About Beirut
Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon’s Mediterranean coast, it serves as the country’s largest and main seaport. The Beirut metropolitan area consists of the city and its suburbs.
Beirut’s welcoming Mediterranean climate goes far beyond the temperature. The city’s atmosphere throbs with joie de vivre. A cosmopolitan capital city and provocative college town, the “Paris of the East”, offers unforgettable experiences to travellers of all walks of life.
The city is the focal point of the region’s cultural life, renowned for its press, theatres, cultural activities and nightlife. After the destructive Lebanese Civil War, Beirut underwent major reconstruction, and the redesigned historic city center, marina, pubs and nightlife districts have once again made it a tourist attraction.
Beirut has the unusual bragging right of having been a bustling coastal city for thousands of years, and all that history and port city culture still influence it today, where visitors are shown hospitality by bewilderingly diverse religious and cultural groups. The rich mingling of so many ancient traditions with thriving modernity create an utterly unique ambiance. The balance of ancient and modern is what makes Beirut so special.
About LAU
The Lebanese American University (LAU) is a leading, non-sectarian, private higher education institution in Lebanon. It operates under a charter from the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
LAU is committed to academic excellence, student centeredness, civic engagement, the advancement of scholarship, the education of the whole person, and the formation of leaders in a diverse world.
LAU caters to students through two campuses: Beirut and Byblos.
The Beirut campus is nestled in an urban setting, just steps away from the stimulating cultural, social, educational and recreational opportunities of Lebanon’s capital. The campus is the university’s foundation site as a women’s college in the early 20th century. Its first building was Sage Hall, erected in 1933. Through the decades, nine other buildings were added over the central campus area that is beautifully landscaped with Mediterranean trees and foliage. Two schools operate on the Beirut campus: Arts & Sciences and Business. Students from other schools may take their freshman and sophomore years in Beirut, and transfer to Byblos to complete their junior and senior years. Enrollment in Beirut stands at about 4,925.
In the spring of 1987, LAU was given a 113,000-square-meter plot of land in Blat, overlooking Byblos city. The hillside campus, which opened its doors in 1991, has grown to include nine buildings over about 160,000 square meters. Enrollment stands at about 3,210. The Byblos campus is the seat of seven schools: Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. The newly built Frem Civic Center opened its doors in 2011. Other projected additions to this campus are a state-of-the-art medical-nursing complex, a new library and a sports centre.
