Balamond University (UOB)

http://www.balamand.edu.lb/

General Information

The University of Balamand (UOB) is a private, non-profit, independent institution of higher learning which was founded in 1988 by His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV, Patriarch of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church. TheUniversity of Balamand is dedicated to the study of the arts, the humanities, the sciences, and all professional fields which serve the interests and needs of the local and regional community. All Programs and Faculties of the University of Balamand have received official recognition from the Government of the Republic of Lebanon. UOB is committed to academic and professional excellence, and strives to educate the whole student, giving equal emphasis to intellectual, spiritual, cultural, and moral values. Current student enrollment is 1,650, and represents students from many different nationalities.

One of the key aims of theUniversity of Balamand is to provide an intellectual, moral, and cultural antidote to the long years of internal war in Lebanon. Founded at the very end of the war years, the University of Balamand strives to prepare students to live in a society where such destruction and waste will no longer be possible. Education at the University of Balamand prepares students not only to perform a job, but also to think creatively, to interact constructively, and to find appropriate solutions to a variety of problems. As a sign of theUniversity of Balamand’s commitment to the future ofLebanon and the region, a new program, Citizenship and Service Education (CASE), has recently been instituted. Through this program, students will learn the importance of team work, the necessity for effective communication skills, techniques of conflict resolution, and the principles of citizenship. The CASE Program will enable theUniversity ofBalamand to fulfill its important mission by serving even more members of the local and regional communities.

Overlooking theMediterranean and the city of Tripoli from a high plateau dominated by the historic 12th century Abbey of Balamand, the University of Balamand occupies 330,000 square meters of a beautiful hillside featuring olive and oak trees, a variety of wild flowers, mountain herbs, and distinctive rock formations. UOB offers undergraduate and graduate courses of study through the following Faculties and Programs:

TheUniversity of Balamand has three campuses, the main campus at Balamand in the Kurah district of North Lebanon, the Sin Al-Fil campus of theAcademie Libanaise des Beaux Arts (ALBA), and the Achrafieh campus, whereHealth Sciences courses are given. Most of the buildings on the main campus were made possible by generous contributions from Lebanese and Arab philanthropists, and also from the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese ofNorth America. The University of Balamand also houses theCenter for Christian-Muslim Studies and the Center for Antiochian Studies. The language of instruction is English, with the exception of courses given at the Academie Libanaise des Beaux Arts (ALBA) and courses given in the Education Program, which are in French. Nonetheless, English is a required language for all UOB students, regardless of the Faculty or the Program in which they are enrolled.

Faculties

The University of Balamand has nine faculties in varying degrees of completion: Academie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (sin al-fil campus and balamand campus), Saint John of Damascus Institute of Theology, Faculty Of Arts and Social Scences, Faculty of Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Business and Management, Faculty of Health Sciences and the Saint George's Faculty of post-Graduate Medical Education (the last two Faculties are located in the Saint George's Health Complex in Achrafieh, Beirut). The latest is the Faculty of Medicine which was established in 2000.

The language of instruction in the various faculties is as follows:

Special Programs

Freshman Program

Continuing Education Program (CEP)

Special Orientation Program (SOP)

Special Education: Experience through Doing (SEED)

Arab Forum for Social Sciences and Health

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Libraries

http://www.balamand.edu.lb/Library/index.html