Allameh Tabatab'i University

By the year 1979, the year of the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, several centers of higher education with such titles as ‘university’, college’, ‘research institute’, ‘school of higher education’, ‘institute’, ‘center’ and ‘organization’ had been established in the field of humanities. These centers, which had been gradually established since 1958, were then transformed into two academic complexes of “Literature and Human Sciences” and “Administrative and Commercial Sciences”. Five years later, i.e. in 1984, these two centers were merged to establish the “Allameh Tabataba’i University”.

Establishment of the Allameh Tabataba’i University, the turning point in the History of Higher Education of the Country

Before the establishment of Allameh Tabataba’i University, there were several specialized universities in the field of engineering and technical sciences in Iran, but this university proved to be a turning point in the history of Iran’s higher education system, in the sense that other academic courses also came to the focus of attention.

Allameh Mohammad Hossein Tabataba’i, after whom this university was named, was an Iranian scholar of philosophy and Qur’anic sciences who passed away only three years before the establishment of this university and was, in a way, to be considered a role model for the students who studied in this university. Presently, Allameh Tabataba’i University is the largest specialized Iranian university in the field of human sciences.

The Structure of Allameh Tabataba’i University

The structure of this university comprises 10 faculties, an institute of higher education, a campus of post-graduation, a growth center, and 9 research institutes and centers. The buildings of Allameh Tabataba’i University are in Tehran, but they are not located in one place. The central campus of the university is located in the north of Tehran, in an area referred to as the ‘Olympic Village’.

Currently, more than 15,000 students pursue their higher education at this university in 226 fields and educational orientations at bachelor, master, and doctorate levels and so far more than 77,000 people have graduated from this university.

ECO College of Insurance

Tehran College of Insurance was established in 1969 by keeping in view the increasing importance of this industry in the world. This college was established as a non-profit institution and began admitting students at the bachelor’s level in the field of insurance management. Right from the beginning, this institute imparted its training in two Persian and English sections, and its English section worked closely with the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD). University of Karachi of Pakistan, Istanbul University, Chartered Insurance Institutes of London, and New York College of Insurance were among the institutions that interacted with the Tehran College of Insurance.

In 1985 and following certain changes in the structure of the RCD and the creation of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), the importance of having a center of higher education that focused on insurance was noticed. Thus, in 1990, the Tehran College of Insurance was renamed ‘ECO College of Insurance’ and became affiliated with the Allameh Tabataba’i University. The ECO College of Insurance has been admitting students since September 1991.

Autonomous Postgraduate Campus of Allameh Tabataba’i University

In the year 1991, a center called “Center for Specialized Education” was established at Allameh Tabataba’i University. In 2012, this center was renamed “Campus of Post-Graduation” and currently has 12 educational groups, at the master’s and doctoral levels with about two thousand students.

Center for Teaching Persian to non-Persian Speaking People

The position of Allameh Tabataba’i University among the universities of Iran and the presence of foreign students in it led to the establishment of a center entitled “Center for Teaching Persian to non-Persian Speaking People”. Since its establishment in 2017, this center has provided training to students from different countries. Farsi learners in this center can receive a part of their training in person and another part in cyberspace. Providing Persian language education in line with its use in literary works, journalism, business, and tourism is one of the advantages of this center.