Lebanon
The Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA) was the first national institution for higher education in Lebanon; in 1988, it joined the University of Balamand. Since its establishment in 1944, it has played a prominent role in architecture, visual arts, and design in the Middle East, where it has been a pioneer in implementing innovative study programs. The programs it offers include Visual Arts, Architecture, Interior Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Global Design, Graphic Design, Cinema and Television, Urban Planning, and Fashion. This variety of programs is conjoined to a multidisciplinary teaching approach provided by prominent local and international practitioners and academics. ALBA adopted the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) in 2004 and has exchange programs with a number of leading European academic institutions. It is located in Beirut, an edgy cosmopolitan city and a center of modern and contemporary Arab thought and art.