Universities in Iran

Iran's universities include both public and private institutions. Teaching is mainly in Persian (Farsi), so most international students first spend time learning the language. National policy for students is set within the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, and the ministry's Student Affairs Organization coordinates services for students, including a department for scholarships and international student affairs.

For a foreign student, the main options are a full degree at an Iranian university, a government scholarship, or a Persian language course at a university language centre. Iranian students enter university through national entrance exams run by the National Organization for Educational Testing; international students are admitted by each university under national rules.

How it works

University degrees follow a sequence of levels, each of which is the entry requirement for the next:

• Kardani: associate degree
• Karshenasi: bachelor's degree
• Karshenasi arshad: master's degree
• Doktora: doctorate (PhD)

Universities that accept international students run Persian language centres, known as AZFA (teaching Persian to non-Persian speakers). In a recent quality assessment, the Student Affairs Organization classified these centres into five quality tiers. The organisation has also said that skill-oriented (applied) universities have particular capacity to take international students.

The one Iranian university in our directory is the University of Kashan in central Iran. It received its founding permit in the Iranian year 1352 (1973-74), and a year later 200 students began studying mathematics and physics. Today its faculties include Humanities, Physics, Architecture and Arts, Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics, Literature and Foreign Languages, Chemistry, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Natural Resources and Earth Sciences. It has an international scientific cooperation office, a foreign-student admissions office and its own AZFA centre.

Admission

Admission rules for self-funded international students are set by each university within the national framework. The University of Kashan admits non-Iranian, non-scholarship applicants in two stages: an initial admission based on academic and identity documents, which does not yet give the right to enrol, and a final admission once the Student Affairs Organization has issued a study permit. Requirements at Kashan include:

• Bachelor's degree: a secondary-school diploma equivalent to the end of Iranian secondary education, plus pre-university study
• Master's degree: a valid bachelor's degree
• Doctorate: valid bachelor's and master's degrees
• Approval by the academic department and an interview

Certificates and transcripts must be certified by the embassy of the applicant's country, by Iran's diplomatic mission and by Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and submitted with Persian and English translations. Applications start online: the applicant registers the request in the university's system and receives a tracking code. At Kashan, documents for final admission are due by the end of Esfand (around mid-March) for the first semester and by the end of Shahrivar (around mid-September) for the second.

Admitted students who do not know Persian, or whose diploma comes from their own country, must take a Persian course at a language centre of a university designated by the Ministry of Science. Students who live outside Iran must enter with a passport and a student visa (type E) before they can enrol. The Student Affairs Organization reports joint work with the immigration and passport police to simplify visa, residence and transit procedures for international students.

Costs and funding

International students who are not on a scholarship pay tuition, which the Student Affairs Organization handles as a separate service. Fees are set per university and programme, and we did not find an official national fee table, so ask the university for the current amount in writing. The organisation also manages scholarships for international students, with monthly stipends and insurance premiums paid for scholarship holders.

How to choose

• Language: plan for a Persian course before the degree unless the programme states another language of instruction.
• Persian centre: AZFA centres are graded in five tiers; ask the university how its centre was rated.
• Funding: a scholarship through the Student Affairs Organization or a self-funded place.
• Paperwork: allow time to certify and translate documents and to obtain the study permit and student visa.
• Travel advice: check your own government's current advice for Iran before you apply.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to speak Persian to study at an Iranian university?

Usually yes. Admitted students who do not know Persian must first take a Persian course at a university language centre designated by the Ministry of Science.

How do international students apply to Iranian universities?

They apply directly to the university, which gives an initial admission and then asks the Student Affairs Organization for a study permit. Final admission and enrolment follow once the permit and the student visa are in place.

What visa do I need to study in Iran?

Students who live outside Iran need a student visa (type E) and must enter Iran with it before they can enrol.