American University of Beirut

Mandatory Core Courses

Each of the following courses is required for the degree in Architecture. Students should pay careful attention to the prerequisite structure, which must be observed. There is a grade average requirement for ARCH 100/101, 202/203, 304/305, 406/407 and 508/509. In order to pass a year, students must obtain a minimum GPA of 2.3 in both design courses offered in any given year. If the GPA is below 2.3, the student must repeat the design studio(s) in which s/he received a grade below C+. Non-majors must secure the approval of the School and the instructor concerned to enroll in any of the courses listed below.​

• Architecture Courses​​
  

For Architecture and Graphic Design elective courses see list at end of Graphic Design section.

Minor in Integrated Product Design

Integrated Product Design is an interdisciplinary minor, located at the intersection of design, engineering, business, art, humanities, and social sciences. The minor in integrated product design is open to all AUB students who are interested in expanding their knowledge of design and obtaining a deeper understanding of the design process of goods, systems, and services from research and conceptualization, to design development and prototyping, and to marketing and branding. It is a minor for students who are inspired to become social entrepreneurs to design and develop products that can be implemented and scaled to trigger positive systemic change. Through the minor, students are exposed to a range of design skills and methods, from visualization of ideas to creative problemsolving, and transformative design thinking. They also learn to work with multidisciplinary teams on hands-on projects and in a studio environment.

Students must earn 18 credits to satisfy the requirements for the minor in integrated product design. These are distributed as follows:

1. 6 credits of foundational design skills. Students must select 3 credits in basic design methods courses and 3 credits in visualization courses (see list 1).
2. 6 credits of core product design and development. Students must select 6 credits in product design courses (see list 2).
3. 6 credits of thematic field electives. Students must select 6 credits in two of the thematic areas A, B, C, and D (see list 3).

Students will follow AUB’s regulations while pursuing the minor. University minimum requirements for a minor are as follows:

• A minimum of 15 credit hours earned on the basis of regular graded courses (not tutorial or special project type courses) is required for a minor (refer to the requirements of each faculty/school).
• At least 9 credit hours of coursework must be completed at AUB.
• Each minor must have at least 6 credits exclusive to it, 9 credits may be common with the program requirements of the major field(s) of study.
• Minor courses may not be taken on a pass/fail basis at AUB.

List 1: Foundational courses with a focus on basic design, visualization, and prototyping. The student should take 6 credits from this list.​

List 2: Core courses with a focus on product design and development. The student should take 6 credits from this list.

​List 3: Field electives. The student must take 6 cr. From at least two categories (A-D).

Category A

Category B

The minor in Urban Studies is open to all AUB students who are interested in expanding their knowledge of the contemporary opportunities and challenges posed by the ongoing transformations of the natural and built environments as the world shifts to a “planetary” urbanization. Through the minor, students familiarize themselves with a range of contemporary debates discussing the implications of urbanization across disciplinary fields. They also strengthen their command over some of the methods and tools used in social and environmental sciences, humanities, and urban planning and design to analyze urbanization processes.

In order to satisfy the requirements of a minor in urban studies, a student must earn 15 credits of coursework, as described below.

As per AUB regulations, (1) at least 9 credit hours of coursework must be completed at AUB, (2) at least 6 credits should not be taken to satisfy another minor, (3) none of the courses can be a P/F course, and (4) students must complete at least 60 credits at the sophomore level or higher, attain a minor GPA of 2.3 or more to satisfy the requirement of the minor, and maintain a cumulative GPA of more than 2.3 to be eligible to apply for the minor.

Students enrolled in Architecture, Engineering or Landscape Architecture who hold a minor in urban studies qualify for an advanced standing if they apply for the Master of Urban Planning and Policy (open to all students with a first degree in engineering, architecture, landscape, and/or the social sciences) and the Master of Urban Design (open to all students with a first professional degree in architecture and/or landscape architecture).

The minor in urban studies is administered by the Coordinator of the Master in Urban Planning and Policy & Master in Urban Design programs.

Course Requirements

In order to obtain a minor in urban studies, students must complete fifteen credits distributed as follows: 

• Two courses in the general theory/methods framework are required:

• Register for the 0-credit seminar City Debates once (URPL 660).
• At least one course  about the interaction of urban studies with a professional field is required such as the below (or equivalent, approved by the Program Coordinator):​

Design & Landscape

Urban Planning

Environmental Studies and Management

Urban Transportation and Infrastructure

• At least one of the special-topics theory courses (3 credits) that intersect directly with the study of the city in the School of Architecture and Design such as the below (or equivalent, approved by the Program Coordinator):

• One of the following courses (3 credits) may also be taken towards the minor in urban studies (in addition to equivalent courses relevant to urban studies, as approved by the program coordinator):

​Graphic Design

Mission ​​Statement

The undergraduate program in graphic design offers a professional degree with a wellrounded scope covering the multiple practice areas of the discipline. The curriculum focuses on solid training in the theoretical, practical and technical aspects of graphic design, while promoting a socially responsible practice and awareness of both local and international developments in the field. The goal of the program is to produce graduates with expert design proficiencies, grounded in historical knowledge, who are capable of adapting graphic and visual tools to the changing demands of the design industry. Students develop intellectual and critical thinking skills and contribute to aesthetic and technological innovations by generating ideas in response to a wide range of design challenges. The program is committed to the role design plays in the multicultural and multilingual contemporary regional context, and provides a creative teaching and learning environment to address these issues.

Prog​​ram Description

The Graphic Design Program is comprised of a total of 139 credit hours normally taken over four years. The curriculum is structured as follows: 1) Two foundation years, first and second, with core requirements in design, typography, representation techniques, digital media and history courses, which offer students basic skills and knowledge in design and related areas. 2) One advanced year, third year, with core requirements in advanced design, digital media and theory courses, reinforced by the field electives and General Education requirements. 3) Final year, fourth year, with a one-year design project and advanced electives. In order to pass a year, students must obtain a minimum GPA of 2.3 in both design courses offered in any given year. If the average is below C+, the student must repeat the design studio(s) in which s/he received a grade below C+.

The degree requirements in Graphic Design consist of the following:

• 94 credit hours of mandatory core courses
• 15 credit hours of approved ArD/MSFEA field electives:
  • 3 credit hours in Category A: Representation
  • 3 credit hours in Category B: History, Theory and Methodology
  • 3 credit hours in Category C: Digital Media, Typography and Professional Practice
  • 6 credit hours: choice between A, B & C
• 3 credit hours of free electives in consultation with the academic advisor
  

To meet the AUB General Education requirements (27 credits must be taken outside the department):

• 6 credit hours of English: English 203 and English 204
• 3 credit hours in Understanding Communication (Arabic)
  
• 9 credit hours of approved electives in Cultures and Histories, including 6 credit hours satisfied by ARCH 121 and ARCH 122
• 3 credit hours of approved elective in Human Values
  
• 6 credit hours of approved electives in Societies and Individuals, including 3 credit hours satisfied by GRDS 331
  
• 9 credit hours of approved electives in Understanding the World and Quantitative Reasoning with at least 3 credits from each. One of the Quantitative Reasoning courses has to be CMPS 207
• 3 credit hours of an approved elective in Community Engaged Learning, satisfied by GRDS 203
• Additional thematic requirements: One of the GE courses above has to cover the theme of History of Ideas (CHLA designation), and one course has to cover the theme of Social Inequalities​

Curriculum for the ​​Degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design

Mandatory Core Courses

• Graphic Design Core Courses​
  

For other mandatory core courses such as ARCH 121, ARCH 122 and ARCH 223, please refer to the Architecture core course descriptions.

ARD Elective C​​ourse Offerings

The elective courses in the Department of Architecture and Design are distributed into three main categories and are subject to change as new electives are introduced every year. Some electives are open to students in all faculties.

Category A: Representation (ARCH 01 and GRDS 01).

Category B:  History (ARCH 02 and GRDS 02) and Theory (ARCH 03 and GRDS 03)

Category C: Technology (ARCH 04), Engineering (05), Professional Practice (ARCH 06, GRDS 06), Digital Media (GRDS 04) and Typography (GRDS 05).

Electives are chosen in consultation with the assigned advisor and in accordance with the load distribution. 

• Elective Courses Category A: Representation
  
• Elective Courses Category B: History and theory
  
• Elective Courses Category C: Technology, Professional Practice, Digital Media, Typography and Urban Studies
  
• Technology​
  
• Architecture Professional Practice
• Digital Media
  
• Typography
  
• Graphic Design Professional Practice​