Director:
| Bashour, Bana
|
Executive Officer:
| Najiya, Dalia
|
AUB is committed to offering its students a broad undergraduate liberal arts education. The aim of the General Education Program is to help us understand ourselves, the world and our role in it. To do so, the program enables students to acquire the analytical skills and habits of lifelong learning that will allow them not only to become effective in whatever area or career they choose, but also to become active citizens of the world. Students will be exposed to a range of intellectual experiences during their time at AUB, including those allowing them to reflect on their own values and responsibilities. We want to give our students the opportunity to make choices and question and test what they believe are their career goals, intellectual interests, and roles in the world.
While being exposed to various fields of knowledge, we also want our students to have the opportunity to experience different modes of learning (lectures, seminars, labs and independent research projects, experiential learning). Different modes of analysis are designed to enhance students’ verbal and interactive skills (seminars), writing and analytic skills (research projects), and hands-on experimental skills (laboratories).
In addition to courses in their academic majors and possible minor concentrations in specific fields, all AUB students must satisfy the General Education requirements by taking a minimum of 36-39 credits distributed as follows:
Ways of Understanding
- 3 credits in Understanding Communication (Arabic)
- 6 credits in Understanding Communication (English) through ENGL 204 (ENGL 206 in MSFEA)
- Quantitative Reasoning (3-6 credits)
- Writing in the Discipline (3 credits from within the major)
Understanding Ourselves
- Cultures and Histories (9 credits)
- Societies and Individuals (6 credits)
Understanding the World
- Understanding the World (3-6 credits)
Students are required to take a total of 9 credits from Understanding the World and Quantitative Reasoning with at least 3 credits from each.
Understanding Our Role in the World
- Human Values (3 credits)
- Community-Engaged Learning (3 credits)
Thematic Requirements
- Social Inequalities (3 credits from any designation)
- History of Ideas (3 credits from CHLA)
All undergraduate students are required to take one Arabic course during their undergraduate degree to fulfill the Understanding Communication (Arabic) requirement. Students who completed the Lebanese Baccalaureate may register in any Understanding Communication (Arabic) course, except for Arabic as a Foreign Language courses. Students who did not do the Lebanese Baccalaureate are required to take an Arabic Placement Test. These students will be placed in an Understanding Communication (Arabic) course that is appropriate for their Arabic skills, which may include Arabic as a Foreign Language courses.
All new undergraduate students at AUB are required to take Understanding Communication (English) Courses. New undergraduate students are placed in one of the English Communication Skills Courses on the basis of their scores on the TOEFL, the AUB-EN, the SAT Writing or any equivalent standardized test. The Department of English offers a sequence of two core courses, ENGL 203 and ENGL 204, to all AUB undergraduates, and two specialized courses, ENGL 206 to MSFEA students and ENGL 208 to OSB students. A new undergraduate student is placed in one of the core courses in the sequence upon matriculation and has to complete the sequence in successive terms.
All students are required to take 9 credits of Cultures and Histories courses and 3 credits of Human Values. All students who wish to register in these courses should have demonstrated English language skills, which placed them in ENGL 203 or above. A minimum of 3 credits must be taken in History of Ideas: CHLA. For details, refer to the Critical Humanities and Liberal Arts section. One elective for all majors should cover the theme of Social Inequalities.
In addition, all undergraduate students are required to take a 3-credit Writing in the Discipline course, which is normally offered in the major.
These distribution requirements may be met by either required or elective courses.
A comprehensive list of approved General Education courses can be found on the General Education Program website. Active General Education courses in any term may be searched by subject through the AUBSIS homepage (Search for General Education Courses). Students are expected to refer to their major degree requirements available in this catalogue before registering their GE courses.
Students who transfer from other universities or take study-abroad courses should submit the Course Equivalence petition to their faculties for courses that could count towards fulfilling their GE requirements.
Double Major, Dual Degree and Second Degree
Students enrolled for dual degrees must satisfy the General Education requirements of both majors. Students enrolled for a double major or a second degree should satisfy the General Education requirements of one major. For more information on Double Major, Dual Degree and Second Degree, please refer to the General University Academic Information.
Website: https://www.aub.edu.lb/generaleducation/Pages/default.aspx