Founded in 1964 as "Girls' College", Alzahra University is a one of the prominent institutions of higher education in Iran dedicated to educating learned and lively women. Although limited to the few majors of Translation Studies, Psychology, Secretarial Studies, and Housewifery during its early years of establishment, Girls' College gradually grew and in 1975 was officially expanded into a university with four independent faculties of Humanities and Literature, Management, Economics, and Sciences. After the Islamic Revolution in Iran, it was renamed Alzahra University and continued to flourish in an enterprising and progressive spirit.

During the past 40 years, the university has tremendously changed and developed and is now offering various degree programs at undergraduate and graduate levels. Since 2013, educational and research services have been provided by the university's 10 faculties viz Literature, Theology, Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Social Sciences and Economics, Education and Psychology, Mathematical Sciences, Biology, Engineering, Physics and Chemistry, and Arts. The two research centers of Women Studies and Economic Studies are also focused on doing cutting-edge research and educating researchers of the future. Alzahra's second campus has been recently founded in the scenic city of Urmia.

There are currently around 10000 students studying 160 majors at the university. More than 380 full-time faculty members are also working in 49 departments which offer degree programs at bachelor's, master's and PhD levels. Of all the faculty members, 50% are assistant professors, 35% associate professors and 15% full professors.

 

 

Alzahra University is the symbol of women's education in Iran. It has been an unrivalled forerunner in empowering Iranian women through education and has worked hard, now for more than 60 years, to educate women who are knowledgeable, dedicated, confident and competent.  Built in an area of 14 hectares, the university includes 10 faculties, 2 research centers, advanced laboratories, cyber cafés, pools, gyms, bicycle trail, restaurants, rich libraries, art gallery, workshops, dormitories and in-campus bank, post office and kindergarten. Alzahra university has aimed at providing all the necessary requirements for girls to pursue their educational dreams and become intellectually capable, spiritually committed and socially responsible and active. Our graduates are thus well prepared to play leading roles in their future careers not only as successful leaders, teachers, researchers, psychologists, managers, businesswomen, engineers, lawyers, etc. but also as admirable mothers, wives, daughters, sisters and more importantly citizens. The university's mission in women's empowerment is also reflected in its employment policies as two thirds of the professors and most of the non-academic staff are women.

Research is now part and parcel of campus life at Alzahra. University's investments on research areas have surged in the past decades as more postgraduate programs have been launched and various research infrastructures have been created. The output of such research has been published as books by reputable national and international publishers, appeared in high quality and prestigious journals and presented in international conferences across the world. Owners of industries have also benefited from the research output of the university through the link created between our departments and the industry by the office of university-industry relations.

Thanks to Alzahra's vibrant spirit, its excellent facilities and its learned and eminent professors, many of our graduates are successful athletes, scientists, businesswomen, artists, literary figures and managers who have won hundreds of medals and awards at national and international competitions.

Alzahra university has eagerly welcomed international relations and cooperation with universities and scientific centers in different parts of the world. To this end, several MoUs have been signed with several international universities and measures have been taken to operationalize them by exchanging students and professors and holding joint programs, summer schools and conferences. Establishment of a branch of Pushkin State Russian Language Institute and the international center of the teaching of Persian have been two of the steps for the internationalization of the university in the past five years. Admission of a larger number of international students has also been one of the missions of the university in the past decades the way of which has been better paved by building new residential facilities for these students and establishing the international center of the teaching of Persian.