Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth

About Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth

USJ is an independent, recognized degree-granting university headquartered in Beirut. It was founded in 1875 by the Society of Jesus and describes itself as a private Lebanese university with public-utility status. Its Jesuit tradition informs an institutional emphasis on intellectual autonomy, freedom of conscience, social responsibility, and service, but admission is organized through academic requirements rather than religious affiliation. The university is distributed rather than concentrated on one self-contained campus. Six Beirut campuses serve different academic areas, including medical sciences, social sciences, science and technology, humanities, innovation and sport, and the Charles Corm campus. Three additional Lebanese campuses are located near Tripoli, Saida, and Zahle. Applicants should confirm where their particular program is taught, because daily experience, travel, and nearby housing will differ by faculty and location. USJ reports 13 faculties, supplemented by specialized institutes and schools. It also oversees Hôtel-Dieu de France, its university medical center, and a hospital network used for clinical education. Other university-managed care facilities support dentistry, speech and language therapy, psychomotor therapy, and psychological services. This structure gives USJ a notable professional and clinical dimension alongside its humanities, social-science, science, engineering, education, law, and business offerings. The official admissions system is active for 2026–2027 and separately addresses undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral applicants. Prospective students should treat USJ as a multilingual institution: French remains central, while specified programs use English and impose corresponding proficiency rules. Program-level research is essential before applying.

USJ is accepting applications for the 2026–2027 academic year. Undergraduate candidates may apply online or submit through designated offices in Beirut and at the regional campuses. The application permits candidates to rank as many as nine program choices. The published non-refundable undergraduate application fee is USD 100 and is paid once across the three admission periods and second-semester consideration. General first-cycle eligibility requires the Lebanese Baccalaureate or a qualification officially recognized as equivalent and authorizing university enrollment in Lebanon. Admission may then be based on the application file, an entrance examination, or other program-specific selection. Required secondary-school tracks and subjects differ for fields such as engineering and science. Medicine, dental medicine, and other selective programs also have distinct rules, so the general university page is not a substitute for the faculty requirements. Language readiness is part of registration. French-taught programs use USJ’s French placement test and faculty-specific category requirements. Some candidates placed in the lower permitted category may register provisionally and complete required French support during the first year, but this option excludes several named professional faculties. English-taught undergraduate programs require the designated result on USJ’s English test or an accepted equivalent. International candidates have a separate 2026 route with quotas determined by the relevant institution for file-based and examination-based admission. Applicants holding a foreign secondary credential should begin the Lebanese equivalency process early. Master’s and doctoral admission is handled according to prior qualifications and the requirements of the relevant faculty or department. Candidates should use the live portal for the current period and verify deadlines directly, as the regular undergraduate deadline published earlier in 2026 has passed.

USJ’s academic range spans religious studies, medicine, pharmacy, dental medicine, nursing, engineering and architecture, law and political science, economics, business and management, humanities, science, education, and languages and translation. Specialized institutes and schools extend these areas into professional and interdisciplinary study. The official catalogue distinguishes first-cycle bachelor’s programs from master’s and doctoral study, although the available awards and admission routes vary by faculty. Teaching location is closely tied to subject. Medical and health-related education is connected to the Medical Sciences Campus and the Hôtel-Dieu de France network, while science and engineering are associated with the Science and Technology Campus. Humanities and social-science provision occupy other Beirut sites, and selected programs are offered at regional campuses. Students should use the current programme guide to verify that a degree is available at the campus and in the language they expect. USJ is historically Francophone, and French proficiency remains important for many first-cycle programs. The 2026–2027 rules require the appropriate category on USJ’s French placement test for French-taught study, with limited provisional entry and remedial study possible in specified faculties. Several professionally selective faculties require the higher French category before registration. For English-taught undergraduate programs, the published rules require the appropriate university English-test category or an accepted external result; the 2026–2027 documentation lists IELTS 6.5 and specified TOEFL thresholds among the alternatives. Selection is not uniform. Depending on the program, admission may involve review of the school record, an entrance examination, prerequisites linked to the applicant’s baccalaureate track, or special title-based admission. Graduate applicants must consult the relevant faculty because master’s and doctoral requirements depend on both prior qualifications and the intended academic unit.

Key Highlights

• Founded by the Society of Jesus in Beirut in 1875
• Recognized by Lebanon’s Ministry of Education and Higher Education
• Six Beirut campuses and three regional campuses in Lebanon
• Operates a university medical center and associated clinical-care network

Student Life & Environment

Student life operates across USJ’s multiple campuses rather than around a single residential quadrangle. The Student Life Office coordinates activities with student clubs, Campus Ministry, the Sports Office, the Career and Placement Office, and the university’s civic-engagement bodies. Official information identifies clubs in areas such as music, law, scouting, cinema, mediation, and exploration. Students can also participate in volunteering through initiatives including USJ en mission. The university provides sports programming and dedicated facilities through the Innovation and Sports Campus. The precise mix of activities depends on the campus and academic calendar, so students studying outside central Beirut should check what is locally available rather than assume that every service is duplicated at every site. University libraries, counselling, inclusion support, psychological services, cafeterias, and other practical facilities appear in USJ’s official student resources. USJ operates a student residence on Damascus Road beside the Rectorate. It offers single and shared rooms in separate wings for women and men. Places are described as very limited, and advance reservation is necessary. The university also publishes a directory of independent residences near its campuses; that directory was updated in February 2026. International students are explicitly told that arranging accommodation remains their responsibility, with shared apartments and external residences presented as alternatives. Because academic sites are dispersed across Beirut and regional Lebanon, housing decisions should follow the confirmed teaching location. Applicants should request current residence availability, contract terms, and prices directly before making a financial commitment.

Location & Surroundings

USJ’s home city is Beirut, but there is no single main teaching site that contains every faculty. Its Beirut network includes campuses on Damascus Road, Huvelin Street, in Mar Roukoz–Mkalles, and on Habib Pasha Saad Street. This arrangement places students in different parts of the metropolitan area according to their field of study. Applicants should identify the exact campus before choosing accommodation or estimating a commute. Beyond Beirut, USJ operates the North Lebanon Campus at Ras Maska near Tripoli, the South Lebanon Campus at Bramieh near Saida, and the Zahle and Beqaa Campus at Hazerta. It also lists a Dubai campus, but facts about Lebanese admissions, costs, and student services should not automatically be applied to Dubai. Beirut offers access to the university’s academic, cultural, clinical, and professional networks, including Hôtel-Dieu de France and the multiple specialist campuses. The distributed model also creates practical trade-offs: travel time and transport arrangements may be significant when courses or activities occur at different sites. International students should consult current official travel and visa guidance, and all students should evaluate housing in relation to their actual timetable. Conditions and transport costs in Lebanon can change, so direct local confirmation is preferable to relying on a fixed estimate.

Costs & Career Outcomes

USJ does not publish one meaningful university-wide tuition figure: charges differ by program, cycle, and credit load. The 2026–2027 programme guide displays program-specific per-credit amounts, but some entries still describe the 2025–2026 split between payment in US dollars and Lebanese pounds. Applicants should therefore request a current written cost calculation from the relevant faculty before accepting an offer. The supplied database record contains no verified tuition or room-and-board figure, so none is treated as an institutional average here. Financial support includes need-based social grants, university loans, merit awards, discounts, and work-study options, subject to the rules of each scheme. The Financial Aid Office published separate 2026–2027 deadlines for new, continuing, and master’s applicants. Students already receiving a Social Service scholarship or USJ loan were told that support would renew for 2026–2027 if they remained in the same program, with financial information updated through a social worker. Aid applicants should not assume that admission automatically produces funding. The latest residence prices located were explicitly for 2025–2026 and were subject to revision, so they should not be used as current 2026–2027 housing charges. Prospective residents should obtain a new quote and clarify deposits, payment currency, contract length, and included utilities. For career preparation, the Career and Placement Office supports students, recent graduates, and alumni through individual coaching, CV and interview preparation, job and internship listings, employer events, and entrepreneurship activities. Career outcomes depend on program, language skills, experience, and the labor market; no verified university-wide placement rate or salary figure was found.