Common Requirements

The following are the descriptions of the curricular components that are common to all programs offered in the Faculty of Engineering.

Student working for a BE degree in an engineering program must complete a total of 20 credit hours of general education (university and faculty) requirements distributed as follows:

This curricular component includes 6 courses comprising 12 credits; 3 courses (total of 5 credits) are University Requirements (UR) and 4 courses (total of 7 credits) are Faculty requirements (FR) as listed in the following table:

Descriptions of the General Education core courses are given below.

This course aims at introducing students to the principles of human rights and its foundations. The importance of human rights in our societies, not only from a theoretical point of view but rather more from a practical one, is highlighted. Special attention is given to certain global themes on human rights, which touch on critical topics related to our society. It also covers the following topics: Human rights, key values of human rights and other values, characteristics of human rights, history of human rights, some problematic cases, the evolution of human rights, the implementation of human rights and NGOs, human rights in Lebanon, children, citizenship, democracy, discrimination and xenophobia, education, and gender equality. Lectures are in English.

A general course that enhances the language skills and provides coverage of basic grammar, vocabulary, reading, and writing for foundation students. It deals with basic competence in reading, through exercises on getting main ideas, guessing meaning from context, understanding details, predicting and inferencing. Writing development from paragraph to composition, proceeding through writing is the focus of the course. Writing and reading build vocabulary through exercises and dictionary use and clause exercises. The latter develop grammar where the use of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, transition signals, the reconstructing of sentences and main and subordinating clauses is practiced.

Students write essays on different topics related to argumentation or presentation of concepts and ideas in an organized manner. This is in addition to descriptive, narrative, reflective, and creative writing. Topics chosen are related to the students’ culture diagram as well as current affairs. The ability of students to write academically and classify and organize ideas is stressed. Pre-req.: ENGL 001.

Basic oral communication principles and theories; body, intonation, and stress language considerations; speaker-listener relationship; speech topic, context and audience; planning, preparing and delivering of platform speeches; showcase and spotlight ideas; group interactions; projects and formal presentations. Pre-req.: ENGL 211.

An introductory course designed around the development of business plan. The course examines how to formulate business ideas, select a location, select a legal form of organization, locate financing source, assess the market, and develop a human resources management system.

Ethical issues in the practice of engineering, corporate responsibility; personal rights; honesty, ethical aspects of safety, risk and liability and conflicts of interest; environmental issues and sustainability; codes of ethics; emphasis on developing the capacity for independent ethical analysis of real cases. Pre-req.: earned 90 crs.

This component encompasses 8 Credits of General Elective courses selected from the University Elective Courses listed in the University Section of this catalog.

The Basic Sciences and Mathematics component for all engineering majors except the PTRE program consists of 26 credits (27 credits for the PTRE program and 36 credits for the CHEM program) distributed as follows:

Instead of the CHEM 207/CHEM405 and the CHEM 241 courses, the PTRE program requires the following three 9-credits chemistry courses instead:

• CHEM 281: Principles of Chemistry I (3 Credits)
• CHEM 282: Principles of Chemistry II (3 Credits)
• CHEM 331: Organic Chemistry (3 Credits)

Instead of the CHEM 207/CHEM405 and the CHEM 241 courses, the CHME program requires the following six 18-credits chemistry courses instead:

• CHEM 248: Physical Chemistry I (3 Credits)
• CHEM 281: Principles of Chemistry I (3 Credits)
• CHEM 282: Principles of Chemistry II (3 Credits)
• CHEM 331: Organic Chemistry (3 Credits)
• CHEM 345: Inorganic Chemistry (3 Credits)
• CHEM 358: Surface and Colloid Chemistry (3 Credits)

Descriptions of the required mathematics and basic sciences courses are given below.

Chemistry of ozone layer in the atmosphere; particulate matter and control of air pollution; global warming; waste management, treatment and disposal; mass-energy transfer; risk, dose response and human exposure assessment; hazard identification; risk characterization; water resources and pollutants; BOD and waste water.

A study of the fundamental concepts of chemistry including matter and measurement, atoms, molecules, ions, moles, nomenclature, atomic and molecular weights. Stoichiometry. Chemical reactions, quantitative calculations. Periodic table, atomic structure, periodic properties of the elements, chemical bonding, molecular structure. The gaseous, liquid, and solid states of matter. Properties of solutions, aqueous reactions and solution stoichiometry. Thermochemistry, chemical thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, chemical equilibrium, acids, bases and ionic equilibria, and nuclear chemistry.

The course covers principles and applications of the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Third Law of Thermodynamics, entropy and free energy changes in chemical reactions, Thermodynamic of solutions. Phase equilibria in heterogenous systems. Phase rule and its application in one, two and three component systems. Pre-req.: CHEM 282.

): Introduction to the basic concepts and principles of chemistry including: Atoms, molecules, mole concept, chemical reactions and calculations, stoichiometry. Periodic table and properties of the elements, nomenclature. Theories of atomic structure, atomic spectra. Theories of chemical bonding. Covalent bonding and molecular structure: molecular geometry, VSEPR theory, valence bond theory, hybrid orbital and molecular orbital theory.

Topics discussed are the three physical states of matter (gases, liquids and solids). Properties of solutions. Chemical equilibrium. Ionic equilibria. Rates of chemical reactions. Introduction to the basic chemical thermodynamics and thermo-chemistry. Pre-req.:CHEM281.

Introduction to organic chemistry. A new mechanistic approach to the study of the chemical reactions and a survey of hydrocarbons, alcohols and ethers. Detailed study of aromatic compounds, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids and their derivatives, and amines. The course also introduces students to spectroscopic identification of organic compounds. Applied experiments related to the above topics. Pre-req.: CHEM281.

Brönsted and Lewis acid and base. Chemistry of main group elements. Basic concepts of coordination compounds: nomenclature, bonding, structure, stability, magnetic properties, stereochemistry. Crystal and ligand field theories. Pre-req.: CHEM 282.

Basic terms in surface and colloid chemistry, the kinetic properties of disperse systems, interfacial phenomena, the optical and electrical properties of colloids, the preparation and stability of colloids, properties of gels, emulsion, foams and aerosol. Pre-req.: CHEM248

Bonding in solids; crystal structures; x-ray diffraction; electron models; band theory; crystal defects; electrical, thermal, optical and magnetic properties of solid state materials from a chemical perspective; fabrication techniques and modern applications.

Partial fractions; binomial theorem; roots of polynomial equations; convergence of series; Matrices: Determinants, rank, eigen values, eigenvectors, block decomposition, axes transformation solution of linear system of equations; introduction to complex analysis; conic sections; engineering applications.

Hyperbolic functions; implicit and logarithmic differentiation; derivatives of higher order functions; Leibniz theorem; mean value theorem; partial differentiation and applications; Taylor expansion; methods of integration; improper integrals; multiple Integrals; engineering applications.

First- and second-order differential equations with constant and variable coefficients; simultaneous system of differential equations; series solution; Introduction to partial differential equations; Fourier series; Laplace transforms; shifting theorems; convolution theorem; engineering applications. Pre-req.: MATH 281, MATH 282.

Curve fitting; function approximation; iterative method for finding roots; solution of systems of linear equations; numerical differentiation and integrations; numerical solution for ordinary differential equations (first order, simultaneous system, second order); special functions; numerical analysis software; engineering applications. Pre-req.: MATH 283.

Probability space, conditional probability and independence, and probability theorems; Random variables, and density functions, joint probability; expectation, variance and covariance, moments and moment generating functions: Discrete and continuous distributions; statistical measures: mean, mode, variance, standard deviation; statistical distribution: t- distribution, chi- distribution; sampling theory; Theory of estimation, confidence intervals; probability and statistical software. Pre-req.: MATH 282.

Electric charges and Coulomb’s Law; Electric field and potential of various charge distributions; electric dipoles; Gauss’s Law in electricity; Capacitance and Dielectrics; Electric conduction current; Resistance and Temperature; Magnetic field of a solenoid; Gauss’s Law in Magnetism; Electromotive force; Electromagnetic induction; Faraday’s law; Self induction and inductance.

Properties of materials: units, dimensions, experimental errors, circular motion of rigid bodies, moment of inertia, compound pendulum, elasticity of materials, Hook’s law, relations between stresses and strains, elastic energy, torsion, gravitation and gravity, satellite motion, pressure measurements, flow of ideal fluids, streamlines and equation of continuity, Bernoulli’s equation and its applications, viscosity of fluids, flow in capillary tubes; Heat: heat and temperature, temperature measurements, specific heat and latent heat, heat transfer by conduction, heat convection, heat transfer by radiation and black body radiation.

The general engineering component includes 15 credits (12 credits for the ECE programs) distributed as follows:

*Not included in the curriculum of ECE programs, replaced by INME 423 Project Planning and Management (3 credits)

Computer fundamentals. Computer system components: hardware and software. Problem solving and flowcharts/pseudocode. High level programming: data types, structured programming constructs, input and output, expressions and assignments, selection, repetition, arrays.

Force vectors (analytical and graphical methods), free-body diagrams; equilibrium of particles and rigid bodies in two and three dimensions; structural elements and supports; plane and space trusses; axial, shear, and moment diagrams of beams; Cable-supported structures. Friction; center of gravity and centroid; moment of inertia. Applications.

Basics principles and techniques of economic analysis of engineering project, time value of money, cost allocation and estimation, evaluation of engineering projects and investments, depreciation, inflation, bond and loan financing, after tax cash flow analysis, sensitivity analysis, selection among mutually exclusive alternatives using present worth, annual worth, internal rate of return, benefit-cost.

Constructional Geometry-constructing tangents. Plane curves and polygons. Orthographic drawing and theory of sketching shapes and surface identification. Orthographic projection of views. Sectional views and conventions. Pictorial drawing. Applications of Auto-CAD software for 2D drawings.

Dynamics of a particle, system of particles, and planar rigid bodies using Newton’s law of motion. Work and energy principle, impulse and momentum principle. Free-body diagram and concept of equilibrium. Inertia properties of rigid bodies.