University of Isfahan


University of Isfahan is a state-operated university in Isfahan and among the top 10 comprehensive universities of Iran. The university is locatedon Azadi square of Isfahan. It has another campus in Khansar.
University of Isfahan offers undergraduate degrees in 71 fields, graduate degrees in 185 fields and postgraduate in 119 fields. Students can study a wide variety of courses at Bachelor, Master and Doctoral levels full-time and part-time. The University has fourteen faculties and fifty five departments. University of Isfahan includes more than six hundred full-time academic members. The student body consists of 8,884 undergraduate students and 6,327 graduate students from thirty provinces. Undergraduate admission to University of Isfahan is limited to the top 10% of students who pass the national entrance examination administered yearly by the Ministry of Sciences and Higher Education. University of Isfahan has several research centers.

History

Built it 1946, University of Isfahan has been one of the major universities in the fields of sciences, humanities, and engineering. The decision to establish the university was an idea developed by a number of doctors at Amin Hospital in 1939. Eventually, the board of directors of the hospital approved a plan to establish Isfahan Higher Medical Institute in 1946. In September of the same year, an ad signed by lecturer Dr. Jelveh, then caretaker of Isfahan Province Health and Medical Treatment Department, was published in local newspapers calling on prospective students to enroll in the new institute. The first classes were held at Sadi High School. Many more students enrolled in subsequent years; therefore, the institute had to find a larger campus to accommodate the growing number of new students. On October 29, 1950, the first series of classes were held at the University of Isfahan. Other colleges such as the Medical University, the newly established College of Medicine and Literature College on Shahzadeh Ebrahim street also joined the University of Isfahan and were relocated in the main campus in subsequent years. The university later offered programs in human sciences, engineering and medical sciences. Related programs of medical sciences were then separated from the University of Isfahan and became an independent university in 1985, named medical university of Isfahan.

Faculties

As of 2020 the university has fourteen faculties which are:

Department of Economic

This department was established in 1977 and started its activities by admitting 60 students. Currently, with a total of 714 students in BA, MA and PhD programs and 23 faculty members, the department is conducting its educational and research activities. With regard to the number of students succeeding in passing the MA University Entrance Exam, this department has managed to keep its rank among the top three Iranian universities in the past 10 years, which can be regarded as the result of the ceaseless endeavors of the hardworking teachers of the department.
Different sub-disciplines of Economics in different levels of BA, MA, MPhil and PhD are among the running programs of the department. BA students are admitted to the two sub-disciplines of Theoretical Economics and Business Economics while MA students are admitted to the two sub-disciplines of Economic Sciences and Economic Development and Planning. Students are admitted to 9 different sub-disciplines of Economics in the MPhil program. The Journal of the Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics was originally developed by this department and was later turned into the journal of the faculty.
This department has had outstanding collaborations with Mobarakeh Steel Company, Management and Planning Organization, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, etc. in conducting extra-curricular courses and doing research projects and is currently prepared to provide extensive services in such areas. Moreover, this department has had some international activities like holding a number of joint-conferences with the University of Damascus the most recent of which was the International APEF Conference.

Department of Political Sciences

This department started its activities as a department of the Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics in 1990. Students have been admitted to the M.A program in Political Sciences since February 1998 and to the M.A program in International Relations since October 2001. The first PhD program in Political Sciences was launched in October 2008 and admitted 4 students. There are currently 40 PhD students in this major.
Along with the growth in the number of students and according to the needs of the department for different areas of expertise, the number of faculty members increased. There are now 16 faculty members in this department 3 of whom are associate professors and the other 13 are assistant professors.

Department of Law

This department started its activities with a B.A program held in the Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences in the academic year of 1995-1996 and admitted its first group of students in February 1996. With the approval of the University chancellor of the time, this department was transferred to Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics in the first semester of the academic year of 2002-2003.
M.A programs in Private Law as well as Criminal Law and Criminology were launched in this department in October 2007 and October 2008 respectively. Currently, this department, benefiting from 15 faculty members, is educating 276 B.A and 138 M.A students in the two programs of Private Law and Criminal Law and Criminology. This department has also been publishing the scientific-promotional journal of Economic Law since 2010.

Department of Management

This department started its activities as a department of the Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics in 1977. The first program established in this department was Business Management. This department then admitted students to the sub-disciplines of Industrial Management and Public Management in 1989 and launched its first M.A program in Business Management in the same year.
In 1995 the first paid program of the department, which was Business Management, was launched and in 1999 the M.A program in Business Management with the sub-discipline of Marketing was launched. This department is currently admitting students to the three paid and unpaid B.A programs of Business Management, Industrial Management and Public Management as well as two M.A programs of Business Management and Industrial Management since October 2007. The department launched its doctorate programs with a PhD program in Business Management with the sub-discipline of Organizational Behavior Management and Human Resources Management starting in 2004 and another PhD program in Marketing Management starting in 2005. There are currently 19 faculty members working in the department namely 4 associate professors, 12 assistant professors, 2 instructors, 1 PhD student and one holding an Mphil degree.

Department of Accounting

The first groups of accounting students were admitted to Advanced Diploma and B.A programs of the department when it was located in the former Kourosh College, which was founded by the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Higher Education in 1975. The faculty members of the department consisted of M.A graduates in Accounting who were working in governmental and private organizations and companies. Teachers from Tehran were also occasionally invited to teach at the faculty. Following the employment of full-time faculty members in 1976 and 1977 and the reformations in the managing system of the University of Isfahan, admitting new students to the college was stopped by the Ministry of Science. Following the establishment of the Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics in the University in 1976 and the foundation of the four departments of the Accounting, Administrative Management, Business Management and Economics, the students studying in Kourosh College were transferred to this faculty.
The first M.A program in Accounting was launched in 2005 and 7 students were admitted. A program in Financial Management was also launched in 2007 which started its activities by admitting 7 students. It is hoped that the department can develop its post-graduate programs in future. There are currently 8 full-time faculty members working in the department who educating 201 students in unpaid programs and 196 students in paid programs.

Faculty of Theology and Ahl Al-Bayt (Prophet's Descendants) Studies

Department of Quranic Sciences and Hadith (Traditions)

Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology

Department of Islamic Studies

Department of Ahl-al-Bayt Studies

Faculty of Chemistry

Department of Organic and Polymer Chemistry

Department of Analytical Chemistry

Department of Physical Chemistry

Department of Inorganic Chemistry

Department of Nanotechnology

Faculty of Civil Engineering and Transportation

The Faculty of Civil Engineering and Transportation of the University of Isfahan consists of three Departments namely Surveying Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Railway Engineering.
The Department of Surveying Engineering was established in 1988. The Department of Civil Engineering was set up in 2004. The Department of Railway Engineering was initially established in 2008 as the Faculty of Transportation Engineering as the first transportation faculty in Iran and then, in 2017, a new faculty, i.e. the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Transportation, was established after joining the Faculty of Transportation Engineering and the Departments of Civil Engineering and Surveying Engineering.
Currently, the Faculty of Civil engineering and Transportation is a reputed center for engineering studies and research in the central part of Iran.

Department of Railway Engineering and Transportation Planning

Department of Civil Engineering

Surveying and Geomatics Engineering

Faculty of Computer Engineering

Department of Information Technology Engineering

The Department of Information Technology Engineering was established in 2004 with the aim of training experts in Information Technology and started its activities by admitting 35 BSc students. The first group of MSc students of the department were admitted to a program in Computer Networks in 2011.The department also launched an MSc program in E-commerce and Information Security in the academic year of 2012-2013. Moreover, the Department of Information Technology admitted students to a PhD program in Information Security in January 2014.

Department of Computer Architecture Engineering

The aim of the BSc program in Computer Architecture Engineering is training experts who can adequately handle issues in designing, constructing and operating hardware systems, setting up and managing computer networks, identifying and evaluating existing hardware systems and designing their relevant software as well as providing solutions for operating, maintaining, troubleshooting and promoting those systems.
In addition to a BSc program in Hardware Engineering, the Department of Computer Architecture Engineering has been running a PhD program since 2006 and a Master’s program in Computer Architecture with the two subdisciplines of Networks and Distributed systems and Implementation since 1988. Valuable basic and developmental researches have been conducted by the faculty members of the department and published in prestigious scientific journals and conferences.

Department of Software Engineering

The Department of Software Engineering in the University of Isfahan has been recognized as one of the oldest computer departments across the country. The establishment of this department dates back to the years between 1972 and 1985 when Computer was regarded as one of the subdisciplines of Mathematics and which benefited from renowned professors. It was in 1985 when the Department of Computer independently admitted students through the University Entrance Exam. The two subdisciplines of Software Engineering and Hardware Engineering were established in the University in 1989. In 2013 the department of Software Engineering was established as an independent department in the University of Isfahan.
It is worth mentioning that for the first time in the country, the department has revised the curriculum of the MSc program in Software Engineering and has divided the courses into two specialized subdisciplines of Data Management and Software Development. This has in turn resulted in improvement in the quality of the program and a higher level of specialization in its graduates.

Department of Artificial Intelligence Engineering

Artificial Intelligence is a branch of Computer Science and Engineering whose aim is designing and manufacturing intelligent machinery and programs. Intelligence can be defined as the ability of an agent to achieve a certain purpose in the surrounding world after having a perception of it. The scope of application of this science and its importance in diverse human activities from his everyday life to profound and challenging researches and explorations is ever on the rise. With the aim of training experts in Artificial Intelligence and furthering mastery over branches and spheres of this science, an MSc program in Artificial Intelligence was established in 2004 in two different plans of "course and research" and "course only".
The first group of MSc students of Computer Engineering in the subdiscipline of Artificial Intelligence Engineering were admitted to the department in 2004 and the first group of PhD students of Computer Engineering in the subdiscipline of Artificial Intelligence Engineering were admitted to the department in 2008.

Faculty of Education and Psychology

The Faculty of Education and Psychology was established in 1969 which makes it one of the oldest faculties of the University. This faculty, which consists of five departments, is admitting students to B.A, M.A and PhD programs. The Department of Education is the oldest department of the faculty and the other departments of the faculty are the Department of Psychology, the Department of Knowledge and Information Science, the Department of Counseling, and the Department of Children with Special Needs. At present, all of these departments are located in one building placed in the north-eastern part of the University campus. The faculty has continually been contributing to the development of general education and social services in Isfahan province. In addition to running programs at B.A, M.A and PhD levels, the faculty is involved in holding short-term and medium-term courses for the staff of the Department of Education in Isfahan province. Considerable attention is also paid to conducting research the reflection of which can be observed in research projects carried out by the faculty members.
The was established in 1975 and its activities included holding educational classes for other departments of the University and improving technical features of the University libraries. It was in 1980s when thanks to the emergence of new cultural issues in the Iranian society, an Associate program in Library Science was launched and continued for a number of years in this department. And finally in 1996 the B.A program in Library and Information Science was launched in this department. Afterwards, the educational quality of the programs underwent some changes and books and articles began to be produced by the faculty members. The Master’s program in Library and Information Science was launched in 2006. The running programs of the Department of Knowledge and Information Science include Information Management and Academic Library Management. Following the promotions of the faculty members of the department in the past ten years and the regular collaborations of the Vice Chancellor for Education and also the Director of the Planning Committee for Knowledge and Information Science in the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, the department was granted permission to launch a PhD program in Information Storage and Retrieval. The Department of Knowledge and Information Science in the University of Isfahan was honored to receive a plaque of appreciation for its commitment to the improvement of Library Science. Moreover, a large number of the graduates of the department are now working in educational and administrative posts in major universities and libraries of the country.

Department of Education

The primary objective of this department is training people capable of working in and leading educational careers. Moreover, the department encourages the production and application of knowledge in educational settings and is active in producing knowledge related to the society’s cultural, economic, historical, legal, philosophical and sociological foundations. The graduates of this department are expected to be employed in public and private schools, different institutes, governmental as well as vocational and industrial organizations. The department is running programs at B.A, M.A and PhD levels. The post-graduate programs of the department include Philosophy of Education, Educational Management and Curriculum Development.

Department of Psychology

The Department of Psychology in the University of Isfahan was established in 1968 with seven faculty members. There was a notable increase in the number of faculty members of the department in the years before and after the Islamic Revolution. This number has fluctuated between 14 to 19 members. The current faculty members of the department include 1 Full Professor, 4 Associate Professors and 9 Assistant Professors. The areas of expertise of the faculty members of the department, who are graduates from universities in Iran, England, the United States of America, Australia, France and Japan, include Clinical Psychology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Personality Psychology, Statistics in Psychometrics and Neuropsychology. The department is running B.A programs in the subdisciplines of Clinical and Industrial/Organizational Psychology, M.A programs in the subdisciplines of Clinical Psychology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology and General Psychology and a PhD program in Pure Psychology. It is hoped that the department can launch M.A programs in Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology, Sport Psychology and Islamic Psychology and PhD programs in Clinical Psychology and Industrial/Organizational Psychology in the academic year of 2012-2013.

Department of Counseling

In 1997, following years of study and research the educational syllabus for B.A and M.A programs in Guidance and Counseling was announced by the Counseling Branch of the Higher Council of Educational Planning of the Ministry of Culture and Higher Equation. The Universities of Allameh Tabatabaei, Tarbiat Moallem, Shahid Chamran and Isfahan were allowed to launch the B.A program and the universities of Allameh Tabatabaei and Tarbiat Moallem were allowed to establish the M.A program as well. The first group of students were admitted to the B.A program in Guidance and Counseling in 1989 and this has continued ever since. The M.A program in Guidance and Counseling was established in 1998.
When, following the decision made on 22 August 1995 by the Higher Council of Educational Planning, the discipline of Guidance and Counseling was renamed to Counseling, the universities all over the country were required to start admitting students to four different subdisciplines. The University of Isfahan was permitted to admit students to the two subdisciplines of Family Counseling and Job Counseling. However, the department has obtained permissions to launch programs in the subdisciplines of School Counseling and Rehabilitation Counseling and is allowed to admit students to these subdisciplines as well. The Higher Council of Educational Planning, in its 313rd meeting held on 25 August 1996, approved the establishment of PhD programs in Counseling. Subsequently the Universities of Allameh Tabatabaei and Tarbiat Moallem launched their PhD programs.
The University of Isfahan started admitting students to its PhD program in 2006 and 5 students were admitted to the PhD program in General Counseling in the first year. However, the University has continued to admit students to the subdisciplines of Family Counseling and job Counseling ever since. The students are required to complete 18 course credits and 18 research credit. The period of time the students are allowed to complete their course credits and to write their dissertation in completion of the requirements for receiving a PhD degree in Counseling is determined based on the PhD Bylaws enacted by the Higher Council of Educational Planning in their 74th meeting held on 27 February 1994. This period includes the two phases of passing their courses and writing their dissertations. In the educational phase of their studies the PhD stude
The faculty members of the department include two Assistant Professors and four Associate Professors. Among the necessities of running a PhD program is having a Counseling Center on the University campus as well as numerous centers in the city and governmental organizations. As the primary practice sites for the PhD students of Counseling are the counseling centers in universities, institutes and across cities.

Department of Psychology and Education of People with Special Needs

The independent Department of Psychology and Teaching Children with Special Needs was established on 25 January 2009. Before then, the program of Psychology of Children with Special Needs was part of the Department of Psychology and the program of Teaching Children with Special Needs was a part of the Faculty of Educational Sciences. The educational and research activities of the department include these two subdisciplines. The department is running a Master’s program in Psychology and Teaching Children with Special Needs, enacted on 3 January 2009. The establishment of a PhD program was approved in the University on 13 November 2010 and is under study in the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology.

Department of Knowledge and Information Science

This department was established in 1975 and its activities included holding educational classes for other departments of the University and improving technical features of the University libraries. It was in 1980s when thanks to the emergence of new cultural issues in the Iranian society, an Associate program in Library Science was launched and continued for a number of years in this department. And finally in 1996 the B.A program in Library and Information Science was launched in this department. Afterwards, the educational quality of the programs underwent some changes and books and articles began to be produced by the faculty members. The Master’s program in Library and Information Science was launched in 2006. The running programs of the Department of Knowledge and Information Science include Information Management and Academic Library Management.
Following the promotions of the faculty members of the department in the past ten years and the regular collaborations of the Vice Chancellor for Education and also the Director of the Planning Committee for Knowledge and Information Science in the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, the department was granted permission to launch a PhD program in Information Storage and Retrieval.
The Department of Knowledge and Information Science in the University of Isfahan was honored to receive a plaque of appreciation for its commitment to the improvement of Library Science. Moreover, a large number of the graduates of the department are now working in educational and administrative posts in major universities and libraries of the country.

Faculty of Engineering

Department of Electrical Engineering

The discipline of Electrical Engineering has a very long history and has introduced a modern world to human beings. The new developments in this field of science have dramatically changed the lives of people. Some of the applications of this field are as follows:
Production, Conversion and Transportation of Energy, Designing and Controlling Electrical Machines, Power Electronic Converters, Semiconductor Devices, Analog Electronics, Optical and High Frequency Electronics, Digital Systems, Micro Electronics, Signal Processing , Data Processing, Telecommunications Networks, Automatic Control Systems, Robotics, Intelligent Systems, Designing, Operating, Monitoring and Maintenance Management of Electrical Systems.
In the post-graduate programs students complete their theoretical courses and conduct researches in different subdisciplines of Electrical Engineering. The courses included in the students’ curriculum and the number of unit credits dedicated to research are selected in a way that enables the graduates of the programs to both work in industrial centers and to start an academic career in higher education institutes and research centers through pursuing their studies at higher levels.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering may be regarded as the most comprehensive discipline in engineering in terms of the variety of issues covered by this discipline. Mechanical Engineering embraces all sciences and techniques that are related to production, conversion and consumption of energy, creation and conversion of motion and task performance, production and manufacturing of parts and machinery, the use of different materials in their construction as well as designing and controlling mechanical, thermal and fluids systems. The department of Mechanical Engineering was established in 2007 and the first group of BSc students were admitted to the subdiscipline of Thermal and Fluids in February of the same year. A Master’s program in the subdiscipline of Mechatronics Engineering was launched in the department in 2013. Mechatronics is a combination of the three disciplines of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering, which aims to achieve less complicated, cheaper and more intelligent mechanical systems. The current programs of the department of Mechanical Engineering include a BSc program in Mechanical Engineering, Master’s programs in Mechanical Engineering, Energy Conversion and Mechatronics as well as PhD programs in Mechanical Engineering and Energy Conversion.

Department of Chemical Engineering

The Department of Chemical Engineering in the University of Isfahan started its activities in 1995 by admitting 31 BSc students. This program was established with the aim of training experts in different areas of Chemical Engineering namely designing processes in oil, gas and petrochemical industries. Following the Scientific Development Perspective and with the aim of training experts who can fulfill the needs of educational centers and conduct researches to develop the industries across the country, this department has expanded the range of its activities by means of admitting students to MSc and PhD programs. Benefiting from experienced faculty members who are engaged in various educational, research and administrative duties, the department has managed to provide the country with a wide range of scientific and applied activities based on its needs. So far the findings of the department’s research projects have been published in prestigious national and international journals or presented in international scientific conferences. Moreover, the presence of various Centers of Excellence and research nuclei, different laboratory facilities as well as holding numerous conferences and workshops have turned the Department of Chemical Engineering in the University of Isfahan into one of the distinguished scientific centers of the country.

Department of Biomedical Engineering

Nowadays, Medical Sciences have achieved considerable advancements in diagnosis and treatment of diseases, rehabilitation of patients and promotion of health in societies. Such remarkable advancements could have been far from possible without seeking help from engineering sciences. Biomedical Engineering is a discipline which provides the grounds for the cooperation of these topical sciences of the modern world i.e. Medicine and Engineering. Biomedical Engineering can be defined as the application of engineering methods and analyses in resolving medical problems. The aim of this discipline is to train experts who are relatively and sufficiently familiar with both disciplines of Medicine and Engineering and are capable of fulfilling their roles in providing and promoting health in societies.
Considering the above-mentioned facts, a broad range of job prospects are available to the graduates of Biomedical Engineering and the current trend in society guarantees the promotion of this discipline in different scientific levels of the country. There are issues in different aspects of hygiene, disease prevention and treatment, rehabilitation of patients and developing peripheral systems in medicine which require an engineering approach which can be dealt with and handled by Biomedical Engineering. That’s why the discipline of Biomedical Engineering with its different subdisciplines was emerged. The major subdisciplines of Biomedical Engineering studied across the world and in our country are Bioelectrics, Biomechanics, Biomaterials, Sports Engineering, Bioinformatics Engineering, Rehabilitation Engineering, and Tissue Engineering. The graduates of these programs are hoped to be capable of promoting educational and research activities as well as providing the society with hygiene and medical services based on its needs and standards.
The Department of Biomedical Engineering in the University of Isfahan started its activities in 1999 and has experienced significant developments in research and educational spheres in the past years.

Department of Industrial Engineering and Futures Studies

Faculty of Foreign Languages

Department of Linguistics

This department started its activities as a part of the Department of Persian Language and Literature in the second semester of the academic year of 1991-1992 by admitting 6 students to an M.A program in Linguistics. In the first semester of the academic year of 1996-1997 the department admitted four PhD students and it was in the first semester of the academic year of 2007-2088 when the department was transferred to the Faculty of Foreign Languages. The Department of General Linguistics in the University of Isfahan was the first Linguistics department in the whole country to establish a B.A program in General Linguistics in 2007 with the aim of enhancing the quality of M.A and PhD programs. The M.A programs of the department include the three subdisciplines of General Linguistics, Teaching Persian to Non-Persian Speakers and Computational linguistics. The programs in Teaching Persian to Non-Persian Speakers and Computational linguistics were launched in 2010 and 2012 respectively. The range of expertise provided by the faculty members of the department namely in the areas of Phonetics, Phonology, Syntax, Language Typology, Semantics, Morphology, Discourse Analysis, Sociolinguistics and Linguistics has paved the way for research enthusiasts. Moreover, thanks to the cooperation with the Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence of the University new venues have been opened for doing research on NLP (Natural Language Processing as well as Machine Translation. In addition, the Linguistics Laboratory available to this Department has facilitated conducting laboratory research for the interested students and researchers.

Department of German,Armenian, and Chinese Language and Literature

The Department of German Translation started its educational activities with three faculty members in the academic year of 1994-1995. The faculty members of this department include 2 instructors and 2 bursary PhD students. More than 800 B.A students have been graduated from this department so far.
The Armenian department started work in 1960. 10 years later, with the help of Armenian authorities of the time and with the money provided by Galost Golbangian Charitable Organization, the so-called Armanology was built in the University of Isfahan. The building has 2 floors and is equipped with classes, offices, and a library with more than 4000 volumes of Armenian books as well as research journals. More than 450 students have graduated from this department a good number of whom are now working in different Armenian community institutions and governmental organizations.

Department of English Language and Literature

This department which was established in 1958 is offering programs in B.A, M.A and PhD levels. The B.A programs include the subdisciplines of English Language and Literature and English Translation while the M.A programs cover the subdisciplines of TEFL, English Translation and English Language and literature. The PhD programs of the faculty include Translation Studies as well as Teaching English as a Foreign Language. The 17 faculty members of the department include 2 Associate Professors, 14 Assistant Professors and 1 Instructor.

Department of Arabic Language and Literature

This department was established in 1962 with the aim of familiarizing students with the language of the Holy Koran and Islamic Texts as well as providing platforms for research in the aforementioned areas and also in Persian Language and Literature. The department is currently running a B.A program in Arabic Language and Literature, M.A programs in Arabic Language and Literature and also Arabic Translation as well as a PhD program in Arabic Language and Literature. The 11 faculty members of the department include 3 Associate Professors and 8 Assistant Professors.

Department of French and Russian Language and Literature

This department, which was originally established in 1959 as the Department of French, continued its activities as a department of the Faculty of Foreign Languages in 1979. Following the Islamic Revolution and the subsequent reformations in university curricula to address the needs of an Islamic Society, the department resumed its activities with a B.A program in 1984. The first M.A program of the department was launched in 1990. The department is currently running a B.A program in French Language and Literature and M.A programs in French Language and Literature, Teaching French and also French Translation. There are 10 Assistant professors working in this department.

Faculty of Geographical Sciences and Planning

Department of Geography and Urban Planning

This department started its independent educational activities when the Department of Geography was separated from the Faculty of Literature in 2010. This department is currently admitting students to B.A, M.A and PhD programs in the following subdisciplines:
· B.A in Geography and Urban Planning
· M.A in 1. Urban Preparation 2. Improvement and Renovation 3. Housing Planning
· PhD in Geography and Urban Planning

Department of Geography and Rural Planning

This department started its independent educational activities when the Department of Geography was separated from the Faculty of Literature in 2010. This department is currently admitting students to B.A, M.A and PhD programs in the following subdisciplines:
· B.A in Geography and Rural Planning
· M.A in Geography and Rural Planning with the subdisciplines of 1. Rural Physical Planning 2. Managing Sustainable Rural Development 3. Organizing Nomadic Areas
· M.A in Geography and Tourism Planning with the subdiscipline of Regional Tourism Planning
· M.A in Political Geography
· PhD in Geography and Rural Planning with the subdisciplines of 1. Spatial Planning of Rural Areas Entrepreneurship 2. Planning the Preparation of Environmental Quality in Rural Areas 3. Policy System in Rural Planning

Department of Physical Geography

This department started its independent educational activities when the Department of Geography was separated from the Faculty of Literature in 2010. This department is currently admitting students to B.A, M.A and PhD programs in the following subdisciplines:
· B.A in Physical Geography
· M.A in Climatology with the subdisciplines of 1. Agricultural Climatology 2. Synoptic Climatology
· M.A in Geomorphology with the subdiscipline of Hydrogeomorphology
· M.A in Medical Geography
· PhD in Climatology with the subdisciplines of 1. Agricultural Climatology 2. Synoptic Climatology
· PhD in Geomorphology

Faculty of Literature and Humanities

Department of History

This department was established in 1966 and started its activities with a B.A program. In 1994 the department admitted four students to an M.A program in the sub-discipline of Islamic Iran and in 1998 admitted four students to another M.A program in the sub-discipline of the History of Islam. So far 200 M.A students have been graduated from this department in the sub-disciplines of the History of Islam and the History of Islamic Iran. The department could obtain the permission from the Council for Higher Education Development to launch a PhD program in History in 2001 and admitted the first group of students to this program in the academic year of 2002-2003. So far 47 PhD students majoring in the two subdisciplines of Iran in the Islamic Period and Islam have been graduated from this department. The department could also obtain the permission from the Council for Higher Education Development to launch a PhD program in the subdiscipline of Local History and also an M.A program in the subdiscipline of the History of Persian Gulf Studies in 2007 and started admitting students to these two programs since the academic year of 2008-2009. This department also admitted M.A students to the two subdisciplines of Shiite Studies and Islamic Culture and Civilization. The department also admitted students to a new M.A program in the History of Science in 2012 and launched two PhD programs in the History of Shiism and the History of the Islamic Revolution.

Department of Persian Language and Literature

This department was established at the same time as the foundation of the University of Isfahan in 1958 with a B.A program. The purpose of launching this program was to do research on Persian language, scientific criticism and research on the history of Persian language and literature, description and interpretation of poetic literary masterpieces, research on Persian Literature from Antiquity to Modern Times as well as dealing with the works of great men in science, literature, wisdom, etc. The first M.A program and the first PhD program of the department were launched in 1991and 1995 respectively. Thanks to the scientific potential of the faculty members, M.A and PhD programs in Linguistics were launched in the department in 1992 and 1996 respectively. These two programs were transferred to the Faculty of Foreign Languages in 2006. The department also managed to get the required permissions from the Council for Higher Education Development to launch M.A and PhD programs in Teaching Persian Language and Literature to Non-Iranian Students in 2007 and 2008. The department submitted a request to launch programs in sub-disciplines of Lyric Literature, Epic Literature and Mystic Literature in 2010 and managed to obtain the required permissions in 2012.
The department also submitted a request to launch an M.A program in Resistance Literature in 2010 and managed to admit students in the September of the same year. Considering the scientific potentials and activities of the Department of Persian Language and Literature of the University of Isfahan, the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology agreed to establish a Center of Excellence on Theosophical and Mystic texts in this department in August 2006. This center performs activities in editing, describing, histories, analyzing comparative studies and compiling. The journals of Literary Arts, Textual Criticism of Persian Literature and Journal of Persian Language and Literature, which is a "scientific-research" journal, are currently being published by the center.

Department of Social Sciences

This department was established in February 1970 with two faculty members and started its activities by teaching a course on General Sociology to all students in different departments of the University and also another course called "kehad" to some departments in the faculty of Literature. The department launched its first paid program in 1973 and developed its activities by establishing the subdiscipline of Teaching Social Sciences and launching a B.A program in Social Research.
The M.A program in Sociology was launched in 1992 and 5 students were admitted to the program. There are currently 44 M.A students of Sociology in the department. The PhD program in Sociology was established in 1996 and 3 students were admitted to the program. There are currently 20 PhD students of Sociology in the department. The PhD program in Sociology consists of two subdisciplines of Economic Sociology and Development and Sociology of Social Problems.

Department of Philosophy

This department was established in 1959 starting with a B.A program. An M.A program in Western Philosophy and another M.A program in the subdiscipline of Logic were launched in 1992 and 2000 respectively. Moreover, a PhD program in Western Philosophy was established in 2002. In the academic year of 2006-2007, 280 B.A students, 48 M.A students and 7 PhD students were studying in this department. The Department of Philosophy has always endeavored to educate students who are enthusiastic about thinking and contemplating to discover the theoretical foundations of sciences. This department has managed to provide the Islamic Society with prominent scientific and cultural figures like Sayyed Mohammad Khatami, the former Iranian President. The department has announced its capacity to admit PhD students in Greek Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy, Contemporary Philosophy of the West and Islamic Philosophy and it is hoped that these subdisciplines can be launched through employing qualified faculty members.

Faculty of Mathematics and Statistics

Faculty of Physics

Faculty of Sport Sciences

Department of Sport Physiology

This department is educating students in the following programs:
· B.A in Sport Biosciences
· M.A in Sport Physiology with the two subdisciplines of Pure and Clinical
· PhD in the two subdisciplines of 1. Biochemistry and Sport Metabolism 2. Sport Physiology

Department of Pathology and Corrective exercises and Biomechanics

Department of Motor Behavior and Sport Management

This department is educating students in B.A, M.A and PhD programs as follows:
· B.A in Humanities in Sports
· M.A in Motor Behavior, Sport Psychology and Sport Management
· PhD in Sport Management

Presidents

PresidentTenure
Mehdi Namdar1958-1961
Mohammad Riahi1961-1962
Qasem Motamedi1967-1976
Mohammad Ali Tusi1977-1979
Gholamabbas Tavassoli1979-1980
Mohammad Ali Shahzamanian1980-1981
Akbar Shah Mohammadi1981-1982
Seyed Morteza Saghaiannejad1982-1985
Hassan Razmjoo1985-1997
Houshang Talebi1997-2005
Mohammad Hossein Ramasht2005-2013
Houshang Talebi2013 – present

Emblem

The university's logo was designed by Dr. Hossein Yaghini in 1968 by order of Dr. Motamedi, the president of the university.

International rankings

CWTS Leiden Ranking:

2019: : 765

2018: : 776

2017: : 797
Times Higher Education World University Rankings:

2020: 801–1,000
2019: 801–1,000
2018: 801–1,000
U.S. News:

2020: 1300