University of Tehran

University of Tehran

دانشگاه تهران
Coat of arms of the University of Tehran
Motto	میاسای ز آموختن یک زمان
Motto in English	Waste not a moment of learning
Type	Public research university
Established	1851 (Dar ul-Funun) 1899 ( Tehran School of Political Sciences ) 1934; 90 years ago (1934) (Modern University)
Founder	FUIW
Website	ut.ac.ir (engl.)

The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT,

established in 1899.

The main

with its specific design and modern architecture (at Enghelab Street at the main campus) is the logo of the university and in a more general sense, a logo of education in Iran. The university is one of the city's attractions, hosting many international and cultural events attracting academia, foreign tourists as well as local residents. The major festive of Friday Prayers of the capital is held at the university's main campus every Friday.

Admission to the university's renowned undergraduate and graduate programs is very competitive and is limited to the top one percent of students who pass the national entrance examination administered yearly by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology.^[9]

History

The first official step for the establishment of the present form of University of Tehran in Iran occurred on 31 March 1931 when Minister of Court Abdolhossein Teymourtash wrote Isa Sedigh who was completing his doctoral dissertation at Columbia University in New York to inquire as to requirements for the establishment of a university in Tehran.^[10] Isa Sedigh regarded the letter as an invitation to outline a comprehensive scheme for the establishment of a new university.

In January 1933, during the cabinet meeting, the subject was brought up.

, the acting minister of the Ministry of Education stated the following words there: "Of course, there is no doubt on the thriving state and the glory of the capital, but the only obvious deficiency is that this city has no 'university'. It is a pity that this city lags far behind other great countries of the world." His words had a profound impact on everyone in the meeting, resulting in the acceptance of the proposal. Thus allocating an initial budget of 250,000 Tomans, the Ministry of Education was authorized to find a suitable land for the establishment of the university and take necessary measures to construct the building as soon as possible. Ali Asghar Hekmat in collaboration and consultation with , the compound of Jalaliyeh garden was selected. Jalaliyeh garden was located in the north of the then Tehran between Amirabad village and the northern trench of Tehran. This beautiful garden, full of orchards was founded in the early 1900s during the final years of Nasir ad- Din Shah, by the order of Prince Jalal ad-dawlah. The master plan of the campus buildings was drawn up by French architects Roland Dubrulle and Maxime Siroux, Swiss architect Alexandre Moser, as well as Andre Godard, Nicolai Markov and Mohsen Foroughi. The influences of early 20th century modernist architecture are today readily visible on the main campus grounds of the university. The University of Tehran officially inaugurated in 1934. The Amir-abad (North Karegar) campus was added in 1945 after American troops left the property as World War II was coming to an end. The university admitted women as students for the first time in 1937.^[11]

In 1935, the formerly males-only university opened its doors to women as part of the country's sweeping universal education policy.^[12][13]

In 1986, the Iranian parliament, known as the Majlis of Iran, stipulated that the university's overcrowded College of Medicine be separated into the independent Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), and that TUMS be placed under the leadership of the new ministry of health and Medical Education. With over 13,000 current students, TUMS remains the best medical school in Iran.

Campuses, colleges and faculties

1. Regional Campuses:

• Aras International Campus
• Caspian International Campus
• Persian Gulf International Campus
• Kish International Campus
• Alborz Campus

2. Colleges:

• College of Engineering
  • Schools & Faculties:
    • School of Electrical & Computer Engineering
    • School of Mechanical Engineering
    • School of Chemical Engineering
    • School of Metallurgy & Materials Engineering
    • School of Civil Engineering
    • School of Mining Engineering
    • School of Surveying and Geomatics Engineering
    • School of Industrial Engineering
    • School of Engineering Science
    • Fouman Faculty of Engineering in Fouman
    • Caspian Faculty of Engineering in Rezvanshahr
• College of Science
  • Schools:
    • School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science
    • School of Geology
    • School of Biology
    • School of Chemistry
    • School of Physics
    • School of Biotechnology

• College of Fine Arts
• College of Agriculture & Natural Resources in Karaj and Pakdasht
• College of Farabi in Qom

3. Faculties

• Faculty of New Sciences and Technologies
• Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
• Faculty of Governance

Humanities Faculties:

• Faculty of World Studies
• Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature
• Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences
• Faculty of Law and Political Science
• Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies
• Faculty of Thought and Islamic Sciences

Social and Behavioral Sciences Faculties:

• Faculty of Economics
• Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences
• Faculty of Geography
• Faculty of Psychology and Education
• Faculty of Social Sciences
• Faculty of Entrepreneurship
• Faculty of Management

Academic institutes and centers

University of Tehran also co-ordinates several major institutes:

• Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics
• Institute of Geophysics
• The International Research Center for Coexistence with Deserts
• Institute of History of Science
• Institute for North American and European Studies
• Institute of Electrotechnic
• Center for Women's Studies
• Applied Management Research Center
• Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute
• Vehicle, Fuel, and Environment Research Institute
• Turbo Machine Institute
• Institute of Petroleum Engineering
• Water Institute
• The Research Institute of Energy Planning and Management
• The Engineering Optimization Research Group
• Biomaterial Research Institute
• Advanced Material Research Institute
• Inorganic Material Research Institute
• University of Tehran Research Institute (UTRI)
• Science and Technology Park of University of Tehran
• International Desert Research Center (IDRC)

Research and facilities

The University of Tehran hosts many cultural and academic activities on the national and international levels. UT enjoys the cooperation of foreign countries in holding international conferences, seminars and workshops. In 2008, close to 1,000 UT professors and graduate students have taken part in international conferences with university funding. Furthermore, UT regularly hosts many delegations and professors from abroad.

University of Tehran is appointed as the Center of Excellence (قطب علمی) by Iran's Ministry of Science and Technology in the fields of "Evaluation and improvement of irrigation networks", "Breeding and Biotechnology of trees", "Farming, Grading and Biotechnology", "Applied Electromagnetic Systems", "Land Logistics", "Sustainable Urban Planning and Development", "Architectural Technology", "Biological Control of Pests and Plant Diseases", "Rural Studies and Planning", "High-Performance Materials", "Control and Intelligent Processing", "Sustainable Management of Watershed", "Applied Management of Fast Growing Wood Species", "Surveying and Disaster Management", "Engineering and Infrastructure Management", "Oil and Gas".^[14] This appointment is based on national standing based on research achievements and invested funding in the mentioned topics. Fifteen percent of the country's Centers of Excellence, as recognized by the government, are located at the University of Tehran, which along with more than 40 research centers ensure UT's commitment to research. Together, over 3,500 laboratories are active in these centers and in the faculties. In addition, the University of Tehran publishes more than 50 scientific journals, some of which have the ISI index.

The Central Library and Documentation Center of the University of Tehran has been a member of the International Federation of Library Associations and institutions (IFLA) since 1967. The Central Library is the largest academic library in Iran. The library complements the 35 specialized libraries based at different faculties, all with the aim of advancing the research goals of the university. Currently the Central Library and Documentation Center is offering its services to more than 65 thousand members. It hosts more than 5,000 users daily. The library offers its resources under 13 main collections (most of which have been donated by distinguished professors of the university). The manuscript collection of the University of Tehran includes over 17,000 volumes of manuscripts in Persian, Arabic and Turkish. The library also hosts a state of the art center for the preservation of manuscripts. The University of Tehran Press (UTP), which focuses on publishing academic books, has published over 5,000 books up until today, and currently publishes on average more than one book per day. UTP has over 96 distribution agents throughout the country as well as one in Afghanistan.^[15]

Endowment

University of Tehran is a public university and its funding is provided by the government of Iran. For the top ranks of the national university entrance exam, education is free in all public universities. The people with ranks below the normal capacity of the universities will be required to pay part or all of the tuition. In 2011 University of Tehran with an amount equivalent to 70 million dollars got the highest budget among all universities in Iran.^[16]

Emblems

The

.

The seal symbolized ownership. In the

Pahlavi

's script was used in these badges, they have the nature of a monogram as well.

The motif is placed between two eagle wings. One can also find these motifs in other images of this period, such as in royal crowns, particularly at the end of the Sasanid period. Crowns with these seals have been called "two-feather crowns" in The

Colors

University of Tehran's official color is University of Tehran Blue (RGB: 29,160,196).

Main entrance

The University of Tehran main entrance was designed in 1965 by Korosh Farzami, one of the students of the faculty of Fine Arts of the University and built by Arme Construction Company.^[18]

The gates are depicted on the reverse of the Iranian 50,000 rials banknote.^[19]

Faculties History

Initially University of Tehran included eight colleges and faculties:

• Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies
• College of Science (1934)
• Faculty of Letters and Humanities
• Faculty of Medicine (1934)
• Faculty of Pharmacy (1934)
• Faculty of Dentistry (1939)
• College of Engineering (Fanni) (1942)^[20]
• Faculty of
  Political Science
  (1942)

Later more faculties were founded:

• College of Fine Arts (1941)
• Faculty of
  Veterinary Medicine
  (1943)
• Faculty of Agriculture (1945)
• Faculty of Management (1954)
• Faculty of Education (1954)
• Faculty of
  Natural Resources
  (1963)
• Faculty of Economics (1970)
• Faculty of Social Sciences (~1972)
• Faculty of
  Environment^[21]
  (1975)
• Faculty of Foreign Languages (1989)
• Faculty of Physical education
• Faculty of Geography (~2002)
• Faculty of World Studies^[22] (~2007)
• Faculty of Entrepreneurship^[23]
• Faculty of New Sciences and Technologies (~2010)

In 1992, the faculties of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacology seceded to become the Tehran University of Medical Sciences but is still located at the main campus (The central Pardis). The Central Pardis Campus, on Enghelab Ave, is the oldest and best known of the campuses. Amir Abad Campus is where most of the dormitories are located. Aside from physical campuses, University of Tehran also has an online campus program first started in 2003 under a project to provide online degree programs, becoming the first university in Iran to host events in regards to the development of formal national ICT.

• 
  School of Engineering Main Building known as Faculty of Engineering Building
• 
  School of Medicine
• 
  School of Fine Arts
• 
  Faculty of Letters and Humanities of the University of Tehran
• 
  Faculty of Letters and Humanities
• 
  The stadium of University of Tehran
• 
  School of Economics Building
• 
  The new School of Engineering state-of-the-art buildings in Amir Abad campus
• 
  Main Library

World rankings

University rankings
University of Tehran
Global – Overall
ARWU World[24]	401–500 (2023)
CWTS World[25]	142 (2022)
QS World[citation needed]	360 (2024)
THE World[26]	401–500 (2024)
USNWR Global[27]	329 (2023)

U.S. News & World Report

2018 Best Global Universities

• Engineering: 42^[3]

2022 Best Global Universities: #329

• Engineering: 22^[28]

Academic Ranking of World Universities^[29]

2019: 301-400

2018: 301-400

2017: 301-400

2016: 301-400

2015: 201-300

Times Higher Education^[30]
2016–2019: 601–800

U.S. News & World Report^[31]

2017 Best Global Universities Ranking

• Engineering : 45
• Agricultural Sciences
   : 71
• Computer science : 120
• Materials Science
   : 117
• Chemistry : 235
• Biology, Biochemistry : 307

Libraries and museums

As the largest academic library in Iran, the Central Library and Documentation Center of the University of Tehran includes a rich and broad selection of resources in different fields of science, technology, and literature. The library holdings include over one million books, periodicals, manuscripts, microfilms, pictorial copies, historical documents and photos, lithography books, academic dissertations, scientific documents and maps, over 120,000 books in English, French, German, Russian, Italian, and other languages. Since 1967, the Central Library and Documentation Center has become a member of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). The library holds a valuable set of manuscripts, including historical documents, microfilms, pictorial manuscripts, rare books, lithography books, historical photos, and handwriting of scholars and politicians. This collection includes about 17,000 volumes of manuscripts in Persian as well as other languages. The Conservation and Restoration Department of the Library houses the Specialized Lab, the Renovation Workshop, and the Special Bindery office.

Political role

University of Tehran's central place in Iranian elite circles has made it the setting for many political events and cultural works. Perhaps, to historians, the University of Tehran is most notably remembered for its key roles in the political events of recent history. It was in front of the same gates of this school that The Shah's army opened fire on dissident students, killing many and further triggering the 1979 revolution of Iran. It was there and 20 years later in July 1999 that, albeit, a much smaller number of dissident students confronted the police. University of Tehran (UT) has always been a bastion of political movement and ideology. At UT the leaders of the country deliver some of their most potent speeches often on Friday during prayers. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the main campus of the university and its surrounding streets have been the site for Tehran's

.

The political and social role of the University of Tehran in the Iranian domestic arena has continued to be so pronounced that in November 2005 (to February 2008) a senior Islamic scholar became chancellor(president) of the university, replacing Faraji-dana (professor of electrical engineering faculty). Ayatollah

in the 1979 revolution, and had spent time in the Shah's prisons before the Islamic Revolution. In February 2008, an Iranian economist, Farhad Rahbar, a former vice president of Iran and head of Management and Planning Organization of Iran, became the new (31st) chancellor of the university.

One hundred and nineteen faculty members of the University of Tehran are said to have resigned on 15 June 2009 to protest the attack on university dorms in the wake of contested

although clear follow-up data is hard to establish, it seems that most or all resignations were not accepted.

Notable people

Many of the most important figures in Iranian political, academic, and social life have been associated with the University of Tehran. Notable press alumnus include Hossein Towfigh, Editor-in-Chief of Towfigh Magazine. Politicians include the nationalist leader Mohammad Mosaddegh, Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, former Prime Minister Jamshid Amouzegar, and the recent reformist President Mohammad Khatami.

Academics include Lotfi A. Zadeh the inventor of fuzzy logic, Fields Medal winner Caucher Birkar, Ali Javan who invented the gas laser and is ranked number 12 on the list of the top 100 living geniuses, intellectual and former Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan and biophysicist Mohammad-Nabi Sarbolouki.

Art figures include renowned filmmakers Abbas Kiarostami and Asghar Farhadi, actor Khosrow Shakibai and poet Mohammad-Taqi Bahar.

Other notable figures include Human Rights Lawyer

.

Alumni from the University of Tehran's predecessor institutions the

.

The School of Engineering at the University of Tehran has introduced many highly recognized researchers all over the world, including:

in 1998–2000. Since 2001 he has been at Caltech.

]

in 1984.

Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh: is an internationally recognized inventor (for his contributions to the field of ingestible sensors) and a Distinguished Professor at the University of New South Wales.

Nader Engheta: is an Iranian-American scientist. He is currently the H. Nedwill Ramsey Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, affiliated with the departments of Electrical and Systems Engineering, Bioengineering, and Physics and Astronomy.

Kaveh Pahlavan: is a professor of ECE and CS at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, he is renowned for his pioneering research in Wi-Fi Technology and wireless Indoor-Geolocation. and body area networking. He is the Director of the Center for Wireless Information Network Studies at WPI.

at Department of Electrical Engineering, UCLA.

.

Alireza Nasiri is a technocrat and businessman who created Iran's first online degree program at University of Tehran in 2003.^[34] He is known as the father of commercial forestry in Iran due to empowering the field of greenery with genetically modified trees in Iran.^[35]

Lotfi A. Zadeh:is a mathematician, electrical engineer, computer scientist, artificial intelligence researcher and professor emeritus of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. Zadeh, in his theory of fuzzy sets, proposed using a membership function (with a range covering the interval [0,1]) operating on the domain of all possible values. He proposed new operations for the calculus of logic and showed that fuzzy logic was a generalisation of classical and Boolean logic. He also proposed fuzzy numbers as a special case of fuzzy sets, as well as the corresponding rules for consistent mathematical operations (fuzzy arithmetic). In 1942, he graduated from the University of Tehran with a degree in electrical engineering (Fanni).

He has made significant contributions to the fields of

, physics and reverse-engineering of polarization vision in nature, bio-inspired optical imaging, fractional paradigm in electrodynamics, and electromagnetics and microwaves.

Some of the most prominent figures are named below:

Shirin Ebadi:is an Iranian lawyer, a former judge and human rights activist and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. On 10 October 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially women's, children's, and refugee rights. She was admitted to the law department of the University of Tehran in 1965 and in 1969, upon graduation, passed the qualification exams to become a judge. After a six-month internship period, she officially became a judge in March 1969. She continued her studies in University of Tehran in the meantime to pursue a master's degree in law in 1971.

Asghar Farhadi:is an Iranian film director and screenwriter. For his work as director, he has received one Golden Globe Award and one Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world by Time magazine in 2012. He is a graduate of theatre, with a BA in dramatic arts and MA in stage direction from University of Tehran and Tarbiat Modarres University, respectively.

Siavash Teimouri: is a high ranked Iranian architect and artist. He was born in Tehran, Iran. After getting his master from University of Tehran, faculty of fine arts in 1962, he then moved to Paris and received his PhD in architecture from École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in 1969. While working with top class architects he received the French Association of Architects's prize in 1967. He achieved the first place in design competition for University of Isfahan's faculty of science in 1973. He is a member of the French Society of Architects and also member of the board of trustees of the Iran Architectural Pride Worthies Foundation.

Mohammad Mosaddegh:was the Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 until being overthrown in a coup d'état in 1953. His administration introduced a wide range of social and political reforms but is most notable for its nationalization of the Iranian oil industry, which had been under British control since 1913 through the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC/AIOC) (later British Petroleum or BP). Mosaddegh received his Licence en Droit as well as his Doctor of law from the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. Mosaddegh also taught at the University of Tehran at the start of World War I before beginning his long political career.

Ali Javan:is an Iranian American physicist and inventor at MIT. His main contributions to science have been in the fields of quantum physics and spectroscopy. He co-invented the gas laser in 1960, with William R. Bennett. Ali Javan has been ranked Number 12 on the list of the Top 100 living geniuses. He graduated from Alborz High School, started his university studies at University of Tehran and came to the United States in 1948 right after the war.

Mohammad Khatami:is an Iranian scholar, Shiite theologian, and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from 2 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s. He is currently one of the leaders of the Iranian Green Movement, and an outspoken critic of the President Ahmadinejad's government. Khatami is known for his proposal of Dialogue Among Civilizations. The United Nations proclaimed the year 2001 as the United Nations' Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations, on Khatami's suggestion. Khatami received a B.A. in Western philosophy from Isfahan University, but left academia while studying for a master's degree in Educational Sciences at University of Tehran and went to Qom to complete his previous studies in Islamic sciences.

Seyed Ali Mirlohi Falavarjani, PhD Graduate from the University of Tehran in 1975 and Retired Professor from University of Isfahan, Founder of Islamic Azad University of Falavarjanin 1984.

Mohammad Beheshti: was an Iranian scholar, writer, jurist, and one of the main architects of the constitution of the Islamic Republic in Iran. He was the secretary-general of the Islamic Republic Party, and the head of Iran's judicial system. He was assassinated together with more than seventy members of the Islamic Republic party on 28 June 1981. Beheshti was born in Isfahan and studied both at the University of Tehran and under Allameh Tabatabaei in Qom.

Mehdi Bazargan: was a prominent Iranian scholar, academic, long-time pro-democracy activist, and head of Iran's interim government, making him Iran's first prime minister after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. A well-respected religious intellectual, known for his honesty and expertise in the Islamic and secular sciences, he is credited with being one of the founders of the contemporary intellectual movement in Iran. He was the head of the first engineering department of the University of Tehran.

Bahram Sadeghi: The prominent Iranian writer. He studied medicine at University of Tehran.

Jamshid Amouzegar: is an Iranian economist, artist, and politician who was prime minister from 7 August 1977 to 27 August 1978 when he resigned. He was graduated with degrees in law and engineering from the University of Tehran.

Akbar Alemi: Iranian television presenter and documentary film director

See also

• List of Islamic educational institutions
• Academy of Gundishapur
• Nizamiyyah
• Mohammad Moin
• Houchang Nahavandi

References

External links

• Official website