the knowledge, tools, and mentorship needed to transform their technical FYP into a viable business by the time they graduate. Topics include design thinking, business planning, business modeling, team formation, marketing, finance, legal aspects, and pitching. Annually in fall term. Corequisite: final-year project in student home department.

This sequence of two courses provides selected Final-Year Project (FYP) students with the knowledge, tools, and mentorship needed to transform their technical FYP into a viable business by the time they graduate. Topics include design thinking, business planning, business modeling, team formation, marketing, finance, legal aspects, and pitching. Annually in spring term. Prerequisite: FEAA 501.

Circular design is a design approach that contributes to Circular Economy (CE) through regenerative systems that maintain the quality of life while creating social, economic, and ecological value. This project-based studio course builds a systemic understanding of the needed shift in design perspective to transform the current linear model to a circular one. It provides students with the mindset, tools, and knowledge to assess the circularity of products and processes, design circular processes, and design products to be easily reused, repaired, remanufactured, or recycled. It also introduces the importance of the use of digital technologies to enable and accelerate the transition to CE. 3 credits, Prerequisite: instructor’s approval.

This course introduces students to the various types of data, the basics of sensing, data acquisition, database design, and data analytics. FEAA 520 combines theoretical topics in machine learning with practical methods for solving problems, using Python or other programming languages. The students are exposed to supervised and unsupervised machine learning algorithms (e.g., clustering, linear regression, and classification), as well as basic deep learning architectures. The topics are demonstrated with examples from all engineering disciplines and several hands-on laboratory sessions. Prerequisites: EECE 230/231, MATH 201, and STAT 230 (MATH 218/219 is preferred but not mandatory).

for first-year students.

for second-year students.

for third-year students.

In this course, undergraduate senior or junior students engage in applied research with faculty and graduate students on multi-disciplinary, team-based research projects. Students work with faculty and industry mentors on real-world large-scale projects with students from different majors. Participants develop research experience and team skills while integrating knowledge from previous courses and refining their professional skills (teamwork, project planning, and communications).

Description of all minors at MSFEA is situated in its specific department. However, there are two minors offered that do not fall under a specific department listed below.

The minor in humanitarian engineering and public health Innovations is offered jointly by the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture.

The minor is open to undergraduate students from all majors. It is a multidisciplinary offering that provides undergraduate students with the knowledge of the humanitarian engineering field, and equips them with the skills required to find innovative design solutions for challenges faced by disadvantaged populations taking into consideration two complementary perspectives; public health perspective and engineering perspective.

Students who complete the minor will be able to:

The minor in humanitarian engineering and public health innovations consists of 15 credits, according to the following requirements:

Students interested to enroll in the minor are encouraged to inform the coordinators of the program at [email protected] to benefit from adequate advising on study plans and ensure completion of all requirements.

This is a multidisciplinary course that covers fundamentals of designing solutions for health challenges faced by disadvantaged populations. It introduces tools for identifying humanitarian and/or development needs and designing practical, scalable, and sustainable solutions and interventions. The course is offered to students from all majors. Students will be exposed to health and health system challenges in addition to design fundamentals including participatory needs assessment, formal multidisciplinary design processes, and relevant technologies and tools with real world applications and case studies. Open to students in advanced standing (second and third year for three years program and third and fourth year for four years program). 

The capstone project course is an interdisciplinary service-learning design course focused on development and humanitarian engineering solutions for health challenges. In the capstone, students apply all tools learned in HEHI 201. Students work in multidisciplinary teams with disadvantaged communities, under joint supervision of at least two mentors from MSFEA, FHS, and other faculties. The capstone is divided into two sub-courses, HEHI 202A (1cr.) and HEHI 202B (2cr.), and must be registered in two consecutive terms. HEHI 202A has as a prerequisite: HEHI 201. HEHI 202B has as a prerequisite: HEHI 202A.

Upon prior approval of the students’ adviser and the coordinators of the humanitarian engineering initiative, students who are required, as part of their degree requirement, to complete a capstone or final year project, can count that experience towards fulfilling the capstone requirement for the minor.

To graduate with the minor, students must attain a minor GPA of 2.3 or more to satisfy its requirements.

Students can opt for a certificate in humanitarian engineering and public health innovations. 

The “Humanitarian Engineering and Public Health Innovations” certificate requirements are:

Students should declare the certificate before completing the requirements. 

Upon prior approval of the students’ adviser and the coordinators of the humanitarian engineering Initiative, students who are required, as part of their degree requirement, to complete an internship or practicum, can also count that experience towards fulfilling the internship requirement for the certificate.

The Biomedical Engineering (BMEN) program at the American University of Beirut is offering an interdisciplinary minor in the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture (MSFEA) aimed at preparing students for design and innovation in the field of bioengineering. The minor will educate students on the process of designing engineering solutions with focus on biomedical and healthcare applications. This is achieved through a set of courses that include two new courses, BMEN 501 and BMEN 502. In BMEN 501 “Bioengineering Design Fundamentals,” students will be exposed to the key steps of engineering design from needs assessment and problem identification to prototyping and validation including concepts, methodologies, and tools with focus on biomedical and healthcare use cases. BMEN 501 is a regular course and includes weekly lectures by the instructor and invited guests, assignments, a course project, and several quizzes. In BMEN 502 “Bioengineering Design Capstone”, students will apply the engineering process to an interdisciplinary biomedical project with joint mentoring from MSFEA and FM faculty members. The minor also includes additional courses aimed at covering basic background in biology/physiology, a broad overview of the various subfields of biomedical engineering, and advanced topics. 

The minor in biomedical engineering design is open to AUB students from all majors who have completed their first academic year (non-engineering students) or their first two academic years (engineering students) and who have a cumulative GPA of 2.3 or more. The minor will be indicated on the transcript of the students who complete all the requirements described below. To graduate with a minor, students must attain a minor GPA of 2.3 or more to satisfy its requirement. 

The minor requirements are divided into a set of core courses and a set of elective courses with a total of 18 credits, as follows:

The course aims to educate and train students in the process of utilizing engineering design concepts, methodologies, and tools for developing medical technologies. The course will teach the design process focused on development of engineering solutions in healthcare. This will include problem definition, identifying needs, setting specifications, and translating them to prototypes, testing and design refinements. The material will be taught partly through active discussions, in class, of design topics, case studies, and design exercises. Also, in the final part of the course the students will be challenged to identify a problem and use the design process to develop the needs and specifications. In addition, students will learn about intellectual property, research ethics, and various regulations for biomedical technology and human safety considerations.

The course provides practical training in engineering design as students are placed within design groups to work through a real-life iteration of the engineering design process they learned in BMEN501 for an idea either of their own or provided by faculty members. Interdisciplinary teams will typically be paired up with two faculty mentors, one from MSFEA and one from FM. Students will be challenged to innovate and improve clinical, diagnostic, or patient care technologies via need-based problem statements under the guidance of their faculty mentors. Each team will complete the course by delivering a prototype or a proof of concept of their engineering solution capable of demonstrating the required functions of the intended solution. Each team will present the outcome of their work in technical reports and oral presentations. Prerequisite: BMEN 501.

Biomedical engineering is an interdisciplinary domain which applies principles of engineering to find solutions for biological and health problems. Biomedical engineering aims to improve our fundamental understanding of biological processes and develop approaches for optimized therapeutic/diagnostic healthcare procedures. The field of biomedical engineering involves the development of materials to replace or enhance the operation of damaged or malfunctioning biological entities, development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools, modeling of biological systems, signal processing and bioinformatics. This course will introduce students to biomedical engineering and provide insight into the various applications in the biomedical engineering field. The course will be divided into modules, and each will be given by a specialist in a certain biomedical engineering area.

This course focuses on the quantitative modeling of different physiological systems. It provides students with current concepts of the mathematical modeling, and different quantitative descriptions of cellular and organ physiology. At the subcellular/cellular level, we will examine mechanisms of regulation and homeostasis. At the system level, the course will cover basic aspects of anatomical and pathophysiological features of the nervous, neural, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems. Several physiological processes are treated as case studies for increasing complexity in modeling dynamical systems. Prerequisites: MATH 202 and PHYL 346, or consent of instructor.

In a world of aging population, an ever-increasing demand for improvement of healthcare services and need for replacement organs and tissues are arising. The limited pool of donors together with the problem of donor organ rejection is a strong driver for engineering tissues and other body parts. Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary field that uses cells, biomaterials, biochemical (e.g., growth factors) and physical (e.g., mechanical stimulation) signals, as well as their combination to generate tissue-like structures. The goal of tissue engineering is to provide biological substitutes that can maintain, restore, or improve the function of damaged organs in the body. This course will introduce interested students to the new field of tissue engineering and provide insight on cutting edge applications in this area.

This course focuses on recent advances in the development of novel drug delivery systems. The fundamentals of drug delivery are discussed. Various strategies to tune and control the release of active agents for optimized therapeutic outcomes are explored. The course covers polymers and techniques used to produce drug nanoparticles, with specific examples of nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems. Prerequisites: CHEN 314 and CHEN 411, or consent of instructor.

Biomedical imaging offers an unprecedented view into the structure and function of a living body, and as such plays an essential role in medical practice and research. This course will provide students with an overview of the key concepts underlying the primary diagnostic biomedical imaging modalities, including: ultrasound, x-ray, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Students will gain an understanding of the physical principles and theoretical foundations governing the operation of each imaging modality, the technology that translates theory into practice, and the basics of image formation. Students will also learn about clinical and research applications in imaging. The course includes class sessions, demonstrations, tours, and research seminars.

This course will provide a comprehensive analysis of the field of nanoengineering with a focus on biosensors including common modalities, basic theoretical considerations for sensor operation, physics of detection and applications in research and medical diagnostics. The course will cover the major types of electronic nanobiosensors for biological signal detection (potentiometric, amperometric, and mass-based sensors) and their applications in the fields of neural engineering, DNA sequencing and cardiovascular early disease detection. The course will enable students to have a strong grasp of fundamentals of biosensor design, select sensors for various applications and evaluate new and emerging technologies. Prerequisites: EECE 210 (or equivalent) and BIOL 210 (or equivalent); or consent of instructor.

A course on the study of the biomechanical principles underlying the kinetics and kinematics of normal and abnormal human motion. Emphasis is placed on the interaction between biomechanical and physiologic factors (bone, joint, connective tissue, and muscle physiology and structure) in skeleto-motor function and the application of such in testing and practice in rehabilitation. The course is designed for engineering students with no previous anatomy/physiology. Prerequisites: CIVE 210, MECH 320 or CIVE 310; or consent of instructor.

A course that examines the structure-property relationships for biomaterials and the medical applications of biomaterials and devices. The first part of the course focuses on the main classes of biomaterials, metal, ceramic, polymeric and composite implant materials, as well as on their interactions with the human body (biocompatibility). The second part of the course examines the various applications of biomaterials and devices in different tissue and organ systems such as orthopedic, cardiovascular, dermatologic, and dental applications. Experts from the medical community will be invited to discuss the various applications. Prerequisite: MECH 340 or consent of instructor.

The human brain, perhaps the most complex, sophisticated, and complicated learning system, controls virtually every aspect of our behavior. The central assumption of computational neuroscience is that the brain computes. What does that mean? Generally speaking, a computer is a dynamical system whose state variables encode information about the external world. In short, computation equals coding plus dynamics. Some neuroscientists study the way that information is encoded in neural activity and other dynamical variables of the brain. Others try to characterize how these dynamical variables evolve with time. The study of neural dynamics can be subdivided into two separate strands. One tradition, exemplified by the work of Hodgkin and Huxley, focuses on the biophysics of single neurons. The other focuses on the dynamics of networks, concerning itself with phenomena that emerge from the interactions between neurons. Therefore, computational neuroscience can be divided into three sub-specialties: neural coding, biophysics of neurons, and neural networks. This course will introduce engineers, physicists, computational scientists, mathematicians, and other audiences to the neurosciences from the cellular level and the network level as seen from computational lenses. Prerequisites: BIOL 201 (or equivalent) and Math 202, or consent of instructor.

Neural interfaces are micro and nano devices that form the connection between the biological neural tissue and the external electronic devices. These devices are designed for mapping, assisting, augmenting, or repairing neural pathways. The course will focus on physical, chemical, and neurophysiological principles of neural interfaces, theoretical and functional basis for their design, micro and nano fabrication techniques, and applications in neural prosthesis for Brain Machine Interface. Topics covered in class will include: neural engineering, brain machine interface, microfabrication, nanofabrication, soft-lithography, electrokinetics, electrochemistry, neural probes, biocompatibility, microelectrodes, NeuroMEMS (neuro microelectromechanical systems), BioMEMS (biomedical microelectromechanical systems).

This course is open to engineering, math, science, and medical students wanting a glimpse into the world of computational finite element modeling and simulation to investigate and solve biomedical problems. Students will take a journey through the processes involved in producing a computational finite element model in the biomedical field; starting at construction of model geometry from medical imaging data (CT/MRI), through to model creation, simulation and visualization using finite element analysis software (ANSYS Workbench). Students will also be exposed to select experimental lab techniques in biomechanics and physiology that are used in model development and validation. In pursuit of developing an appreciation for the areas covered, the course will incorporate a mix of theory, demonstrations, practice, real-world modeling applications, and research seminars.​