The Lebanese University has achieved its highest-ever position in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, highlighting how institutional reform, international collaboration, and resilience through years of national crises have strengthened its global standing.
The Lebanese University (LU), established in 1951, is Lebanon's only public university and the country's largest higher education institution, serving tens of thousands of students across its campuses. Now, the university has now recorded one of its strongest international performances to date.
The university moved up nearly 100 positions in the 2026 Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, rising from the 301-400 band to the 201-300 band globally. The rankings, which assess universities' contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), evaluated 1,646 institutions across 116 countries this year.
LU's gains extended beyond its overall position. The university ranked first among Lebanese institutions in “reduced inequalities”, climbing from 95th to 70th globally, while also taking first place nationally in “equal opportunities” and maintaining a strong international standing in quality education.
To understand what drove this progress, and what challenges remain, The Beiruter spoke with Dr. Rodrigue Abi Khalil, Head of the Department of International Relations and Diplomacy at the Lebanese University.
Dr. Abi Khalil pointed out the factors he believed drove the improvement, including the university's internal governance structure. "There has been close and careful follow-up," he said, explaining that the university "operates on more than one level and functions with a kind of self-monitoring system," with oversight running from the department level up through the branch, the faculty, and finally the central administration and university presidency.
That layered accountability, he argued, is precisely what allowed longstanding institutional weaknesses to be addressed rather than ignored. "There were areas that needed improvement, and those changes gave us a push forward," he noted, adding that “because various files and issues were closely monitored rather than brushed aside," the natural result was an improvement in the university's standing.
On the academic and research front, Dr. Abi Khalil highlighted the growing network of institutional partnerships LU has built with universities at home and abroad. He explained that an institution confident in itself and committed to development “can readily form partnerships and agreements with reputable local universities, as well as internationally recognized foreign universities," and that these agreements have produced collaboration, student exchange programs, and funded research, some backed by state funding, some by international donor organizations.
He explained, “because of the university's professional reputation and strong ranking, we've established partnerships with security and military institutions, including the Lebanese Army Command and the Internal Security Forces.”
Additionally, he explained that “these partnerships exist because the university enjoys credibility, institutional discipline, and a respected professional reputation. Institutions of this level are willing to collaborate with us on security studies and strategic research because of that.”
A significant aspect of the university’s success is the extraordinary conditions under which LU has operated in recent years. Dr. Abi Khalil noted that Lebanon has passed through "extremely difficult times, from the economic collapse in 2019 to successive conflicts and wars," conditions that made things difficult for every university in the country. Despite that, he said, LU "managed to overcome all these challenges, including COVID-19, the wars, and many other crises," adapting as circumstances demanded.
He offered a concrete illustration. With roughly 80,000 students enrolled, tens of thousands living in areas affected by war were unable to attend classes in person, so the university shifted online for those students, while faculties able to continue in-person instruction did so. That flexibility, he said, "was essential in overcoming these challenges and demonstrated effective crisis management, a key indicator of institutional performance in any sector.”
Dr. Abi Khalil highlighted the positive impact on the university’s students, pointing to reputation and access. Despite the surrounding turmoil, he said, LU "has consistently ranked first among universities in Lebanon and has maintained a strong international standing in terms of academic reputation", a reputation he described as a major factor in students' decisions to enroll. He further stressed that the university embodies the principle that education is a right rather than a privilege reserved for those who can pay, noting that tuition fees remain minimal, which keeps higher education accessible.
He also pointed to LU's sheer scale as a driver of academic quality. As the country's largest university by enrollment, with no other university approaching its enrollment numbers, LU generates "greater competition among students, encouraging them to perform better", competition that, in his view, "naturally raises the overall academic standard."
Dr. Abi Khalil was clear that the university does not see the new ranking as a finish line. "University rankings are updated annually, so reaching a certain position isn't the end of the journey," he said. "This is continuous work. We shouldn't simply be satisfied with this ranking or frame it on the wall and celebrate it."
Instead, he said the goal going forward is improvement, rather than just maintenance, continuing the same mechanisms that produced this year's gains, following up on key files, addressing weaknesses, and preserving the crisis-management flexibility the university has developed. He added that the institution intends to build on the operational experience gained from navigating six consecutive years of crisis, calling it "another reason to believe we can continue improving our international ranking."
As the Lebanese University positions itself for next year's assessment, its latest results offer evidence that sustained institutional oversight, international collaboration, and adaptability under pressure can move the needle, even amid some of the most difficult conditions a national university system has faced in decades.
