Academic Catalog 2018–2019

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Honors Program

Overview

The Honors Program at LAU invites exceptionally motivated and academically talented students from various disciplines to enhance their educational experience by honing their analytical and expressive powers, deepening their understanding of complex issues and questions, and broadening their perspectives. The program frames opportunities that are intellectually rigorous and inspired by foundational and advanced work in interdisciplinary thematic areas.

The program is aligned with the highest academic aspirations of LAU’s schools and departments, empowering students through resources within the program as well as the larger LAU, and connecting them to an active community of thinkers committed to making a difference.

Mission

The Honors Program is committed to providing Honors students with enhanced opportunities that will empower them academically, professionally and personally in meeting today’s challenges.

Admission

Students at LAU are eligible for admission to the Honors Program after completing at least 15 credits at LAU with a minimum CGPA of 3.5. The program selects students based on both their academic achievement and their academic approach, accepting students who take an active approach to learning, take ownership of personal education, and make the most of their experience at LAU. In addition to student transcripts, the selection process includes an interview.

The deadline to apply for the academic year 2018-2019 is June 3, 2018. Students are notified of the final decisions by the end of July.

Graduation Requirements and Regulations

The Honors Program is an established program with regulations and graduation requirements:

  • Honors courses may not be audited or taken for a P/NP grade.
  • There are a limited number of Honors sections, with no more than 25 students per class section.
  • Students must complete six Honors courses (18 credits).
  • Students must complete 3 or 4 Honors courses from the Liberal Arts Curriculum, and 2 or 3 major-specific Honors courses.
  • Honors courses, identified by the letter “H” next to their number, are offered each semester exclusively for Honors Program students.
  • Honors courses are not extra courses; they count toward the Liberal Arts Curriculum requirements and the major. Even if a student doesn’t complete all the requirements of the Honors Program, all credits earned in Honors courses will count toward graduation.
  • Upon graduation, the distinction of “University Honors” will appear on the student’s transcript and permanent records.
  • To continue in the Honors Program, students are expected to maintain a clean record (no violations of academic integrity) and a 3.5 CGPA (for those who have completed up to 90 credits) or 3.2 CGPA (for those who have completed more than 90 credits). If the CGPA falls below this requirement, but is at least 3.0, the student will be placed on Honors probation for one semester, excluding the summer term. If the required CGPA is not attained by the end of the probationary semester, the student is dismissed from the Honors Program.
  • Students must complete 3 workshops, which are zero-credit courses restricted for Honors students. These workshops develop the soft skills that are nowadays an essential requirement for success in the students’ academic life and career. They can choose from various topics that are offered every semester such as Emotional Intelligence, Life Balance, Goal Setting, Steer your Career, Leadership and Change, and Skills of Debate, among other topics.

Honors Courses

Honors courses emphasize enriched rather than accelerated learning for a greater intellectual and emotional investment. All Honors students participate in Honors courses, which are separate from regular courses and feature an interdisciplinary approach to a variety of topics taught by faculty across schools.

Honors courses enhance the undergraduate learning experience through smaller class sizes (an average of 20 students per class), increased student-faculty interaction, more individual attention, discussion-oriented sessions of contemporary issues, team-based projects specially designed to challenge talented students, and instruction by LAU’s accomplished Honors faculty.

Currently, students majoring in business, economics, architecture, political science, computer science, engineering, bioinformatics and biology can join the Honors Program. Please find below the course offering. These offerings are however, continuously updated, so students are urged to check with the Honors Program office or the program director for the latest additions.

LAC Honors Courses

Arabic

Arts

History

Literature

Philosophy

Science

  • NUT201H Fundamentals of Human Nutrition

Social Sciences

  • PJE201H Cross Cultural Communication for Peace
  • POL231H Introduction to Human Rights

Major-Specific Honors Courses

Architecture

Bioinformatics

  • BIF498HA Topics: Genomics Research Methods
  • BIF498HB Topics: Adv. in Epigenetics & Therapeutics
  • BIF599H Capstone Project

Biology

  • BIO420H Virology & Immunology
  • BIO488HA Special Topics: Adv. in Epigenetics & Therapeutics
  • BIO488HB Special Topics: Tum Mrk & Trg Can Therapy
  • BIO488HC Special Topics: Bioinformatics:Tools & Apps
  • BIO488HD Special Topics: Genomics Research Methods
  • BIO488HE Special Topics: Advanced Human Genetics
  • BIO499H Senior Study

Business

  • FIN301H Managerial Finance
  • FIN401HA Seminar: Commercial Bank Management
  • MGT420H Strategic Planning & Policy Formulation
  • OPM301H Operation and Production Management

Computer Science

  • CSC310H Algorithms & Data Structures
  • CSC498HA Topics in Computer Science: Algorithmic Graph Theory
  • CSC498HB Topics in Computer Science: High Perform Comp Arch
  • CSC498HC Topics in Computer Science: Pervasive Computing & Wireless Network
  • CSC498HD Topics in Computer Science: Meta-Heuristics
  • CSC599H Capstone Project

Economics

  • ECO402HA Topics :Capitalism from Marx to Piketty
  • ECO402HB Topics: Challenges of Economic Development in the Middle East
  • ECO402HC Topics :Applied Econometrics
  • ECO402HE Applied Econometrics II
  • ECO402HF Cent.Bank.Dig.Cur.& Mon.Pol
  • FIN301H Managerial Finance
  • ECO333H Comparative Economic Systems

Engineering

Political Science

  • POL331H International Organization
  • POL335H Politics of Multiculturalism
  • POL499H Senior Study
  • POL437HA Topics in POL/IA: Politics of Extremism
  • POL437HB Topics in POL/IA: The Arab Spring and its Spillover Effects: Backlash and Opportunities
  • POL437HC Topics in POL/IA: Theories in International Affairs
  • POL437HD Topics in POL/IA: Political Theory
  • POL437HE Topics in POL/IA: Refugee Politics and International Perspective on Refugee Governance

Workshops offered

Soft skills accompany the hard skills, that is why it is important for students to focus as much on soft skill training and development as they do on traditional hard skills.Soft skills are increasingly becoming the hard skills of today’s workforce. Teamwork, leadership, and communication are underpinned by soft skill development. Since each is an essential element for organizational and personal success, developing these skills through specialized workshops is crucial for career success.

The workshops offered so far:

Contact Information

Beirut Campus
Nicol Hall, RM 307A

Byblos Campus
Block A 820

Director
Sandra Rizk, Ph.D., Biology
sandra.rizk@lau.edu.lb.

For more information, visit Honors Program. Or contact us at honorsprogram@lau.edu.lb.