The University of Tehran (UT) (Persian: دانشگاه تهران, Dâneshgâh-e Tehrân) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching profile, UT has been nicknamed " The Mother University" (دانشگاه مادر, Dâneshgâh-e mâdar), which means flagship university. It is also the premier knowledge-producing institute among all OIC countries. The university offers more than 111 bachelor's degree programs, 177 master's degree programs, and 156 PhD programs. Many of the departments were absorbed into the University of Tehran from the Dar al-Funun established in 1851, and the Tehran School of Political Sciences established in 1899.
The main campus of the university is located in the central part of the city. However, other campuses are spread across the city as well as in the suburbs, such as the Baghe Negarestan Campus in the central eastern part of the city, the Northern Amirabad Campuses in the central western part of the city, and the Abureyhan Campus in the suburb of the capital. The main gate of the university, with its specific design and modern architecture (at Enghelab Street at the main campus), is the logo of the university.
Admission to the university's undergraduate and graduate programs 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.
Contents
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. Isa Sedigh regarded the letter as an invitation to outline a comprehensive scheme for the establishment of a new university.
In 1933, during the cabinet meeting, the subject was brought up. Ali Asghar Hekmat, 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 André Godard, a French architect – who was serving the Ministry of Education as an engineer, began looking for a location for the university grounds. By the orders of Rezā Shāh, 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 garden 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 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.
Campuses, colleges and faculties
1. Regional Campuses:
Aras International Campus
Kish International Campus
Alborz Campus
2. Colleges:
College of Engineering
Schools & Faculties:
School of Electrical & Computer Engineering (A Prominent Lab: Energy Storage Laboratory (ESL))
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
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)
Research and facilities
The University of Tehran hosts cultural and academic activities on the national and international levels. Furthermore, UT hosts 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". 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 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.
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.
Emblems
The emblem of the University of Tehran is based on an image which can be found in the stucco relief and seals of the Sasanid period. It is a copy from a stucco relief discovered in the city of Ctesiphon. The seal symbolized ownership. In the Sassanid period, these seals were used in stucco reliefs, coins, and silver utensils as a family symbol. Since the alphabet of Sasanid 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 Shahnameh. The motif between the wings was made by combining Pahlavi scripts. Some scholars have tried to read these images. The script is in the form of "Afzoot" (Amrood), which means plentiful and increasing.
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.
The gates are depicted on the reverse of the Iranian 50,000 rials banknote.
Faculties History
Initially University of Tehran included eight colleges and faculties:
College of farabi
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)
Faculty of Law and 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 (1975)
Faculty of Foreign Languages (1989)
Faculty of Physical education
World rankings
U.S. News & World Report
2018 Best Global Universities
Engineering: 42
2022 Best Global Universities: #329
Engineering: 22
Academic Ranking of World Universities
2019: 301-400
2018: 301-400
2017: 301-400
2016: 301-400
2015: 201-300
Times Higher Education
2016–2019: 601–800
U.S. News & World Report
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 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 language.
Political role
University of Tehran's central place in Iranian elite circles has made it the setting for many political events and cultural works. It was in front of the 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. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the main campus of the university and its surrounding streets have been the site for Tehran's Friday prayers.
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 Abbasali Amid Zanjani (عباسعلی عميد زنجانی) is a professor in law, is known for his strong ties to Ayatollah Khomeini in the 1979 revolution, and had spent time in the Shah's prisons before the Islamic Revolution. In February 2008, an 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 2009 presidential elections: 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 filmmakers Abbas Kiarostami and Asghar Farhadi, actor Khosrow Shakibai and poet Mohammad-Taqi Bahar.
Other notable figures include Human Rights Lawyer Shirin Ebadi who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, pioneering architect Heydar Ghiai, prominent philosopher Hossein Nasr, reformist cleric Mehdi Karroubi, environmental activist Mahlagha Mallah.
Alumni from the University of Tehran's predecessor institutions the Dar ul-Funun and the Tehran School of Political Sciences include linguist Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda, Baháʼí scholar Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl and former prime ministers Mohammad-Ali Foroughi and Ali Amini.
The School of Engineering at the University of Tehran has introduced recognized researchers all over the world, including:
Babak Hassibi: is an electrical engineer who is the Gordon M. Binder/Amgen Professor of Electrical Engineering and Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tehran in 1989, and the M.S. and PhD degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1993 and 1996, respectively. At Stanford his adviser was Thomas Kailath. He was a research associate in the Information Systems Laboratory at Stanford University during 1997-98 and was a member of the technical staff in the Mathematics of Communications Research Group at Bell Laboratories in 1998–2000. Since 2001 he has been at Caltech.
International journals
Desert: https://jdesert.ut.ac.ir/
Geopersia: https://geopersia.ut.ac.ir/
Journal of Information Technology Management: https://jitm.ut.ac.ir/
Pollution: https://jpoll.ut.ac.ir/
Sport Sciences and Health Research: https://sshr.ut.ac.ir/
Journal of Faculty of Engineering, the academic publication of the Faculty of Engineering of Tehran University published in Persian from 1964 until 2010. After 43 volumes, the journal was split into several separate titles at the discretion of the university administration to put emphasis on specialization in scientific disciplines and to reach out to an international audience by switching to publication in English.