Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

' Dāneshgāh-e Ferdowsi-ye Mashhad
Established	1949 (1949)
Endowment	US$ 57.43 million
President	Prof. Mohammad Kafi
Students	26,000
Location	Mashhad , Iran
Website	www.en.um.ac.ir/

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM) (Persian: دانشگاه فردوسی مشهد) is the largest research university in Northeastern Iran named after the great epic poet and historian of Iranian national history Ferdowsi, whose Shahnameh (The Book of Kings) is a chef-d'oeuvre in Persian literature. The FUM campus is in Mashhad, the capital city of the Razavi Khorasan province. The university was established in 1949, making it the third oldest major university in Iran. It is among the five top universities in the country according to statistics published by the Ministry of Sciences, Research and Technology. FUM offers 180 bachelors, masters, and Ph.D. programs to 26,000 international and local, male and female students studying under about 900 faculty members with the aid of 2500 staff employees. The university is regarded as a prominent institution in attracting international students from Central Asian republics, Afghanistan, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Pakistan, Thailand, India, China, Yemen, Bahrain, Africa and many other localities of Asia. The university is ranked third in Iran amongst other universities in recruiting foreign students.

Before the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979, Ferdowsi University had taken for its ally Georgetown University of Washington, D.C., USA.

Ferdowsi was a great Persian poet who was born in 940 C.E. and died in 1020 C.E.

History

The central offices of FUM

The first step in establishing the third university of Iran was taken place through upgrading the college of Health to the Faculty of Medicine in 1949. Ferdowsi University of Mashhad has had continuous development during the last sixty years. The Faculty of Literature with 5 different fields was established in 1954. With the expansion of higher education the following faculties also were established one after another: Faculty of Theology, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Nutrition, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty of Engineering, the Institute of Optometry, the university’s high school, the Teaching Center. Mashhad University of that time was renamed Ferdowsi University in 1974.

The need to expand the higher education system following the Islamic Revolution in 1979 in Iran led to a change in and split of some institutions. Mashhad University of Medical Sciences separated from Ferdowsi University. Meanwhile, a number of new faculties and schools such as Faculty of Administration and Economics, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Shirvan Agricultural College, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Mathematical Sciences, Neishaboor Faculty of the Arts, Institute of Plantation Science, The Seismology Research Center, the University’s College, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning were established one after the another.

Academics

School of Letters and Humanities

Shariati School of Letters and Humanities

Founded in 1950, the School of Letters and Humanities, the nucleus of the FUM, offers graduate and postgraduate degrees in the fields of the Persian language and literature, English language and literature, Arabic language and literature, French language and literature, Russian language and literature, geography, Iranian history, social sciences, and linguistics. The Faculty has 83 academic members, 4500 undergraduate and 500 graduate students. The departments offer B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. programs. Moreover, the Department of Persian Language and Literature is designated by the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, as a Center of Excellence in Ferdowsi Studies.

School of Theology

Motahhari department of theology and religious knowledge

Faculty of Sciences

Founded in 1958, the School of Theology has 48 faculty members and comprises five departments: Islamic History and Civilization, Islamic Philosophy, Islamic Jurisprudence, Koranic Studies, and Comparative Religion and Mysticism. The school offers programs at the Bachelor's, Master's, and Ph.D. levels.

School of Sciences

Established in 1961, the School of Sciences has 97 faculty members, 1862 undergraduates, 325 Master's students, and 81 Ph.D. students. The faculty comprises four departments: Biology, Chemistry, Geology, and Physics. Of these, the Department of Geology is introduced as a Center of Excellence in Fossilology by the Iranian Ministry of Sciences, Research and Technology. The research centers at the School of Sciences include the Center for Research in Seismology, Center for Research in Rodentology, Center for Research in Nanotechnology, Center for Research in Biotechnology (Stem Cell & Molecular Research) and Center for Research in Environmental Chemistry to name but a few.

School of Mathematical Sciences

Founded in 1962, the School of Mathematical Sciences has three departments: Applied Mathematics, Pure Mathematics and Statistics. The school has 45 academic members and approximately 1300 students. Currently, there are 170 graduate enrollees. The School of Mathematical Sciences offers three programs specializing in Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Statistics at the Bachelor's, Master's and Ph.D. levels. Both the Departments of Mathematics and Statistics were awarded as “Centers of Excellence” by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology in 2000 and have retained the status since.

School of Agriculture

Established in 1973, the School of Agriculture has 101 faculty members and 1622 students. The college comprises the departments of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Machinery, Agronomy, Animal Sciences, Food Science Industry, Gardening, Plant Pathology, Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Soil Sciences, and Water Engineering. The College of Agriculture offers 10 programs: Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Machinery, Agronomy, Animal Sciences, Food Industry Science, Gardening, Plant Pathology, Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Soil Sciences, and Water Engineering; these programs are offered at the Bachelor's, Master's, and Ph.D. levels. The Dept. of Agronomy is considered as a Center of Excellence in Special Crops.

School of Education and Psychology

Established in 1973, the FUM School of Education and Psychology is home to 30 faculty members and about 1300 students. The school consists of 11 departments offering graduate and post-graduate programs in the fields of the educational management and planning, curriculum planning, education of disabled youth, pre-K education, the philosophy of education, clinical psychology, psychology of the disabled, general psychology, educational psychology, family counseling, and library and information sciences.

School of Veterinary Medicine

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

Founded in 1991, the School of Veterinary Medicine has 37 faculty members and consists of the departments of Basic Sciences, Patho-biology, Clinical Sciences, and Agri-food Hygiene. There are 400 enrollees majoring in the B.Sc., Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), Doctor of Veterinary Science (D.V.Sc.), and Ph.D. levels. The programs and degrees offered are Large Animal Internal Medicine (D.V.Sc.), Veterinary Parasitology (Ph.D.), Veterinary Biotechnology (Ph.D.), Veterinary Pathobiology (D.V.Sc.), Comparative Histology (Ph.D.), Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), and Veterinary Laboratory Sciences (B.Sc.). Academic members of the faculty are actively engaged in education and research in areas as diverse as clinical practice, domestic animal health and diseases, food safety, biology and public health. More importantly, the Research Center for Ruminant Abortion and Neonatal Mortality Studies is considered to be a Center of Excellence of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

Faculty of Engineering

Faculty of Engineering

On February 25, 1975, Faculty of Engineering was established to serve as the leading engineering institution for the eastern part of Iran. In September 1975 (Mehr 1354), the Faculty of Engineering officially started its mission by admitting 30 students in the Electrical Engineering major and 30 students in Mechanical Engineering.

Courses are offered in B.Eng., M.Sc., Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Materials Engineering and B.Eng., M.Eng in Chemical Engineering, Industrial Engineering. Electrical Engineering group of Ferdowsi University has many prominent research labs such as Integrated System Lab.

Institute of Biotechnology

Institute of Biotechnology was established on 2006 for the promotion of biotechnological research of the university. The following groups are active:

• Cell and Molecular Biotechnology Research Group
• Veterinary Biotechnology Research Group
• Agriculture and Animal Biotechnology Research Group
• Cell Biology and Biotechnology of Embryo Research Group

Admissions

Undergraduate admission to Ferdowsi is limited to the top 10% of students who pass the national entrance examination administered yearly by the Ministry of Culture and Higher Education.

Publications

FUM publishes 48 peer-reviewed scientific journals covering almost all fields of sciences and humanities. Some national notable journals are, Journal of Cell and Molecular Research (JCMR), Iranian Journal of Health and Physical Activity, Iranian Journal of Animal BioSystematics, Iranian Journal of Electrical Systems, Iranian Journal of Vaternary Science Technology, Iranian Journal of Numerical Analysis and Optimization etc.

Famous alumni

• Ali-Akbar Fayyaz, founder of the School of Letters and Humanities, Professor in the Department of Persian Language and Literature between 1950 and 1972, a renowned historian of early Islam and literary critic
• Gholam-Hussein Yusufi, professor in the Department of Persian Language and Literature at FUM, celebrated contemporary writer and literary critic
• Lotfollah Mofakham-Payan, musician and Professor of Geography at FUM, one of the founding-fathers of modern geographical education in Iran
• Ali Shariati, assistant professor in the Department of History at FUM between 1966 and 1971, globally renowned leftist-Islamic writer and lecturer, and the ideological father of the 1979 revolution

Sid jalal aldin ashtyani professor of philosophy

• Cyrus Sahami, The President of the FUM between 1979 and 1980, holder of the doctorat d'état in geography from Sorbonne, a leading professor of rural and human geography in Iran
• Fateme Amini, a student of Persian language and literature at FUM in the late 1960s, and one of the first female members of Islamic-Leftist guerrilla Organization of People's Mojahedin in the early 1970s who died under torture in royal political police headquarters in Tehran to become the first female martyr of the Islamic-Leftist guerrillas
• Gholam-Reza Galavi, a student of history at FUM in the late 1960s, and one of the founding members of Marxist–Leninist guerrilla organization of People's Fadaiyan who was executed by a royal fire squad in Tehran in 1971.
• Bahman Azhang, a student of history at FUM in the late 1960s, and one of the founding members of Marxist–Leninist guerrilla organization of People's Fadaiyan who was executed by a royal fire squad in Tehran in 1971.
• Said Aryan, a student of history at FUM in the late 1960s, and one of the founding members of Marxist–Leninist guerrilla organization of People's Fadaiyan who was executed by a royal fire squad in Tehran in 1971.
• Abdul-Hadi Hairi, professor in the Department of History at FUM between 1980 and 1993, globally renowned historian of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906 and a prolific contributor to scholarly journals and publications in the field of Middle Eastern Studies
• Ulrich Marzolph, student of Persian Language and Literature at FUM in the 1970s, and now Professor of Islamic Studies at the Georg-August-University in Göttingen, Germany
• Mohammad Mokhtari, graduate of the Department of Persian Language and Literature, a renowned poet, novelist, and literary critic, and a leading member of the Iranian P.E.N. in the 1980s and 1990s who was assassinated by elements from the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic in 1999 as a victim of what was later labeled in Iranian political jargon "chain murders"
• Mohammad-Hoseyn Papoli-Yazdi, holder of the doctorat d'état in geography from Sorbonne, professor emeritus of Taribyat Modarres University, and one of the leading experts on Iranian rural geography
• Mohammad Reza Shafiei-Kadkani, graduate of the School of Letters and Humanities at FUM, professor of Persian Language and Literature at the University of Tehran, celebrated contemporary poet and literary critic
• Abdulaziz Sachedina, graduate of history from FUM, currently professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia
• Amir Khajepour, professor in mechanical engineering at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
• Abolfazl Monadi, instructor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
• Dr. Seyed Ali Mirlohi Falavarjani, Retired Professor, Founder of Islamic Azad University of Falavarjanin 1984
• Bakhtiar Shabani Varaki, Professor of Philosophy of Education at FUM

Sid jalal ashtiani professor of philosophy

World rankings

Webometrics Ranking of World Universities:

• 2012: International Rank: 673, National Rank: 3
• 2014: International Rank: 630, National Rank: 3
• 2015: International Rank: 595, National Rank: 3

CWTS Leiden Ranking:

• 2014: International Rank: 669, National Rank: 9
• 2015: International Rank: 667/671, National Rank: 10/11

University Ranking by Academic Performance:

• 2011/2012: International Rank: 1100, National Rank: 11
• 2012/2013: International Rank: 1003, National Rank: 11
• 2013/2014: International Rank: 926, National Rank: 11
• 2014/2015: International Rank: 734, National Rank: 8

External links

• Official Persian website of the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
• Official English website of the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad