The LU was founded in 1951 and is the only public institution of higher education in Lebanon. It is responsible for public university education. It is interested in social and economic problems that the Lebanese society faces. Thus, it is on a mission seeking to establish fairness and equal opportunities for all the citizens regardless of their religious and social origins. Its duty, role, conviction and its mission is to provide the best training to its students (77,500 students, up to 42% of the university students in Lebanon), in order to help them to accomplish their personal projects of social promotion.
Although, it is under the supervision of the Minister of Education and Higher Education, the UL is academically, administratively and financially autonomous. As for the university's budget, it is mainly funded by the state.
The LU offers a variety of specializations distributed across a diverse range of fields. They include: humanities, medical sciences and health, natural sciences, engineering, literature, arts and agricultural sciences, the courses are ensured by surrounding 6500 teachers and professors. The University is composed of 19 faculties and institutes, in most departments and faculties, courses are taught in Arabic, French and English. Partly decentralized, the Lebanese University is located in five urban Centres’ across the country. The same academic programs are applied throughout all sections.
Every faculty has an office for student affairs. It focuses on student orientation and provides them with support for the selection of and enrollment in programs at graduate and post-graduate and doctorate levels. The UL has also established a career center at the main campus in Beirut to manage student orientation, research, and training. The aim is to match career orientations with job vacancies. The job fairs, which are organized by the center, have had positive feedback from the students.
The UL was established a variety of international collaborations with universities and institutions across the world, in order to develop and exchange programs and students, joint research project, and internship, as well as career and academic advisory services.