Higher education in Iran

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University of Tehran College of Humanities
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University of Tehran College of Humanities

Iran has a large network of private, public, and state affiliated universities offering degrees in higher education. State-run universities of Iran are under the direct supervision of Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (for non-medical universities) and Ministry of Health and Medical Education(for medical schools).

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[edit] History

It was Abbas Mirza who first dispatched Iranian students to Europe for a western education.[1] The existence of universities such as the Nizamiyyah and The Academy of Gundishapur provide examples of academic institutions of science that date back to ancient times, however the history of the establishment of western style academic universities in Iran (Persia) dates back to 1851 with the establishment of Darolfonoon – which was founded as a result of the efforts of the royal vizier Mirza Taghi Khan Amir Kabir, aimed at training and teaching Iranian experts in many fields of science and technology. It was in 1928 that Iran's first university, as we know it today, was proposed by an Iranian physicist, Mahmoud Hessaby. The University of Tehran (or Tehran University) was designed by French architect Andre Godard, and built in 1934. Today, Tehran University is Iran's largest university with over 32,000 students.

In the medical field, it was Joseph Cochran who first founded a professional school in Iran in 1878, and who is often credited for founding Iran’s "first contemporary medical college" [1], as well as founding one of Iran's first modern hospitals ("Westminister Hospital") in Urmia. The medical faculty Cochran established at Urmia University was joined by several other Americans, namely Drs. Wright, Homlz, van Nourdon, and Miller. They were all buried in Urmia. Samuel M. Jordan, whom "Jordan Ave." in Tehran is named after, also was directly responsible for the expansion of the American College in Tehran.

McCormick Hall, American College of Tehran, circa 1930. The school received a permanent charter from the Board of Regents of the State University of New York in 1932.
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McCormick Hall, American College of Tehran, circa 1930. The school received a permanent charter from the Board of Regents of the State University of New York in 1932.[2]
Click HERE to view videoclip about Tehran University. (note: Limited Bandwidth)
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Click HERE to view videoclip about Tehran University. (note: Limited Bandwidth)

After Tehran University, the establishment of other universities in Iran soon followed, and The Shah initiated projects to build Iranian universities modeled after American schools. Thus Pahlavi University (Shiraz University today) was modeled after The University of Pennsylvania, while Sharif University was copied after MIT. Some universities such as Urmia University were even directly founded by Americans. The 1979 revolution put an end to the massive US-Iran academic relations.

The Ministry of Higher Education, which oversees the operation of all institutes of higher education in Iran, was established in 1967. In 1980, a major overhaul in the academia and higher education system of Iran initiated by Ayatollah Khomeini led to what is referred to in Iran as "Iran's Cultural Revolution".

In 1986, the Ministry of Higher Education handed over supervision and overseeing of education in the medical sciences in Iran to the Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education. This was to optimize use of the medical resources in the country, and to promote health, treatment, teaching, and research more efficiently in the field.

After the Iran-Iraq War, some new universities were founded and doctoral programs were developed in the previous universities. The number of university students is now more than six times as many as in 1979 (when Shah was overthrown), so that critics debate whether the national entrance exam is useful anymore or not.

[edit] Universities and rankings

In 1994, Iran had over 2.2 million students enrolled in universities.[2] Iran currently has 54 state operated universities, and 42 state medical schools. These are primarily the top choice for students in national entrance exams, and have the largest and most prestigious programs. There are 289 major private universities operating as well.[3]

Strong competition exists between top ranking Iranian universities, however generally in the Engineering and Physical Scences it is famous among Iranian students that Sharif University of Technology is the best in Iran and even in the region. In the other sciences (non-medical) University of Tehran seems to be the top university. It is said that according to the latest ranking published by Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, University of Tehran stays on top, succeeded by Sharif University of Technology.[citation needed]

  1. Sharif University of Technology (former Aryamehr University)
  2. University of Tehran
  3. Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic)
  4. Isfahan University of Technology
  5. Shahid Beheshti University (former Melli University)
  6. Iran University of Science and Technology
  7. Shiraz University (former Pahlavi University)
  8. K.N.Toosi University of Technology
  9. University of Isfahan
  10. University of Tabriz
  11. Ferdowsi University of Mashad
  12. Islamic Azad University (former Open University)
  13. Bahonar University of Kerman [4]

In terms of web popularity, again Tehran University tops the list of Iranian universities: [5]

None of these universities however are mentioned (or maybe not evaluated) in the 2005 SJT Top500 Ranking of the world's best universities [6], nor in the Top 50 Rankings by the London Times.[7] Iranian authorities however ignore such rankings, and claim that, according to Chancellor of Tehran University, "Iran is third in Science and Technology in Asia after Japan and Turkey".[8] This overconfidence however may become true in near future, as Iran has had the highest growth of research publications among all countries of the world in 1995-2004 period, ranking 1st in the world just above China.

Critics claim that for the case of Iran, such rankings such as SJT and THES are questionable when assessing Iran's institutions of higher education, since graduates from these universities routinely are well prepared and hence end up matriculating into the competitive elite graduate schools of Europe and the United States in comparatively large numbers. Had the rankings over-weighted the merit of students (which would not be balanced of course), a university like Sharif would conveniently be expected to claim a rank in top 20 worldwide.

In the medical schools, the list of the most top ranked universities is:

  1. Tehran University of Medical Sciences [9] (ranking news bulletin in Persian)
  2. Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences [10] (ranking news bulletin in Persian)
  3. Mashad University of Medical Sciences [11] (ranking news bulletin in Persian)
  4. Iran University of Medical Sciences
  5. Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

In all these schools, except for private universities such as the Islamic Azad University system, tuition and room and board, is mostly paid for by the government. The universities themselves largely operate on state budgets. There are also institutes like Payame Noor University that offer degrees remotely or online.

Some schools offer degrees in conjunction with European Universities. The Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences in Zanjan for example, sends students and faculty to The International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy for workshops, seminars, and summer schools. The Iranian government also offers intensely competitive but fully paid scholarships for successful applicants to pursue PhD level studies in Britain.

[edit] List of Iranian universities

See main article: List of universities in Iran

[edit] Iran's Brain Drain problem

Despite the brain drain problem, Iran's scientific community continues to produce and remain productive.
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Despite the brain drain problem, Iran's scientific community continues to produce and remain productive.

Brain Drain in Iran is nothing new. On Oct 31 of 1979, after a bloody revolution, such responded Ayatollah Khomeini to a reported trend of Brain drain in Iran:

"They say there is a brain drain. Let these decayed brains go away. Is any brain with science in it honorable? Why should we worry about these brains fleeing to the US and England? Why are you worried that they are being executed? Are they fleeing? To hell with them. Let them flee. All the better. They have no place in Iran."(See second paragraph, in Persian)

The trend continued during the Iran-Iraq war, and after a post-war relative calm, picked up once again during the unprecedented incursion of the clerical establishment in Iranian universities, the last firm bastion of Iran's reformists. In November 2005 a cleric became chancellor of the University of Tehran, replacing Dr. Faraji-dana. Hojjatol Eslam Abbasali Amid Zanjani (عباسعلی عميد زنجانی) holds no academic degree, and is known for his strong ties to Ayatollah Khomeini. This is the first time ever that Iran's clerical establishment replaces the traditional academia to head a major academic institution. He has however written several books and has served on the faculty of the College of Law as an expert on Islamic Jurisprudence.(source: BBC Persian)

Such trends are thought to be accelerating what many see as Iran's largest exodus of talented faculty, students, and researches to western Europe, Canada, and the United States. The lengthy list of Iranian chairs and directors of academia in these countries is arguably a sound index of this reality. Iran's "Brain Drain" has become a focus of the media both domestically and internationally.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18]

A report by The Washington Prism in Jan 2006 claims that the International Monetary Fund considers Iran ranked highest in Brain Drain among developing countries, with an estimated 150,000 people exiting Iran per year. [19] IRNA reports the figure to be 200,000. [20]

And yet in spite of this situation and Iran's technological and industrial isolation due to political conditions in the past 25 years, Iran continues to maintain high levels of education and research in its major universities. Iranian students continue to win technical tournaments in Robotics, Computer Science, and other fields of engineering and science every year (example), and Iranians continue to increase the number of their publications in technical journals despite their highly limited facilities and resources.

To gain admission into universities, Iranian applicants must take a national entrance exam given once a year. Roughly two million applicants take part each year, but only the top 100,000 (or the top 5%) are admitted. To gain entry into the top caliber of schools, a score rank of under 5000 is usually required. To gain entry into a medical school in Tehran, a score rank of under 100.

The high level of competition creates a tense atmosphere for many prospective students. Many of the better students however eventually end up migrating to western Europe and North America due to Iran's inability to absorb this highly talented potential workforce into its current job market after graduation. The majority of the Iran's best faculty and skilled specialists also live outside Iran for the same reasons. Other sources also verify that Iran has been topping the brain drain list for some time now. According to the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Higher Education, there are approximately 50,000 Iranian students currently studying abroad.

[edit] Prominent libraries in Iran

[edit] References

  1. ^ Patrick Clawson and Michael Rubin. Eternal Iran. Palgrave Macmillan. 2005. ISBN 1-4039-6276-6 p.34
  2. ^ Lorentz, J. Historical Dictionary of Iran. 1995. ISBN 0-8108-2994-0

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Official

[edit] Other

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