Rules & Regulations

The bylaws of the Faculty of Engineering: the education system, admission, examinations and promotion rules.

Official university translation. In case of any discrepancy, the Arabic decree text prevails.

Chapter One: The Education System

Article 1

The Engineering Diploma in the Faculty of Engineering is divided over five years, into ten semesters. The diploma currently includes the following departments: Civil Engineering with its various disciplines; Mechanical Engineering with its various disciplines; Electrical & Electronic Engineering with its various disciplines; Chemical Engineering with its various disciplines. Upon the proposal of the Faculty Council and the recommendation of the University Council, the Minister of Culture and Higher Education approves any other department with its various disciplines. In addition to the above, holders of engineering diplomas and holders of equivalent certificates may enroll in an additional department called the "Department of Graduate Studies". The Council of the Faculty of Engineering performs the equivalency of such certificates.

Article 2

Each academic year is divided into two semesters (Fall & Spring) based on which teaching is provided.

Article 3

The first four semesters (for the first and second years) consist of the preparatory coursework between the various departments provided for in Article 1. The specialization in one of the Departments of Engineering is selected at the beginning of semester 5 at the student's request and after approval of the Faculty Council.

Article 4

All semesters consist of 16 weeks of actual teaching except for semesters 7, 8 and 9, each consisting of 15 weeks. The fourth-year program includes a training period of at least 8 weeks during summer break. In addition to the above, students of Mechanical Engineering must perform two internships (stage ouvrier) at the end of semesters 4 and 6, provided that the two periods shall not be less than one month each during summer break.

Article 5

The beginning of each semester shall be determined as follows — Fall semester: Monday, 1st of October; Spring semester: between mid-February and mid-March.

Article 6

The courses and the credits thereof are determined for the preparatory coursework in accordance with Schedule 1 attached to the decree.

Article 7

The study in the civil, mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering departments is as follows — Civil Engineering: a common division among all students in this department that includes semesters 5, 6 and 7; Mechanical Engineering: a common division that includes semesters 5, 6, 7 and 8; Electrical & Electronic Engineering: a common division among all students in this department that includes semesters 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Article 8

The courses and the credits thereof are determined for the common divisions mentioned in Article 7 according to Schedules 2, 3 and 4 attached to the decree.

Article 9

The semesters that follow the common division in each of the departments, subject of Article 7, are dedicated to specialization and contain mandatory and elective courses, as shown in Schedules 5, 6 and 7. These courses may be modified whenever needed on the academic and technical development levels, upon the proposal of the Faculty Council and the approval of the University President.

Article 10

At the proposal of the Faculty Council and the approval of the University Council, new disciplines shall be created and others may be cancelled, whenever needed. The Faculty of Engineering is also entitled to conduct training workshops (cycle de perfectionnement) for engineers working in all sectors.

Article 11

The number of teaching hours per week shall not be less than 25 hours in the specialization semesters, subject of Article 9, except for semester 10, where the number of teaching hours varies from 4 to 12 hours per week, plus 32 specialization semester hours for each student to supervise the end-of-year project.

Article 12

The Faculty of Engineering provides courses in three languages: Arabic, French and English. Upon the proposal of the Faculty Council, the University Council shall prescribe the teaching language in each course. Starting from semester 5, the student will be able to pursue the courses in any of the three languages.

Chapter Two: Enrollment at the Faculty

Article 13

The enrollment at the Faculty of Engineering at the Lebanese University is for semesters 1 or 5, and occurs according to a special competitive exam conducted for this purpose.

Article 14

Enrollment in semester 1 — Holders of the Lebanese baccalaureate in Mathematics and Experimental Sciences or Technical Baccalaureate, or holders of equivalent certificates, are accepted to participate in the competitive entrance exam (CEE) to semester 1, within the disciplines taught by the Faculty of Engineering. The number allocated to non-Lebanese holders of certificates equivalent to Lebanese certificates is determined at the beginning of each year on the proposal of the Faculty Council and the approval of the University President.

Article 15

The CEE for semester 1 consists of the following mandatory subjects with their respective coefficients: Arabic language (1); French or English language (1); Mathematics (5); Physics (3); Chemistry (2) — total 12. Questions should not exceed the level of the Lebanese baccalaureate.

Article 16

All examinations shall be in writing and take place in the location and time specified in accordance with the regulations in force at the University.

Article 17

Specific examination committees shall carry out the correction in strict confidentiality and at least two correctors shall correct each copy. Each corrector puts the scores separately, then the average is determined before the opening of the copy. If the scores (highest and lowest) differ by more than ten percent, the same committee shall re-correct; the scores are set over twenty and multiplied by the relevant coefficient.

Article 18

The student who is absent at any exam shall have a zero as a score.

Article 19

The elimination mark is a score of less than five over twenty in any of the subjects contained in Article 15. In the event that the student obtains at least one elimination mark, he/she shall be deemed to have failed the exam and shall be excluded therefrom regardless of the results.

Article 20

The total passing average in the CEE is twelve over twenty (12/20). If the student obtains a score lower than 12/20, he/she is considered to have failed however small the difference, and shall not be entitled to any re-sit exam.

Article 21

The examination committees shall be appointed for the CEE at least one week in advance. Each subject will have at least two correctors. Different committees may be appointed for one subject, provided that these committees designate in advance a standard method of correction, following the decision of the University President and the suggestion of the Faculty Council.

Article 22

The University shall determine, at least one week before the date of the CEE, the maximum number of students to be admitted in each branch of the Faculty. The passing students are selected in accordance with the priorities of their scores and overall averages, without any other considerations whatsoever.

Article 23

All announcements related to the examination will be posted on the bulletin board at the center of each branch of the Faculty. The concerned parties are responsible to view it, including the results, and no excuses will be accepted in this regard for whatever reasons.

Article 24

The passing student whose name is on the list of applicants accepted for enrollment must register at the Faculty within a deadline of one week from the date of posting the results. Failing that, he/she loses the right to enrollment, and the first passing person named on the waiting list shall be selected, with no excuses accepted. Passing the examination is valid for one university year and cannot be carried over to other years.

Article 25

Enrollment in semester 5 — Admission to the CEE for semester 5 in one of the engineering specializations shall be limited to: (1) students of the Faculty of Sciences at the Lebanese University enrolled in the departments of mathematics, physics and chemistry, who successfully completed the first cycle and then studied courses totaling no less than 29 credits, provided they passed a total of 20 credits (the Faculty of Engineering determines the list of such courses); (2) students who obtained the Bachelor's degree from the Faculty of Sciences at the Lebanese University in the above three departments or the equivalent thereof (the University President decides on this equivalence upon the recommendation of the Faculty Council); (3) students of the Institute of Applied Sciences and Economics at the Lebanese University (CNAM-ISAE) who obtained the First Technological Cycle Diploma (DPCT).

Article 26

The CEE for semester 5 consists of the following subjects: foreign language, mathematics, physics, chemistry, general mechanics, mechanics of materials, and IT. The level of questions may exceed the level of semester 4 in the Faculty of Engineering.

Article 27

All examinations shall be written and conducted at the time and place determined by the Faculty of Engineering.

Article 28

Upon the proposal of the Dean and the approval of the University President, a committee composed of professors of the Faculty of Engineering shall prepare the questions and correct the exams in strict confidentiality. Two correctors correct each copy separately; the grade is set over one hundred, multiplied by the coefficient assigned in Article 36, and the average of the two scores is given before opening the copy. In the event of a difference exceeding ten grades between the two scores, the committee shall re-correct the copy.

Article 29

If the candidate did not attend the exam or did not submit the copy, he/she shall receive a zero as a grade.

Article 30

The eliminatory mark shall be determined in each course of the exam in accordance with the attached table and the specializations provided in the Faculty. In case the student obtains an eliminatory mark, he/she shall be considered to have failed the exam, whatever the scores obtained in the other courses.

Article 31

The total average passing grade in the exam is 60/100 (sixty marks); a candidate who obtains an average lower than that is considered to have failed.

Article 32

The examination committees are appointed at least one week prior to the CEE date and two correctors shall correct each course.

Article 33

The Lebanese University determines, at least one week prior to the CEE date, the maximum number of students to be admitted in each specialization and each branch of the Faculty. This number shall not exceed in any case 10% of the students in each specialization and the students promoted from semester 4. Passing students are taken according to the priority of their scores and average grades without any other considerations whatsoever.

Article 34

The right to enroll is for one year, and no student succeeding in this exam shall retain the right to join semester 5 of the next year.

Article 35

Passing students who are admitted to pursue their studies in the Faculty are invited to attend an intensive training course in engineering drawing and workshops conducted throughout September, before the beginning of the academic year.

Article 36

The coefficient of each course in the semester 5 exam, as well as the eliminatory mark, shall be determined according to Schedule 8 attached to the decree.

Chapter Three: Examinations

Article 37

In addition to the end-of-semester exam, the student shall sit at least one exam in each course during the semester, and the grades of these exams shall be included in the general average by their credit number.

Article 38

In each course, the score shall be set from zero to one hundred. The score of the course, obtained from the related examinations during and at the end of the semester, shall be in accordance with a special system set by the Faculty.

Article 39

The following distinctions are awarded with the final grade of the semester: Fair — between 60/100 and less than 70/100; Good — between 70/100 and less than 80/100; Very Good — between 80/100 and less than 90/100; Excellent — 90 and above.

Article 40

Failure in any of the academic years entitles the student to repeat the year in which he/she failed, provided that the total average of his/her grades is not less than 40/100; otherwise the student is considered to be definitively dismissed from the Faculty. In no case shall a student be entitled to repeat the year in which he/she failed more than once.

Article 41

The student passes from the Fall to the Spring semester if: (1) he/she obtains 60/100 in each course; or (2) he/she obtains a weighted average of not less than 58% and did not obtain a final score below 60% in more than two courses, provided that the score of either of them is not less than 50%.

Article 42

A student is considered to have failed the semester if he/she obtains: (1) less than 60/100 in two courses with the score in one of them below 50/100; (2) less than 58/100 as weighted average; or (3) a weighted average above 58/100 with a score below 60/100 in three courses.

Article 43

The student passes from one year to another in the following cases: (1) if he/she obtains 60/100 in each course of the Fall and Spring semesters; or (2) if the total of both weighted averages of the Fall and Spring semesters is not less than 60/100 and the student did not obtain a final grade below 60/100 in more than two courses, provided that the score of either of the two courses is not less than 50/100.

Article 44

The foreign language score shall not be included in the general average. The student passes this course with an annual average of not less than 60/100; otherwise, he/she sits a re-sit exam in September. If the final score after the re-sit is below 60/100, the student repeats the failed course during the following academic year. The student is not allowed to pass to semester 5 before successfully completing all foreign-language courses of the preparatory coursework.

Article 45

If the student receives at the end of the semester a weighted average of not less than 60/100, except for one single course in which he/she obtained a score between 40 and 50, the student sits a re-sit exam in this course. The examination committee corrects the exam, and if the final score is less than 50/100, the student is considered to have failed the academic year.

Article 46

In the event that the student is absent from the examination for force majeure, the assessment of such reasons is the sole responsibility of the Faculty administration.

Chapter Four: General Provisions

Article 47

The Faculty Council shall decide on all academic problems that may arise from the implementation of these bylaws.

Article 48

All regulatory texts contrary to the provisions of these bylaws or not conforming to their content shall be repealed.

Article 49

The Ministry of National Education and Fine Arts will present this subject to the Cabinet.

Article 50

The President of the Lebanese University shall have the right to amend Schedules 5, 6 and 7 (subject of Article 9), cancel existing specializations, and create new specializations (subject of Article 10), whenever necessary.

Article 51

These bylaws shall be published and communicated where necessary.