Alzahra University is a female-only state-run university in Vanak neighborhood of Tehran, Iran. Alzahra University is the only comprehensive women's university in Iran and the Middle East. Acceptance to the university is competitive and entrance to undergraduate and graduate programs requires scoring among the top 1% of students in the Nationwide University Entrance Exams, known as. Alzahra University is ranked second in IRAN and 201-300 in the world, according to University Impact Rankings 2019, Times Higher Education. Alzahra University ranked #17 in IRAN and #801+ worldwide according to the physical sciences subject ranking, World University Rankings 2019 by Times Higher Education.
History and profile
The university, founded by Queen Farah Pahlavi in 1964, began as a private institution under the title of the Higher Educational Institute For Girls with 90 students. After the Iranian revolution, the university attained public status, and was renamed Mahboubeh Mottahedin after an Iranian Revolutionary who was killed prior to the 1979 revolution. In 1983 the university was renamed Alzahra University. The university offers 51 undergraduate, 83 graduate, and 31 post-graduate programs to 10,000 students. The university has ten faculties and a research center for women's studies, as well as a branch in the city ofUrmia and two self-supporting campuses. The faculties of Alzahra University are Art, Biological Sciences, Education and Psychology, Engineering and Technology, Literature and Languages, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Education, Physics and Chemistry, Social and Economic Sciences, and Theology.
The university initiated its graduate studies program in 1369/1990, under the supervision of Vice Chancellery for Academic Affairs, by establishing an Educational Psychology master's degree program and admitting 11 students. It then established five fields and admission of 36 students in 1372/1993. In 1373/1994 the Graduate Studies Affairs was established and commenced its mission with 158 students in eight master's degree fields. The first PhD examination was administered in the major of Islamic History in the same year. The university offers doctoral programs in history, psychology, economics, research in art, chemistry, physics, and applied mathematics.
Faculty members
The academic faculty of the university is a community of some 350 tenured scholars teaching and conducting research. The professors work in collaboration with visiting colleagues from other Iranian universities.
Collaborations with other universities
Alzahra University is a member of the International Association of Universities and the Federation of Universities of the Islamic World, and has established close ties and signed more than 45 Memoranda of Understanding for academic-research collaborations with accredited universities and research centers worldwide from a variety of countries, such as Pakistan, Iraq, Germany, Uganda, France, Russia, India, Kyrgyzstan, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Syria, Libya, Belarus, among others.
Facilities
Alzahra University has central and faculty libraries with 77,000 hard copies of books, and 930 Persian and English academic journals. Among other facilities offered at Alzahra University are electronic libraries, professional laboratories, language labs, computer labs, an art gallery, an educational center, business incubators, pool and sports facilities, food centers and a traditional Iranian restaurant, whose building dates back to over 120 years. A post office, bank, travel agency office, cellphone services office, grocery store, stationery shop/bookstore and copy place are on campus
Department and research centers
Department of physical education and sport sciences
Department of literature, language and history
Department of physics and chemistry
Department of biological sciences
Department of mathematics
Department of social sciences and economics
Department of engineering
Department of psychology
Department of theology
Department of art
Department of psychology
Women research center
Campuses
Alborz campus
International campus
Urmia branch
Research and publications
Eighteen academic journals are published by the university, such as Journal of Applied Biology, Journal of Brand Management, Women's Sociological and Psychological Studies, Women and Family Studies, Applied Physics, Historical Perspective & Historiography, History of Islam and Iran, Language Research, and many more. 6,000 theses and dissertations reside in the Central Library of the university.
International students
The university offers its undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programs to international students. Around 128 international students study at Alzahra University, from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Nigeria, Turkey, Syria, Tajikistan, and Tanzania. Some of the facilities for international students are:
