Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

Mashhad is the second largest and second most populated city in Iran after Tehran. This metropolis, with its rich culture and history, attracts many tourists every year. The location of this city has caused a lot of migrants from the surrounding cities and countries such that Mashhad is one of the most immigrant-friendly cities in Iran. This special situation has resulted in the popularity of the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, the largest university in this city, among the young people of the neighboring countries.

History

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad is one of the oldest modern universities in Iran. This university, which was established in 1949 has been named after Hakim Abulqasem Ferdowsi, the renowned Iranian poet and epicist of the tenth century CE, as a sign of tribute to this Iranian poet who lived in the eastern part of Iran and saved the Persian language from extinction by composing his Shahnameh, which is considered one of the greatest epic works of human history.

The establishment of the College of Literature in 1955, where students were admitted in five courses, was a turning point in the expansion of the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Thereafter, and by 1975 a number of other faculties such as ‘Faculty of Theology, ‘Faculty of Sciences’, ‘Faculty of Dentistry’, ‘Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Sciences’, ‘Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology’, ‘Faculty of Agriculture’, and ‘Faculty of Engineering’ as well as the Institute of Optometry and a high school were founded in this university.

After the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the University of Medical Sciences was separated from this university and several other faculties like ‘Faculty of Administrative and Economic Sciences’, ‘Faculty of Veterinary Medicine’, ‘Shirvan College of Agriculture’, ‘Faculty of Sports Sciences’, and ‘Faculty of Mathematical Sciences’ as well as the Research Institute of Plant Sciences, the Earthquake Research Center, etc. were added to the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad Today

Presently, this university has more than 800 faculty members and more than 25 thousand students pursue their higher education in it. The presence of nearly two thousand foreign students at the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad has uplifted the status of this university internationally. Besides its 13 faculties and one college, the following research centers and institutes are also affiliated with this university:

• Aviation Technology Research Institute
• Cognitive Science Research Center
• Earthquake Research Center (EQRC)
• Environmental Chemistry Research Center
• Groundwater Research Center (GRC)
• Institute of Applied Zoology
• Management Research Center
• Institute for Islamic Studies in Humanities (IISH)
• Research Center for Ore Deposit of Eastern Iran (CODEI)
• Research Center for Social and Cultural Issues of Central Asia
• Research Center for Social Studies
• Research Center for the Economics of East Iran and Neighbor Countries
• Research Center for Plant Sciences
• Research Center for Wavelets Applications in Linear and Nonlinear Systems
• Research Institute of Oil & Gas
• Rural Geography Research Centre
• Sun-Air Research Institute (SARI)
• The Research Institute of Biotechnology (RIB)
• Techno-Economic Road Safety Research Center
• Urban and Regional Research Center of North East of Iran

World Ranking of the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

Owing to the high level of its educational system and facilities, the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad has been able to achieve top ranking among Iranian universities in different years.

According to the Shanghai Ranking, by securing 151 to 200 ranking in mechanical engineering and 401 to 500 in chemical engineering, the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad was recognized as one of the top universities in Iran in 2023. This university also succeeded in securing a 201 to 300 ranking in the field of science and energy engineering and was ranked among Iran’s top universities, along with such universities as Isfahan University of Technology and Sharif University of Technology.

The name of this university is also seen in the ISC World Universities Ranking in the field of engineering and technology with a rank of 301 to 350. In the national ranking based on the number of papers published in foreign journals, the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad ranks fifth among the Iranian universities.

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad has been one of the 10 most successful universities of Iran in the field of international activities in recent years.

How to Get Admission to the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad?

Foreign students who meet the requirements of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and are able to pay the tuition fees can get admitted to this university. The university has an office called the “Office of International Students” that handles the affairs of those interested in pursuing their higher education at this university. Besides providing services to non-Iranian students, this office also facilitates opportunities for those Iranian students who intend to pursue their higher education abroad or obtain sabbaticals, through memorandums of understanding with certain foreign universities. The university also has a center for teaching Persian language to non-Persian speaking students.