Description

The American University of Beirut (AUB) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent institution chartered in New York. Its campus is located in Beirut, Lebanon, and it operates under the governance of a private, autonomous board of trustees. AUB offers a range of academic programs leading to bachelor's, master's, MD, and PhD degrees.

At a meeting of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions on January 23, 1862, W. M. Thomson proposed the establishment of a college of higher learning, including medical training, in Beirut, with Dr. Daniel Bliss as its president. While Bliss was fundraising for the new college in the United States and England, the State of New York granted a charter for the Syrian Protestant College on April 24, 1863. The college, later renamed the American University of Beirut in 1920, welcomed its first class of 16 students on December 3, 1866, with Bliss serving as its inaugural president until 1902.

Initially, Arabic was the language of instruction due to its common usage among the ethnic groups in the region, and prospective students needed proficiency in Ottoman Turkish, French, and English. In 1887, the language of instruction transitioned to English.