Shahid Beheshti University

Website

http://en.sbu.ac.ir/

Regions

Iran

Shahid Beheshti University is one of the most prestigious universities in Iran. Established in 1959 as the National University of Iran (NUI), the university started its academic life in 1960 with 174 students in two faculties: Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, and Faculty of Banking and Economics. The first Master's course at SBU was offered in the Faculty of Architecture in 1961, while the first Ph.D. program was introduced in the Faculty of Economics in 1991. The university's name was changed during the Cultural Revolution in Iranian universities, 1980-82.

Today, there are more than 70 programs at Master's and over 30 at Ph.D. levels. Development of new facilities in the main campus paved the way for increased academic activities, so that by 1978 several other faculties became active at SBU, e.g. Faculties of Literature and Human Sciences, Basic Sciences, Law, Earth Sciences, Statistics and Informatics and Education and Psychology.

SBU combines the tradition of a classical university with the dynamic character of a modern and interdisciplinary scientific enterprise. Since 1990, the university has placed more emphasis on postgraduate, in particular PhD, and research programs, while still aiming to enhance the quality of its well-established undergraduate courses.

Students at the university are inspired by an outstanding and rewarding academic environment not only in Iran but in the region. The University and the members of the academia are at the forefront of world research in many fields and the teaching is informed by the very latest developments in each discipline. It is almost always ranked among best universities in Iran in national and international rankings. At the moment (in 2006-2007), there are 6763 BA/BSc, 4120 MA/MSc and 664 PhD students studying at the university.