UT PR: The University of Tehran is a public institution and considered as the most comprehensive University in the country. Rooted in Jondi Shapur University which dates back over 2,000 years, UT was established in 1851 and ratified in 1934 as the first modern university in Iran.

The University’s main campus is located in Tehran, the capital city, however, there are more than 8 campuses belonging to UT in different parts of the country. Persian is the main language of instruction at UT, however, English also is recognized as the second language. UT follows a semester-based academic calendar.

Education wise, UT is extremely selective. Nationwide, while UT is the first choice of almost all students in all diciplines, only top 10% of the students can enter the university through the Iranian University Entrance Exam (Iran's Konkoor). Fully empowered with research, innovation, market skills, and demands, UT graduates are playing a central role in the country’s wide range of Industry, Agriculture, Science, Technology and Innovation as well Education, Social, and cultural sections, making a vital contribution to the nation’s development, and eventually leading to the success of the country’s governance.

Research at UT takes place in all academic divisions; including humanities; engineering, physical and life sciences; medical sciences; and social sciences. It takes place across a range of disciplines in more than 60 research centres and more than 550 Laboratories. Research funding at UT has topped billion, including funds from the government, industry, community and other sections.   

UT library network, which supports more than 30 faculty libraries, is Iran’s biggest academic library which comprises more than 1.3 million physical volumes.

UT, from the outset, bore the title of “Iran’s largest Academic Institution”, and now, after around 170 years since its establishment, the University of Tehran still gleams like a gemstone aloft in the firmament of Iran’s scientific knowledge, holding such noble titles as the “First Modern University in Iran”, “Iranian University”, and the “Quintessence of Higher Education in Iran”.

 Did you Know?

• UT has the biggest Science & Technology Park in the country,
• UT hosts over 15% of the country’s Centers of Excellence,
• UT is developing the nation’s biggest “Technology and Innovation Ecosystem” through the “City of Knowledge” Project in the middle of Tehran Megacity,
• UT has the highest social impact on the nation building & development since its establishment,
• UT is the leading “Digital University” in the nation (over 99% of the class are online with accessibility of 99.9%).
• UT has more than 2000 academic staffs and over 50K students,
• UT has more than 8 campuses across the country (at Fouman, Jolfa, Karaj (two campuses), Kish, Pakdasht, Qom, and Rezvanshahr cities),
• UT central campuses in Tehran has 48 faculties, 9 colleges, over 60 research centre/institutes, and more than 550 Laboratories,
• UT has over 160 Educational Departments,
• UT has more than 197 scientific journals including 38 Scopus or WOS indexed Journals,
• UT is a Member of IAU, FUIW, AUAP, IASPO, IUHPS, ISC, COSPAR, IGU, IOBIC, GEM, WTO, IUGG, IFLA, ICODE, and etc.,
• UT has seven UNESCO Chairs (Water Reuse, Engineering Education, Islamic Architecture, Interdisciplinary Research in Diabets, Entrepreneurship, Cyberspace: Dual Speciation of the World, Social Health and Development),
• UT is committed the COPE,
• UT has more than 600 active international MOUs/MOAs.

To know more about UT, please visit "170 Years with the Quintessence of Iran's Higher Education",  Top Alumni, Hon. Doctorate Awards, Chronology, UT Ranks, and Achievements pages too.

The first center in Iran that provided medical education in a new style was "Dar al-Fonun". The period of activity of Dar al-Fonun, which was established in 1852 AD can be considered the first period of medical education in Iran and the beginning of activities that led to the establishment of Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

About 60 years later, i.e. in 1811 AD, the first medical school was established in Iran and sometime later, after the expansion of its activities in 1834 AD, this school began its activities as one of the faculties of the University of Tehran. Finally, after a law was passed on the separation of universities of medical sciences from comprehensive universities in 1986, the Tehran University of Medical Sciences was detached from the University of Tehran and started functioning as an independent University.

Educational and Research Activities of Tehran University of Medical Sciences

More than 11,000 students pursue their higher education in this university under 1800 full-time faculty members. 12 educational units and 11 hospitals and hospital complexes operate under the supervision of the university. Children’s Medical Center and Tehran Heart Center are two major centers of this university, which, in addition to conducting research in these fields, provide specialized services to patients.

Tehran University of Medical Sciences publishes 61 scientific journals and so far more than 67 thousand research papers produced by the researchers of this university have been published in these journals. The number of research centers under the supervision of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences stands at 113, which have conducted about 29,000 research projects.

Every year, about one million visits are made to the emergency sections that function under the supervision of this university, and the number of surgeries done in it is more than 160 thousand cases per year.

In the field of food and medicine, this university supervises 525 pharmacies and 243 production units and handles about two million requests for pharmaceutical services every year.

International Activities and Status of Tehran University of Medical Sciences

As per available the number of foreign students - from more than 40 countries - pursuing their higher education at Tehran University of Medical Sciences stood at 1815 in the year 2023. The university published a call for admitting foreign students every year.

Tehran University of Medical Sciences is usually introduced as one of the top universities in Iran in various world ranking systems. In the Shanghai ranking published in 2023, this university was ranked 201 to 300 and the best university in Iran in the fields of public health, nursing, and medical engineering. Also, in the field of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences, it was ranked 301 to 400 to win the title of the best university in Iran. Similarly, in this ranking system, Tehran University of Medical Sciences was considered one of the top universities in Iran in the field of food science and technology as well as clinical medicine and biotechnology with a rank of 201 to 300 and 301 to 400 respectively.

In the ISC ranking system that was published in 2021, too, Tehran University of Medical Sciences was ranked 601 to 700 in the field of natural sciences, and in two fields of agricultural sciences as well as medical engineering and technology it was ranked 451 to 500 and among the top universities in Iran. In this ranking method, Tehran University of Medical Sciences had achieved the 221st global rank to stand at the top of Iranian universities.

In the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, Tehran University of Medical Sciences is ranked 452nd in the world and has been referred to as the second-best university in Iran after Tehran University.