The Rafik Hariri University confers the degrees at the RHU Commencement Ceremony. The Ceremony is held on the RHU splendid green area of RHU’s picturesque university campus in Mechref.
This year’s 22nd Annual Commencement for the 2023 cohort will take place on Friday, May 26, 2023. We expect all eligible graduate and undergraduate candidates who have completed their graduation requirements during the 2022-2023 academic year to be present to receive their degrees.
All eligible candidates will receive an email from the Registrar’s Office with instructions regarding when and how to join the Commencement Ceremony. If you have not received an email, please contact the Registrar’s Office for further investigation.
Commencement ceremony booking closes on May 4, 2023. You should confirm your participation or absence by this date at the latest by sending an email to the Registrar’s Office at registrar@rhu.edu.lb. In the email, you should include your ID number and name and confirm your presence or absence for the rehearsal and commencement.
As a candidate, you should dress in the appropriate academic costume consisting of a gown, cap, and hood for the ceremony. The color of the hood corresponds to the college you are graduating from. RHU Registrar and Bookstore will advise you about which gown(s)/hood(s) you will need for your Commencement Ceremony. Hoods are blue for the College of Business Administration, red for the College of Engineering, and green for the College of Arts and Sciences.
You can receive their academic costumes from the RHU Bookstore starting Monday, April 3, until Thursday, May 4, 2023, during the bookstore’s official opening hours.
Eligible candidates who have secured academic costumes and will be attending the 2023 Commencement can receive a specific number of tickets for their parents and relatives from the Registrar’s Office starting April 18 till May 4, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Guests with a ceremony ticket will be ushered to take designated seats to attend the ceremony. If the graduates bring additional guests, or if guests lose their tickets, they will be denied entry.
Seating is on a first come, first seated basis so ask your family and friends to arrive early, should they wish to take better seats or sit together.
This day is a special occasion, so clothing under your gowns is formal. Dress code is possibly the most important rule, so we urge you to comply with this code.
Men Graduates
Women Graduates
All graduates should gather near the Student Affairs Office ninety minutes before the indicated time for the academic procession. Upon your arrival inform the Registrar’s Office staff in the area to mark your presence. You should queue in order of degree to be ready for the academic procession.
If you are not present in your place on time, you may not be allowed to join the academic procession nor receive your degree during the ceremony. The Registrar's Office does not permit late arrivals. Those who are late will not have their names read.
The academic procession begins at around 6 p.m. The RHU President, college deans, chairs, faculty members, and senior staff lead graduates through the academic procession. You will then take your seats. Please keep to your seat as you will be presented with your degree in order.
The degree ceremony begins with the Lebanese National Anthem followed by a welcoming address. The graduating class representative then gives a speech in English and in Arabic. The RHU President then gives her speech to be followed by the Keynote Speaker address.
The Registrar invites the Representative of RHU Board of Trustees, the RHU President, and the College Deans to join the presentation of degrees ceremony. The Registrar begins with calling the names of the undergraduate study degrees in the College of Business Administration, then the College of Engineering, then the College of Arts and Sciences, followed by the graduate study degrees.
You are to remain in your places until the end of the ceremony, and after all candidates have received their degrees.
You are now part of a community of more than 3200 RHU alumni who continue to make an impact wherever they are all over the world. While we celebrate your university achievements as RHU graduates, we revel the alumni you will become.
Talking of RHU alumni, and so that they may develop loyalty to their colleges, thrive in their environments, and become lifelong ambassadors for their university, the RHU Communication and Alumni Relations Office is committed to enrich alumni relations and involvement in the university life in collaboration with the RHU Alumni Association. Through alumni and public relations activities, our office works on developing partnerships with local and international companies in various industries to secure internships (Co-operative Education Program) and extend career services to senior students and alumni.
Upon your graduation, you have become a member of the RHU Alumni Association.
The Alumni Association of Rafik Hariri University was officially established on February 3, 2016. Registration statement numbered 205, dated February 3, 2016, and issued by the Lebanese Republic, Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, is the official legislative approval of the establishment. The election for the RHU Alumni Association administrative board takes place every two years.
RHU Communication and Alumni Relations Office aims to hold the elections for the Alumni Association administrative board by the end of 2023. In its strategic plan for 2023-2024, the Office aims to establish RHU Alumni Association chapters in KSA, UAE, Canada, and the US and hold alumni elections across world chapters by the end of 2024. It also aims to organize at least an alumni reunion in Lebanon and across the 4 chapters by the end of 2024.
The value of education at RHU extends well beyond classroom instruction and the years you spend on campus, especially when it relates to career development services. Career development at RHU is an ongoing process. It aims at assisting current students in gaining career insights and continues well beyond graduation.
All RHU alumni can access lifelong careers services. RHU Communication and Alumni Relations Office will assist you through the career services rendered to RHU alumni. The Office relays information on available job vacancies to RHU alumni to assist them in the employment process, career change and transitions, and networking opportunities. The Office has built relationships with prospective employers inside and outside Lebanon and receives more than 200 vacancies annually.
Vacancies are communicated by email from alumni@rhu.edu.lb to RHU alumni and posted on the RHU Alumni Official LinkedIn group. The names of the companies are kept confidential. All CVs of interested candidates are forwarded directly to the employers who will select the best candidates to fill the position.
With more than 20 programs in Business Administration, Engineering, Sciences and Information Systems, Design and Arts and more than 3200 RHU alumni that continue to achieve eminence as prominent engineers, businessmen and women and successful academicians throughout the world, RHU is emerging as the incubator for a nation we dream to have.
RHU since its establishment has been assisting renowned businesses in Lebanon connect with qualified RHU alumni candidates for job vacancies. The aim of the RHU Job Fair is to allow our business partners to showcase their products and services and meet RHU senior students and alumni for possible future employment.
The RHU Alumni ID allows you to access the university campus, use campus facilities, and attend university events.