The University Preparatory Program (UPP) is intended for students who have completed high school with strong academic records but who have had little formal training in English, have not taken SAT I, or have an English language proficiency level below the level required for admission to AUB's intensive English course.
UPP is a demanding, two-term program. Students can begin the program in the fall or spring term.. Students are allowed to spend up to two terms in UPP before admission to AUB. UPP is a 20-hour per week program. Its curriculum follows an integrated approach to the teaching of language skills (listening, reading, writing, and speaking).
Furthermore, the curriculum incorporates study skills, pronunciation training, and conversational English, depending on individual needs. An additional 6 hours of mathematics and/or science is given to ensure that students are prepared for university work.
It is recommended that students live on campus in one of AUB's all-men or all-women residence halls and participate in a partial on-campus meal plan. Residence is a means of fostering an “immersion approach" to language learning, giving students the opportunity to practice their English language skills outside the classroom, in the dormitories, at meal times, and in extracurricular activities shared with enrolled AUB students.
Students enrolled in the UPP are accepted into the freshman class at AUB after taking an exit exam and fulfilling the requirements set by the program; students applying to the sophomore class need to take the SAT I and go through the normal admission procedure for regular students.
Applicants should have completed at least twelve years of schooling, or equivalent, before beginning the program, and must submit a transcript from the two most recent years of school, a school recommendation, a UPP application form, and an application fee.
Completed applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Students are notified of acceptance or non-acceptance to UPP within four weeks of submitting the application.
IMPORTANT NOTE: All students (Lebanese or non-Lebanese) must secure from the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) - Equivalence Committee (
English,
Arabic) (Beirut, UNESCO Palace area), either the equivalence of their diplomas or the permission to enter the freshman class. The Equivalence Committee requires the students to have their official papers such as the original final high school or university grades and diplomas authenticated from countries where they studied: Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Lebanese Embassy. Failure to submit the equivalence/permission to the Office of Admissions by course registration date will result in registration hold and delay/refusal of the residency permits for non-Lebanese students.