Incorporation
The University of Balamand was established in 1883 by the decree of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and the East to establish a higher institution to teach theology. Decree no.9764 was issued on February 26th 1975 licensing the establishment of this institute in the Monastery of Balamand, near Tripoli.
In 1988, the institute was transformed into the University of Balamand pursuant to decree no.4885 dated June 4th 1988. It includes the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology, the Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, as well as the Académie Libanaise des Beaux Arts (ALBA) established in 1937.
The following faculties were established: Music, Engineering, Law, Political and Economic Sciences, Literature and Decorative Arts. Since 1959, the academy also offers Fine Arts.
Table no. 1 shows all issued decrees related to the establishment of new faculties, departments and institutes in the University of Balamand.
Table 1
| Issued decrees related to the establishment of new faculties, departments and institutes in the University of Balamand | |||
|
Decree no. |
Date of the decree |
Subject of the decree |
|
|
9278 |
5-10-1996 |
- The establishment of the Faculty of Engineering, including civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and computer engineering. - The establishment of the Faculty of Science. - The establishment of the Faculty of Business Administration including business administration, economic science, tourism and hotel management. - The establishment of the Faculty of Health Sciences including nursing, public health, development sciences, laboratory sciences and improvement of health - The establishment of the School of Audiovisual and cinema directing and the Institute of Urban Planning at the Académie Libanaise des Beaux Arts (ALBA) | |
|
1946 |
21-12-1999 |
The establishment of the University Institute of Technology | |
|
1947 |
21-12-1999 |
The establishment of Saint George’s Faculty of Post Graduate Medical Education | |
|
4112 |
17-122000 |
The establishment of the Faculty of Medicine and Medical Sciences | |
|
Source : the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. |
|||
Today, the University of Balamand includes seven faculties, institutes and academies: Arts and Social Sciences, Business & Management, Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Saint George’s Faculty of Post Graduate Medical Education, Health Sciences, Académie Libanaise des Beaux Arts (ALBA) and St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology.
The UOB and the Educational System
The headquarters of the University of Balamand is located in the region of Balamand in the Koura District (North Lebanon Governorate). It extends over an area of around 330,000m2, surrounded by wide green areas. It includes the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology and other faculties except the Faculty of Health Sciences. The campus consists of 26 buildings with laboratories equipped with modern and developed supplies, conference and meeting rooms, cafeteria, and two libraries, in addition to dormitories, parking, indoor and outdoor playgrounds, as well as an indoor swimming pool.
The UOB owns two other campuses: the Campus of the Académie Libanaise des Beaux Arts (ALBA) in Sinn El Fil and the Campus of the Faculty of Health Sciences in Ashrafieh, Beirut. The UOB applies the American system of education based on three semesters per academic year and offering credits. The English language is the main teaching language in all the faculties, except the Académie Libanaise des Beaux Arts (ALBA) and education specializations using the French Language, and the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology using both the Arabic and Greek languages in addition to English as teaching languages. The UOB opened an English section for the Interior Design and Plastic Arts in the Campus of Balamand.
Table no. 2 shows the degrees offered at the University of Balamand.
Table 2
| Degrees offered at the University of Balamand | |
|
Faculty/Institute |
Degree |
|
Académie Libanaise des Beaux Arts (ALBA) |
- Bachelor degree in all majors - DESS in Engineering, Interior Design, Graphic Design, Advertising, Fine Arts, restoration of icons, Practical Arts, DESS specialized in Urban Planning |
|
St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology |
- Bachelor degree in Theology - Master degree in Theology |
|
Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences |
- Bachelor degree in all majors - Diploma and Master in Translation, Teaching Bachelor and Master in all Languages and Literature, Education, Physical Education, Diploma of Practitioner Psychiatrist, Master in Psychology, History, Philosophy and Public Media |
|
Faculty of Business & Management |
- Bachelor in all majors - Master in Business Administration (MBA) |
|
Faculty of Sciences |
- Bachelor in all majors - Master in Natural Sciences, Computer Sciences, Chemistry, Information Systems, Teaching Diploma in all majors (except Information System and Environment Sciences) |
|
Faculty of Engineering |
- Bachelor and Master degrees in all majors |
|
Faculty of Medicine |
- Bachelor degree in Medicine |
|
Faculty of Health Sciences |
- Bachelor degree in all majors - Master degree in laboratory clinic sciences |
|
Source: Information International according to the Administration of the University of Balamand. | |
Students and Alumni
Graph 1 shows the number of students at the University of Balamand from 1988 – 2007.
To date, 4,001 students have graduated from the University of Balamand.
Educational and administrative bodies
The members of the Educational and Administrative bodies in the University of Balamand count 978 persons, distributed as follows: 814 teachers (417 part timers, 194 full timers, 129 full time physicians in the Faculty of Medicine, 74 physicians affiliated to the Faculty of Medicine), 111 administrative personnel and 53 staff members. The UOB responded to the increasing number of students by increasing the staff in both the educational and administrative bodies progressively as shown in Graph 2.
