Master in Diplomacy and International Security

USEK School of Law and Political Sciences was inaugurated on November 10th, 1988, symbolically on the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. From its beginnings, the School of Law and Political Sciences has always offered its students an exceptional education that consolidates the strength of tradition with the dynamism of the modern world.

The School of Law and Political Sciences is indeed the heir of a long history. The Lebanese Maronite Order, since its foundation, provided its monks with a solid education in canonical law and has progressively extended its teaching to all legal disciplines for its monks, and the Lebanese public. This diversification, based on the educational needs of Lebanese society, has allowed the School of Law and Political Sciences to build on past experiences while opening up to modernity.

Initially based in Byblos, the School of Law and Political Sciences relocated to the central campus of Kaslik in the fall of 1999, to accommodate the rise of the number of its students and to allow them to integrate with other University students and experience campus life to the full. The School also has a Regional university center (RUC) in Zahle. Since 2016, it hosts the Higher Institute of political and administrative sciences, for students who wish to prepare themselves for management careers in government, public service, governmental agencies, and nonprofit organizations.

The School of Law and Political Sciences proposes a full offering of legal education that includes, other than a Bachelor in Law, many Master’s degrees as well as a doctoral degree. Its programs are offered in both French and English. Its school members include highly knowledgeable law professors as well as renowned professionals such as prominent judges, lawyers, and civil servants practicing in several administrations.

However, the School of Law and Political Sciences does not only provide a learning experience but aims at developing students' personal qualities through its many extra-curricular activities such as mock trials, international pleading competitions, vis moot competitions in international arbitration, and clinical training. Most importantly, these experiences are designed to provide students with knowledge and skills to prepare them for the job market, locally and internationally.

It is an era of global legal practice and USEK School of Law and Political Sciences is committed to preparing its students for it by offering several opportunities for transnational experiences, by actively recruiting international scholars (from France, Italy, USA, Canada), by developing its students’ options for study abroad within the Erasmus Plus program (mostly in Greece, France, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, USA), and by building partnerships with reputable foreign universities, such as the Robert McKinney School of Law of Indiana-Purdue University, for the delivery of an LL.M. in International and Comparative Law, and more recently, with the Syracuse University School of Law in New York.

In addition, the School of Law and Political Sciences has the advantage of the offering, through programs implemented in Lebanon, double Master degrees, from France and Lebanon, such as the Master 2 in International contracts offered in conjunction with the University of Montpellier I where students are awarded a Master 2 degree from USEK and a Master 2 degree from the University of Montpellier I.

Affiliated to the School of Law and Political Science, the Higher Institute of Political and Administrative Sciences was created in February 2006 (decree no 16410) to train future officials in public administration and civil society who are mindful of community spirit and ethics. The Institute contains three multidisciplinary educational fields, those of political sciences, international relations, and public administration.

These aim to:

• Provide students with specialized education in political sciences, thus giving them access to professional life.
• Develop the analytical and synthesis spirit of students, thus enabling them to understand national and international issues.
• Prepare students to follow a specialized higher education curriculum.

Mission

The mission of the International Relations department is to train students in the theories and political and economic issues that shape the relations between states, by offering a program focused on the following topics:

• Conflict management
• The question of security
• The political, economic, and international issues of the Mediterranean region