Faculty Rules & Regulations

Chapter One: Faculty Mission & Objectives

Article 1: The mission of the Faculty is to:

- Provide all enrolled students with the educational and knowledge achievement;

- Prepare the students on the higher education and professional levels;

- Provide the students with the scientific, methodological and technical expertise and bases to assume the responsibility of information, knowledge and ethics in the fields of media, documentation and information in both public and private sectors;

- Contribute to the comprehensive and integrated development of the Lebanese society;

- Enhance the cultural openness;

- Expand the scientific and cultural cooperation with the outside world.

Article 2: The Faculty aims to achieve the following objectives:

1- Cooperating and consulting with local, Arab and international information institutions, unions and organizations, in order for the teaching to become compatible with the actual needs of the labor market and the development of those needs, and to secure employment opportunities for graduates.

2- Conducting theoretical and field research related to the study of information and knowledge phenomena and developments, and encouraging members of the Teaching Staff and graduate students to carry out these researches and publish them.

3- Holding seminars and scientific conferences in the fields of specialization of the Faculty, and participating in conferences held by other parties.

4- Providing scientific consultations and field studies for individuals and related institutions, in accordance with the applicable regulations.

5- Providing training courses for media professionals and documentation individuals in the fields of the Faculty specialization, and establishing incubator centers that contribute to securing and developing employment in terms of professionalism.

6- Cooperating with higher education institutions in the Arab and foreign countries in the fields of the Faculty specialization in order to exchange expertise and knowledge.

Chapter Two: Diplomas, Specializations & Departments

Article 3: The Faculty includes the following specializations:

1- Journalism and Communication Sciences

2- Public Relations and Corporate Communication

3- Advertising & Marketing Communication

4- Information Management

5- Data Science

Article 4: The Faculty grants the students:

1- Bachelor Degree

2- Professional and Research Master

Article 5: The Faculty grants the students a Bachelor Degree in the following specializations:

1- Printed Journalism and Digital Media

2- Radio and TV

3- Public Relations and Corporate Communication

4- Advertising & Marketing Communication

5- Information Management

6- Data Science

Article 6: The Bachelor curriculum includes a graduation project (field study, case study or report on an internship in the field of specialization) equivalent to eight credits.

Article 7: The professional master includes the following specializations:

1- Journalism and Communication Sciences

A- Economic and Development Journalism

B- Health and Environmental Journalism

C- Radio and TV

D- Printed Journalism

E- Digital Journalism

2- Public Relations and Corporate Communication

A- Organizational Communication

B- Digital Communication

3- Information Management

A- Information Management

Article 8: The Research Master includes two specializations in the Journalism and Communication Sciences:

A- Information and Communication Sciences

B- Francophone Press

Article 9: The research master curriculum includes a research study in the field of specialization and the professional master curriculum includes a field study or internship in the field of specialization for at least eight weeks (minimum of 250 working hours), finalized with a thesis prepared by the student and equal to 30 credits.

Article 10: The University President shall appoint a committee to discuss the research and professional master thesis upon the proposal of the Faculty Dean.

Article 11: In cooperation with the institutions concerned with the internship referred to in Articles 6 & 9, the Faculty shall determine the content of such internship, and the duties of the advisor and the person in charge in the institutions; in the framework of cooperation protocols signed between the Faculty and the institutions accredited thereby in the field of internship.

Article 12: The Faculty Council shall be entitled to propose the addition of new specializations in the bachelor and/or master degrees, or to cancel some of them in accordance with the applicable regulations.

Article 13: The Faculty is composed of the following academic departments:

1- Journalism

2- Public Relations and Advertising

3- Information and Data

Chapter Three: Student Admission & Enrollment

Article 14: In order to be admitted to prepare the bachelor degree, the student shall:

1- Be holder of Lebanese Baccalaureate or its official equivalent;

2- Have succeeded in the Competitive Entrance Examination (CEE) organized by a decision of the University President upon the proposal of the Faculty Council, in which the maximum number of students who may be admitted is identified based on the examination result.

Article 15: The CEE referred to above includes the followings written exams:

Exam duration

1- Text analysis in Arabic

One hour and a half

2- Text analysis of in Foreign Language

One hour and a half

3- General Knowledge in the specialization

One hour and a half

Article 16: The conditions of student admission and the CEE subjects may be modified by a decision of the University Council upon the proposal of the Faculty Council.

Article 17: The student who obtains a total average of at least 10/20 in the CEE is considered to have passed the exam. An eliminatory mark is each mark less than 7/20 in any of the CEE subjects.

Article 18: The enrollment of passing students shall be accepted according to the sequence of their total scores in the CEE and within the limits referred to in Article 14.

Article 19: Candidates accepted for enrollment shall complete their registration within the time limit specified by the Faculty Dean by virtue of a circular published on the Faculty bulletin board, under the loss of their right to enrollment and their replacement with other candidates according to the rule of the sequence referred to above.

Article 20: The new students enrolled in the Faculty shall sit for a foreign language test conducted by the Office of Foreign Language Coordination at the Lebanese University under the supervision of the Faculty Council.

Article 21: The student receiving a score less than 10/20 in the foreign language test, shall be subject to pursue an intensive course in this language and sit for an exam at the end of the course and succeed as a prerequisite for the academic registration in the foreign language courses adopted in the Faculty curricula.

Article 22: In order to enroll for a Professional Master Degree, the student shall:

1- Have obtained the Bachelor Degree from the Faculty of Information in the corresponding specialization with the target master degree for which the Faculty Council specifies the enrollment conditions.

2- Have obtained in the bachelor courses, a GPA of not less than 3/5 as per the grading scale adopted at the Lebanese University (or 12/20 according to the currently adopted system). The Faculty may conduct a CEE to complete the required number of students.

3- Have fulfilled other special conditions according to the Master’s specialization based on the proposal of the Faculty Council and the approval of the University Council (maximum number of students who can be accepted in each specialization; the date of obtaining the diploma should not exceed a certain limit; the number of study years in the bachelor should not exceed a certain limit).

4- The enrollment of passing students shall be accepted according to their GPA in the bachelor degree.

Article 23: In order to enroll for a Research Master Degree, the student shall:

1- Have obtained the Bachelor Degree from the Faculty of Information in the corresponding specialization with the target master degree for which the Faculty Council specifies the enrollment conditions.

2- Have obtained in the bachelor courses, a GPA of not less than 3.5/5 as per the grading scale adopted at the Lebanese University (or 14/20 according to the currently adopted system). The Faculty may conduct a CEE to complete the required number of students.

3- Have fulfilled other special conditions according to the Master’s specialization based on the proposal of the Faculty Council (maximum number of students who can be accepted in each specialization; the date of obtaining the diploma should not exceed a certain limit; the number of study years in the bachelor should not exceed a certain limit).

4- The enrollment of passing students shall be accepted according to their GPA in the bachelor degree.

Article 24: In order to enroll for a Professional and Research Master Degree from outside the Lebanese University, the student shall:

1- Have obtained the Bachelor Degree in the corresponding specialization with the target master degree from a recognized university and the duly equivalent thereof.

2- Have obtained an average not less than 80/100 in the bachelor degree or a GPA of not less than 4/5 or a distinction of “Good” (B).

3- Meeting the terms of assessment of students (CEE, file study, exams ...) approved by the University Council following the proposal of the Faculty Council.

4- The Faculty may accept graduates from other universities to enroll for the master’s degree, provided that their percentage does not exceed 10% of the total admissions, in accordance with the above criteria.

Article 25: In order to enroll for a Professional Master Degree in the Information Management, the student shall:

1- Have obtained the Bachelor Degree from a recognized university in the specializations of Humanities or Sciences and the duly equivalent thereof.

2- Have obtained an average not less than 70/100 in the bachelor degree or a GPA of not less than 3.5/5 or a distinction of “Good” (B).

3- Meeting the terms of assessment of students (CEE, file study, exams ...) approved by the University Council following the proposal of the Faculty Council.

4- Have fulfilled other special conditions based on the proposal of the Faculty Council (Professional experience; maximum number of students in the specialization; the number of study years in the bachelor degree not exceeding a certain limit).

Article 26: Students admitted for a bachelor or master’s degree and who have studied at other universities or another faculty of the Lebanese University, may request the equivalence of some courses they have previously obtained.

Article 27: During the bachelor degree, the student may transfer from one specialization to another or from a track to another within the same specialization in the research or professional master, subject to the acceptance of the admission requirements for the target master’s degree. The transfer is subject to the approval of the Faculty Council of the student academic file and the availability of places in the target specialization or track. The student shall apply for transfer at least one month before the start of the semester. In case of approval, the student shall keep the courses and credits that he had previously obtained if they are adopted in the new specialization or track.

Article 28: A student, who has completed a bachelor or master’s degree in one of the approved specializations or tracks, may register in a second specialization or track, to obtain a second bachelor or master’s degree. The Faculty Council shall determine the admission requirements and the required courses for each case, in accordance with the Faculty statutes, the requested degree and the student capacity in the specialization.

Chapter Four: Registration & Attendance

Article 29: The student shall complete his/her academic registration at least one week before the commencement of teaching in the semester, and shall use the accredited academic guidance professors for this purpose. Academic registration is a prerequisite to sit for the examinations at both the first and second sessions of each semester.

Article 30: The student has the right to reconsider his/her academic registration within one week at the latest from the commencement of teaching in the semester. He/she may also cancel this registration in some courses within a month at most from the beginning of the semester.

Article 31: Attendance is mandatory in all courses (theoretical and practical) equivalent to 70% of the number of hours allocated thereto. If the student's attendance is less than 70% of the hours allocated for the course, he/she shall be prohibited to sit for the final exam unless he/she provides an acceptable excuse and compelling reasons approved by the Faculty Council.

Article 32: A student may be considered as administratively enrolled in the second academic year if he/she has obtained at least 36 credits and 96 credits at least in the third academic year.

Chapter Five: Evaluation & Examination

Article 33: The final score of each course for which the student sits for a written exam at the end of the semester, is divided between the continuous evaluation score (40% of the course final score) and the final exam score (60% of the course final score).

Article 34: The final score of the tutorials (TP) is comprised of the total score of activities and tests that the student performs during the semester. The tutorials and training scores shall be determined after accomplishment and assessment by the advisor or the examining committee according to the Faculty administration standards.

Article 35: In the continuous assessment, various evaluation methods are used such as written tests, partial exams, preparation of reports and tutorials, provided that the number of activities, subject of the continuous assessment, is not less than two per semester in each course.

Article 36: The continuous assessment score for each course consists of 20% of the partial exam and 20% of the student participation scores (reports, tutorials and practical works). The Faculty Council shall determine the mechanism of implementation of this article.

Article 37: In the event that the student fails to sit for a partial exam in the semester for reasons of coercion or force majeure (death of a family member, emergency hospitalization ...), the Faculty Council shall decide thereupon.

Article 38: If a student fails in one or more courses on the first session exams, only the continuous assessment score for these courses is transferred to the second session. If the student fails to submit it at the second session, he/she shall not benefit from the compensation system between the semester courses.

Article 39: The student, who did not sit for the final exam of a course in the first session, receives a zero regardless of the excuses and reasons. If he/she does not sit for this exam in the second session for reasons of coercion or force majeure (death of a family member, emergency hospitalization), a re-sit exam may be held by a decision of the University President following the proposal of the Faculty Council and based on the recommendation of the Branch Council.

Article 40: The late student is not entitled to enter the examination room if the delay exceeds a quarter of an hour. No student is allowed to leave the examination room before half the examination time has elapsed.

Article 41: Any student caught cheating or attempting to cheat shall be deprived of all the courses session, subject to the provisions of the laws in force.

Article 42: The student has the right to submit an application to ensure that there is no material error in a course score, within three days at most from the date of announcing the result of this course. The examining committee shall inspect the student exam under the supervision of the Branch Director and the head of the concerned department. If there is a material error, the score shall be amended by consensus of the attendees.

Chapter Six: General Provisions

Article 43: The tutorials (TP) are provided in classes of 35 students at most, allowing the professor to observe and follow up the work of the students.

Article 44: The student may transfer from one university branch to another within the Faculty by a decision of the Dean, provided that the number of credits received does not exceed one half of the total and as follows:

1- Applying for transfer within (15) days at most from the commencement of teaching in the semester;

2- Obtaining the approval of both directors of the branches concerned after reviewing the student's file.

Article 45: The curriculum shall be determined for the bachelor and master’s degrees at the Faculty of Information according to the attached tables. These curricula shall be modified upon the proposal of the Faculty Council and the approval of the University Council.

Article 46: This decision shall be effective and communicated where necessary.