Freshman Program

Freshman at LAU: Where you start your career path with confidence.

Overview

The Freshman Program at LAU consists of 30 credits taken over one year. Prior to advancing to their sophomore year, students must complete various courses and fulfill specific requirements.

Upon successfully meeting all the freshman program requirements, students become eligible to declare their major.

Students admitted to the “Freshman Arts” program can pursue any Bachelor of Arts degree, Bachelor of Science in Business, Interior Design and Graphic Design.
Students admitted to the “Freshman Science” program can pursue any Bachelor’s degree.

Admission to any field of study will involve an evaluation of the applicant’s eligibility and academic background, in addition to considering the specific requirements for each major/department.

In addition to the list of courses, all Freshman students are required to take the workshop series.

Program Objective

The freshman year prepares you to pursue higher education within the requirements defined by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

Who to Ask about the Freshman Program

If you have any questions or concerns, contact the academic advisors:

For the Beirut campus contact Dania Tibi at dania.tibi@lau.edu.lb
For the Byblos campus contact Mary Saad at mary.saad@lau.edu.lb

Curriculum

Workshop Series

This workshop series will provide you with contemporary skills and knowledge within the framework of Liberal Education learning outcomes. The series focus on activities that will aid students discover their own talent and potential for a successful university life and future careers.

WRK101: Skills for the Future

Description: This workshop is based on the philosophy of education as presented by Howard Gardner. The principle underlying this course is to highlight the different types of skills, characteristics and values that form the foundation of a good student, citizen and human being in general. The course will include in addition to the three-hour workshop, a pre- and a post- exercise. The pre-exercise is an icebreaker to engage students to think about their needs whereas the post exercise will be a letter written to their future selves.

WRK102: Your Inquisitive Mind

Description: The workshop is structured around three sets of activities, each of which will help students engage with an area of critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. By the end of this workshop, students will have had a taster of some of the most important strategies that can be deployed to manage and develop their naturally inquisitive mind. Students will be encouraged to understand, embrace and celebrate their academic performance; and they will be challenged to be reflective and realistic about their potential and how they can help themselves achieve their best performance.

WRK103: Sneak Peek @ LAU & Beyond

Description: This workshop allows students to discover academic resources, tips, and strategies to get them started on the right path and to improve their academic achievement. It also helps them understand the different admission requirements for each major. Another goal of this workshop is to help students find an adequate major and clarify how they can benefit from Career Development Services while at LAU and after graduation.

Freshman Arts - Semester 1

Number	Course	Cr.
ENG 101¹	Academic English I	3
BUS 105 or MTH 101 or STA 102²	Business Mathematics or Calculus I or Basic Mathematical Statistics	3
CHM 101/BIO101/	General Chemistry/Introduction to Biological Science	4
POL 230	Citizenship	1
WRK 10X³	Refer to the list of freshman workshops³	0
Humanities/Social Science⁴	Refer to the list of courses⁴	3
Total		14

¹ Placement in an English course is dependent on English entrance exam results (SAT, TOEFL, etc.).

² BUS105 is required for students planning to join the School of Business.

Freshman arts students who plan to join any school other than the School of Business can take STA102 to fulfill the math core requirement.

Students can take STA102 in addition to BUS105 or MTH101, the former will be considered Elective and the latter math core requirement.

³ Students are required to pass (P) two out of the three workshops (WRK1-1, WRK102, WRK103)

WRK 101: Skills for the Future
WRK 102: Your Inquisitive mind
WRK 103: Sneak Peak @ LAU & Beyond

⁴ Humanities

ARA 101: Arabic Essay Reading & Writing I
HST 101: 20^th Century History of Lebanon & the Region
PHL 101: Introduction to Philosophy

Social Sciences

BUS 101: Introduction to Business
POL 101: Introduction to Political Science
PSY 101: Psychology for All
ECO 101: Survey of Economics
SOC 101: Sociology & Society

Free Electives

PFA 102: Music History
ART 102: Art Appreciation
PFA 101: Appreciation of Performing Arts
POL 237: Basics of Leadership

Freshman Arts - Semester 2

Number	Course	Cr.
ENG 102	Academic English II	3
Humanities/Social Science/Free Electives	Refer to the list of courses	13
WRK 10X	Refer to the list of freshman workshops	0
Total		16

Freshman Science - Semester 1

Course Number	Name	Credits
ENG101¹	Academic English I	3
MTH101	Calculus I	3
CHM101	Chemistry	4
BIO101	Introduction to Biology	4
WRK 10X²	Refer to the list of freshman workshops²	0
Total		14

¹ Placement in an English course is dependent on an English entrance exam results (SAT, TOEFL, etc.).

²Students are required to pass (P) two out of the three workshops (WRK101, WRK102, WRK103)

WRK 101: Skills for the Future
WRK 102: Your Inquisitive Mind
WRK 103: Sneak Peak @ LAU and Beyond

Freshman Science - Semester 2

Course Number	Name	Credits
ENG 102	Academic English II	3
MTH 102	Calculus II	3
PHY111	Mechanics	4
Humanities³	Refer to the below courses	3
Social Sciences⁴	Refer to the below courses	3
WRK 10X	Refer to the list of freshman workshops	0
Total		16

³Humanities (minimum 3 credits)