Lebanon's private universities teach in English or French and charge tuition in US dollars. The American University of Beirut (AUB), which enrolled 9,759 students from 90 countries in October 2025, 17% of them international, publishes a 2026-2027 fee schedule charging undergraduates per credit for the first 15 credits of each semester: from USD 732 per credit in nursing and USD 881 for freshmen in Arts and Sciences to USD 1,022 in Engineering and Architecture. Graduate rates run from USD 1,006 to USD 1,281 per credit, and the MD programme costs USD 47,903 a year.
AUB's admission calendar is published well ahead. Freshman applications for Fall 2027-28 are taken in an early merit round from 1 July to 31 October 2026 and a regular round from 1 November to 20 December 2026, and the SAT is mandatory for undergraduate applicants. Graduate applications close on 5 November 2026 for the term starting in January 2027 and on 15 March 2027 for Fall 2027-28. Graduate applicants need TOEFL iBT 97, IELTS 7.0 or Duolingo 120, while undergraduates are placed in English courses by test scores. Need-based aid covers up to 50% of undergraduate tuition and is open to non-Lebanese students.
The General Directorate of General Security lists a student visa among its visa types. Applicants provide an admission statement from a university or institution accredited in Lebanon, or a student card, and a document proving sufficient funds to finance their studies; scholarship holders are exempted from both documents. General Security does not publish a minimum amount, and it requires documents to be in Arabic, French or English. At AUB, the graduate application for the January 2027 term is complete only when the application fee is paid, decisions are released from 14 December 2026, and classes begin on 13 January 2027. Once in Lebanon, students hold an annual student residence permit, for which the fee schedule lists LBP 15,000,000, with an optional urgent service for an extra LBP 4,900,000 per permit. General Security's pages read for this guide do not publish processing times, rules on part-time work for students, or any stay after graduation.