Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences

The School of Medicine of Shahid Beheshti University Medical Sciences is one of the oldest among modern schools of medicine in Iran.

History of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences

After the establishment of the National University of Iran in the early 1960s, two faculties of “Banking and Finance and Economic Sciences” and “Architecture” were established and later in 1962, the Faculty of Medicine was also founded in this university, making the National University of Iran one of the main centers of medical training in the country. This faculty started its activities with 150 students in a seven-story building in one of the central areas of Tehran. Three years later, after the construction of new buildings that are now known as the main campus of Shahid Beheshti University, the Faculty of Medicine was moved there.

In the beginning, the National University of Iran charged tuition fees to its students, thus, only students from well-to-do families could get admitted to it. However, in the years that followed, it was declared as a public university, as a result of which tuition fees were removed so that students from all sections of society could study in it.

The National University of Iran was renamed “Shahid Beheshti University” in 1983. Two years later, after a law was passed on the Separation of Universities of Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences was officially founded as an independent university, and several other medical educational centers were merged into it.

Educational and Research Activities of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences

Presently, 13 thousand students pursue their higher education under the supervision of more than 1000 full-time faculty members in the following schools of this university:

School of Medicine

School of Dentistry

School of Pharmacy

School of Rehabilitation

School of Nursing & Midwifery

School of Traditional Medicine

School of Allied Medical Sciences

School of Public Health and Safety

School of Advanced Technology in Medicine

In addition, this university has also set up a virtual faculty named "School of Virtual Medical Education and Management”. “Varamin Institute of Health Education” is also affiliated with this university and 21 medical centers in the form of education and treatment or just treatment as well as 10 health networks in different cities of Tehran province, also work under the supervision of this university. Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences also has the following research institutes:

Research Institute for Dental Sciences

Research Institute for Endocrine Science

Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases

National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute

National Research Institute for Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases

International Status and Activities of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences

Being equipped with appropriate facilities and educational processes, this university is considered one of the best universities in Iran, which has also been approved by various global ranking systems. For instance, in the 2023 report of the Shanghai Ranking System, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences was ranked 201 to 300 making it one of the top four universities in Iran in the field of food science and technology. This university has also been ranked 401 to 500 in the fields of biotechnology and clinical medicine. In public health, the rank of this university was 301 to 400 and in nursing, it was 201 to 300.

Similarly, in the ranking system of Times Institute published in 2023, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences was ranked 19th among Iranian universities and 8th among Iranian universities of medical sciences with an overall ranking of 601 to 800. According to the ISC ranking in 2021, this university is recognized as the second-best university in Iran, after Tehran University of Medical Sciences, with a rank of 301 to 350 in medical and health sciences. In the area of agricultural sciences, too, this university was ranked 351 to 400.

Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences has close relations with some foreign educational and research institutions. The office of scientific, medical, and academic cooperation of Iran and France, along with the tables of scientific, medical, and academic cooperation with some other countries such as Austria (Vienna Medical School), Italy (Turin and Florence), and Portugal (Porto), are among the centers that have been founded to expand scientific and research collaboration and conduct joint research projects.