RHU offers more than 20 accredited undergraduate programs in its four colleges:

To be admitted, the student must have completed at least 12 years of schooling prior to joining the University and provide proof of English language competency as detailed below.

Lebanese Baccalaureate

Students who hold a Lebanese High School Certificate may be admitted to a desired undergraduate program according to the requirements specified in the following table.

Lebanese Technical Baccalaureate

Students who hold a Technical Baccalaureate Certificate may pursue a degree in a major that corresponds to the technical degree area of specialization as stipulated by the Lebanese Ministry of Higher Education Decree # 779/M/2013. The student must complete the remedial courses specified in the table below.

Foreign Secondary Level Certificate

Holder of a foreign certificate that is equivalent to the Lebanese Official High School diploma, such as the Official Secondary Certificates from Arab Countries, French Baccalaureate, International Baccalaureate and the German Abitur may enroll in an appropriate program provided that the certificate is validated by the Ministry of Education.

High School Diploma

Student who holds a High School Diploma (American system) may be admitted to the freshman program if the following conditions are met: (1) The student has completed 12 years of study; (2) the certificate is recognized by the public authorities in the country of origin; and (3) certified copy of the permission to join the Freshman Program from the Equivalence Committee of the Lebanese Ministry of Higher Education.

General Certificate of Education (GCE)

An applicant with a British Certificate may be admitted to the freshman program if he/she has completed 5 Ordinary Level courses and one Advanced Level and has completed 12 years of study. Applicants with A-levels who have completed a minimum of three subjects at the Ordinary Level in addition to two subjects at the Advanced Level or four Advanced Supplementary subjects (AS) excluding languages can be admitted to the sophomore program.

Placement Exams

Students are required to provide evidence of English Language competency and college level skills in key areas corresponding to the major they wish to pursue. This evidence may be in the form of submitting standardized test scores such as TOFEL, SAT, etc. or by taking the RHU placement exams as indicated in the table below. Depending on their performance, students may be required to take remedial courses to improve their competencies and prepare them to the rigor of related college level courses.

English Language Proficiency Requirements

English is the language of instruction in all programs at RHU. Students are required to provide evidence of English Language competency, this evidence may be in the form of submitting standardized test scores such as TOEFL, SAT, IELTS, ect.

Applicants should contact the Admissions Office to register for the TOEFL.

When registering for SAT I or II, applicants must specify the RHU code 4438 in order for the results to be sent to the Admissions Office.

Required Documents

Applications for undergraduate admission must include the following documents:

• Undergraduate Application for Admissions available at the Admissions Office.
• Grades of the last three high school years submitted on the RHU School Record Form in a sealed and stamped envelope.
• High school certificate or diploma: Lebanese Baccalaureate, Technical Baccalaureate or French Baccalaureate.
• Lebanese Baccalaureate equivalency for non-Lebanese degrees or diplomas.
• Scores of one of the English proficiency exams (see above)
• SAT I Math and Critical Reading scores or take the RHU relevant entrance exam (see table above).
• Original Civil Status Record (for Lebanese applicants) or photocopies of passport and residence permit (for non-Lebanese Applicants)
• Six identical recent passport size photos
• A non-refundable application fee of LL 100,000 paid in cash at RHU Finance Office or by a certified cheque payable to “Rafik Hariri University”.

RHU Entrance Exams take place on RHU campus. Applicants should contact the Admission Office for exam dates.

Admission to the Freshman Program

In addition to the above documents, applicants to the freshman programs must also include:

• Permission from the Equivalence Committee of the Lebanese Ministry of Higher Education to join the freshman class
• Copy of High School Diploma

• SAT I prior to admission.

  • Lebanese students will not be able to declare a major and join the sophomore class before satisfying the requirements set by the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education and RHU freshman program.

• has studied at least one semester in the old institution,
• was not dismissed from the old institution for disciplinary reasons, and
• satisfies the admission requirements of the desired program.

Transfer credits

Courses earned by a transfer student prior to joining RHU may count as RHU credits subject to the following conditions:
• The credits were earned within three years of the effective transfer date.
• The applicable course is deemed equivalent to the course offered at RHU, that is, at least 80% of its contents match, involves the same components (Lecture, Lab), and has the same number of credits or more.
• The student has attained a grade of 75 or above on the course.

A student may not transfer more than 12 credits of major mandatory courses unless a prior agreement with the institution from which the student is transferring is in effect. No requests to transfer credits shall be accepted after enrollment.

A “P” grade shall appear on the student's record for each transferred course but will not be included in the calculation of the cumulative GPA.

A student may decide to take a course at RHU for which an equivalent course credits were transferred. In this case either the transferred course or the RHU course and the associated grade shall appear on the student transcripts.

Applications have to be completed and submitted with all required documents to the Admissions Office no later than September 8 for applicants to the Fall Semester and December 15 for applicants to the Spring Semester. Deadline for early admissions to the Fall semester is April 30.