In 1939 the Seventh-day Adventist Church felt a need for a center of higher education in the Middle East and founded The Adventist College of Beirut in Mouseitbeh. To facilitate growth of an expanding institution, the College was relocated to its present site in Sabtieh, Sad El Boushrieh, east of Beirut in 1946, and was renamed Middle East College. In that year, the cornerstone of the now North Hall, was laid by His Excellency Sheikh Bechara El-Khoury, then President of the Republic of Lebanon .

On June 28, 2001 , Middle East College was formally renamed Middle East University by the Lebanese Government's Cabinet of Ministers. This significant development validated the role of the institution as a center of higher education for the people of Lebanon and the Middle East region.