The Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch (, Daneshgah-e Âzad-e Eslâmi-ye Vahed-e Tehran Mirkâzi) is a private research university located in Tehran, Iran. Founded in 1982, Central Tehran is the flagship institution of the universities affiliated with Islamic Azad University system. The university is the oldest, the largest and the top university among all branches of Islamic Azad University academic organization, established in 1982, originally as the Islamic Azad University of Tehran. The university campuses rest on of various districts of Tehran. It offers approximately 500 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines such as sciences, engineering, art, architecture, humanities and social sciences.

History Establishment Islamic Azad University Central Tehran Branch is the very first branch established under the university system which is known as Islamic Azad University, so the history of this branch can be traced back to the foundation of the university.

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani sought to establish a private university to address the challenges posed during the early years of Iranian Revolution -such as Cultural Revolution- and to meet increasing demands of secondary-school graduates for higher education in Iran.Ahmad Ashraf, “EDUCATION vii. GENERAL SURVEY OF MODERN EDUCATION,” Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition, December 15, 1997, available at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/education-vii-general-survey-of-modern-education. On the sidelines of an Islamic Republican Party conference, Rafsanjani mooted the idea with Abdollah Jasbi, who supported and developed the plan to establish Islamic Azad University. Islamic Azad University Central Tehran Branch is the very first branch established under the university system which is known as Islamic Azad University. In its early days, the university lacked sufficient funds and facilities to operate, sorely relying on donations made by people and government. The initial endowment was about 100,000 Rials.

Jasbi rented No. 155 building in Forsat Shirazi St., while Nassir Shekarriz and Mahmoud Latifipour – who were in charge as Chancellor and Vice Chancellor respectively – rented the sixth floor of a building located in Enqelab St., Felestin St. in order to hold an entrance exam in 1982. This university began as the Islamic Azad University of Tehran when it opened its doors to about 200 students, offering six majors in bachelor's degree and two in associate degree. Soon after, the whole building in Enqelab St. was purchased from Mostazafan Foundation of Islamic Revolution and became the university's first property. (current Faculty of Arts and Architecture)

Chancellors Chancellor Tenure Nasir Shekarriz 1982–1998 Majid Monajjemi 1998 (interim) Karim Zare 1998–2003 Hossein Aghaei 2003 (interim) Hossein Mojtabazadeh 2003–2005 Ahmad Moradi 2005–2006 Mohammad-Ali Gozashti 2006–2012 Ferdos Hajian 2012–2013 Farhad Hosseinzadeh Lotfi 2013–2015 Mehrdad Navabakhsh 2015–2016 Ahmad Shams 2016–2017 Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi 2017–2018 Seyed Mahmoud Reza Aghamiri 2018–2022 Towhid Pourrostam 2022–2024 Mohammad Narimanirad 2024–2025 Alireza Firoozfar 2025–present

Campus The university has 13 Faculties:

+ IAUCTB FacultiesFacultyLocationFaculty of Foreign LanguagesEnghelab CampusFaculty of Literature and HumanitiesFaculty of SciencesHashemi Rafsanjani CampusFaculty of EngineeringFaculty of Architecture and Urban PlanningFaculty of ManagementVelayat CampusFaculty of ArtsFaculty of Economics and AccountingFaculty of Psychology and EducationFaculty of Social Sciences, Communication Sciences and Media StudiesFaculty of Physical Education and Sport SciencesFaculty of Political SciencesFaculty of Law

The university has three campuses:

+ IAUCTB CampusesCampusLocationSchoolsVelayatSohanakArts, Humanities, Behavioral and Social SciencesHashemi RafsanjaniPunakScience, Engineering and ArchitectureEnghelabEnghelab St., Pich ShemiranForeign Languages, Literature and Humanities

Schools and departments

Programs by subject:

Arts & humanities Clinical, pre-clinical & health (medical sciences) Life sciences Social sciences Engineering & technology Physical sciences

Enrollments

In academic year of 2025-2026

Field of Study Percent Engineering and technology ~28% Humanities ~55% Art ~11% Science ~5% Agriculture and Veterinary ~1% Medical Sciences ~0% Total 100%

Level of study (Degree) Percent Associate 2.36% Bachelor's 66.20% Master's 26.15% Ph.D. 5.29% Total 100%

Faculty of Engineering

Programs and majors In academic year of 2025-2026: Aerospace engineering (BS, MS) Biomedical engineering (BS, MS, PhD) Chemical engineering (BS, MS, PhD) Civil engineering (BS, MS, PhD) Computer engineering (BS, MS, PhD) Electrical engineering (BS, MS, PhD) Energy engineering (MS) Environmental engineering (BS, MS) Industrial engineering (BS, MS, PhD) Information technology engineering (MS) Materials engineering (BS, MS) Mechanical engineering (BS, MS, PhD) Mechatronics engineering (MS) Mining engineering (BS, MS) Nuclear engineering (BS, MS, PhD) Petroleum engineering (BS, MS) Polymer engineering (BS) Sports engineering (BS) Textile engineering (BS)

Sub-program

Department of Electrical Engineering

B.S. M.S. Ph.D. Communications Communications (Communication System, Communication Networks, Secure Communication & Cryptography, Optical Communication, Field & Wave Communication) Communications (Communication System, Field & Wave Communication) Control Control Control Electronics Electronics (Micro and Nanoelectronic Devices, Digital Electronic Systems, Electronic Integrated Circuits) Electronics Power Power (Power Systems, Power Electronics and Electrical Machines, Planning and Management of Electrical Energy Systems, Electrical Transportation Systems) Power Department of Biomedical Engineering

B.S. M.S. Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering Bioelectric (joint program EE Dept) Bioelectric (joint program EE Dept) Biomechanic Biomechanic Biomaterial Biomaterial Rehabilitation Tissue

Department of Computer Engineering

B.S. M.S. Ph.D. Computer Engineering Computer Systems Architecture Computer Systems Architecture Software Software Artificial Intelligence & Robotics Artificial Intelligence & Robotics Network and Computing Department of Nuclear Engineering

B.S. M.S. Ph.D. Nuclear Engineering Medical Radiation Engineering Medical Radiation Engineering Reactor Engineering Nuclear Energy Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering Department of Industrial Engineering Department of Chemical Engineering

Faculty of Science

Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics

It offers the following programs: B.S. M.S. Ph.D. Computer Science Computer Science Computer Science Applied Statistics Applied Statistics Statistics Applied Mathematics Mathematics (Applied Mathematics, Pure Mathematics) Mathematics (Applied Mathematics, Pure Mathematics) Department of Biology Department of Chemistry Department of Physics

Admissions The university received 35,317 applications for the Fall 2011 undergraduate class, making it the university with the most freshmen applicants among all branches of Islamic Azad University. In 2013, a total number of 11,789 and 6,061 applications were received for undergraduate and graduate programs respectively.

Rankings Islamic World Science Citation Database 2011: third among Islamic Azad University campuses SCImago rankings 2012: International rank : 231, National rank : 1 2013: International rank : 87, National rank : 1 2025: International rank: 9,456, National rank: 143

Notable alumni and people

Faculty

Zahra Rahnavard – Iranian Reformist Politician Mohammad-Javad Haghshenas – Iranian Reformist journalist and Political activist Amir Mohebbian – Iranian Conservative Politician Mansour Falamaki – Iranian Science and Culture Hall of Famer in architecture Hassan Riahi – Iranian Science and Culture Hall of Famer in music and composer of National Anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran Seyyed Bagher Ayatollahzadeh Shirazi – Architect and Iranian Science and Culture Hall of Famer in Heritage site repairs Homayoun Riahi Chaleshtari – Chairman of Zamyad Co. (2008–2009) and board member of Iran Khodro and SAIPA Mostafa Kavakebian, Iranian Reformist Politician and former parliament representative Hossein Allahkaram, Ansar-e Hezbollah activist Ali Akbar Saremi – Architect Karen Khanlari – Representative of Iranian parliament Karim Zareh – Former representative of Iranian parliament Hassan Mohadessi – Sociologist Jahanbakhsh Khanjani – Iranian Reformist Politician Ali Najafi Tavana – Iran Central Bar Association President Jalil Maleki – Iran Central Bar Association Board Member Isa Amini – Iran Central Bar Association Board Member Elaheh Koulaei – Former representative of Iranian parliament Ferdos Hajian – Primary school education expert

Mohammad-Reza Rahimi – Vice President of Iran (2009–2013) Enshallah Rahmati – Journalist and Translator in Philosophy and theosophy Sadegh Zibakalam – Political analyst Effat Shariati – Iranian parliament representative Hamid Sajjadi – United Nations Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport Vice-president Mohammad-Hossein Farhangi – Iranian parliament representative Habibollah Sadeghi – Painter Saeid Kharaghani – Iranian Ministry of Energy Deputy for Research & Human Resources (1998–2005) Ali Darabi, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Deputy Shabnam Gholikhani – Actress and Director Farhad Nazerzadeh Kermani – Iranian Science and Culture Hall of Famer in Arts Ahmad Bakhshayesh – Representative of Iranian parliament Hossein Abolhasan Tanhayi – Sociologist Mostafa Askarian – Pedagogian Mohammad Reza Sadegh – Senior Advisor to President Hassan Rouhani Abdollah Ramezanzadeh – Iranian Reformist Politician, governor of the Kurdistan Province under President Mohammad Khatami Abdolhossein Mokhtabad – Musician, Singer, Member of City Council of Tehran

Alumni

As of June 2010, the university has 176,973 alumni which makes it the biggest number among all branches of Islamic Azad University.

Mohammad Abbasi – Iran Minister of Cooperatives (2005–2011) and Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports (2011–2013) Faezeh Hashemi – former representative of Iranian parliament and women rights activist Parvin Ahmadinejad – former member of City Council of Tehran Mohammad-Ali Pourmokhtar – Representative of Iranian parliament Mehdi Davatgari – Representative of Iranian parliament Rajab Rahmani – Representative of Iranian parliament Rahmatollah Norouzi – Representative of Iranian parliament Shabnam Gholikhani – Actress and Director Hanieh Tavassoli – Actress Shahrokh Razmjou – Archaeologist Elnaz Shakerdoust – Actress Kazem Sayahi – Voice actor Behdad Moghadasi – Guitarist Akbar Mohammadi Argi – Football coach Fariba Davoodi Mohajer – Journalist and activist

Abbas Araghchi – Diplomat, Iranian Ambassador to Finland & Japan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Shoroughi – Writer and Journalist Laleh Eskandari – Actress Bahareh Rahnama – Actress Azita Afrashi – linguist and Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies fellow Mojtaba Saminejad – blogger and human rights activist Kambiz Hosseini – co-presenter of Parazit Shararh Farnejad – Musician and member of Arian Band Mehrab Ghasemkhani – Screenwriter Mahdi Pakdel – Actor Elnaz Shakerdoust – Actress Houman Haji-Abdollahi – Voice actor and IRIB Host Siamak Ansari – Actor Abolfazl Shahi – Artist Arash Dadgar – Theater Actor Hamed Behdad – Actor

Athletics Several students have won medals in International competitions while studying at the university.