The American University of Beirut – Mediterraneo is approved by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) as a branch campus of the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB operates under a charter granted by the New York State Education Department (NYSED), which registers the university's degree programs and has approved AUB Mediterraneo as a twin campus of AUB. All departments and programs at AUB Mediterraneo are accredited by the Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Higher Education (CYQAA). It welcomed its first cohort of students in fall 2023.

The American University of Beirut was founded in 1866 and bases its educational philosophy, standards, and practices on the American liberal arts model of higher education. A teaching-centered research university, it has 780 full-time faculty members and a student body of 7,800 students. AUB ranked 226 in the 2024 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings (WUR), solidifying the university's status as a top tier educational institution both regionally and globally. The university currently offers more than 120 programs leading to bachelor's, master's, MD, and PhD degrees. It provides medical education and training to students from throughout the region at its medical center that includes a full-service 365-bed hospital.