Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
دانشگاه فردوسى مشهد
Established	1949
Type	Public
Endowment	US$ 687 million[1]
Students	19,500
Location	Mashhad, Iran
Website	www.en.um.ac.ir/

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM) (Persian: دانشگاه فردوسی مشهد) is the largest research university in eastern 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. FUM campus is located 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 Iranian Ministry of Sciences, Research and Technology. FUM offers 180 bachelors, masters, and Ph.D. programs to 19,000 male and female students studying under about 700 faculty members with the aid of 2000 staff employees. The university is regarded as a prominent institution in attracting international students from Central Asian republics, Afghanistan, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and Africa. The university is ranked 3rd in Iran amongst other universities in recruiting foreign students. Prior to the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979, Ferdowsi University had taken for its ally Georgetown University of Washington, D.C., USA. ^[2]

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 currently 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

Founded in 1958, the School of Theology has 48 faculty members and comprises 5 departments: Dept. of Islamic History and Civilization, Dept. of Islamic Philosophy, Dept. of Islamic Jurisprudence, Dept. of Koranic Studies, and Dept. of Comparative Religion and Mysticism. Currently, the School offer 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: Dept. of Biology, Dept. of Chemistry, Dept. of Geology, and Dept. of Physics; of these departments, the Dept. 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, and Center for Research in Environmental Chemistry to name but a few.

School of Mathematical Sciences

Founded in 1962, the School of Mathematical Sciences comprises 3 departments: Dept. of Applied Mathematics, Dept. of Pure Mathematics and Dept. of 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 Dept. of Agricultural Economics, Dept. of Agricultural Machinery, Dept. of Agronomy, Dept. of Animal Sciences, Dept. of Food Science Industry, Dept. of Gardening, Dept. of Plant Pathology, Dept. of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Dept. of Soil Sciences, and Dept. of 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. Currently, 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

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 at present. The current 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 finally 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 currently considered to be a Center of Excellence of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

Faculty of Engineering

On February 25, 1975, faculty of engineering was established to serve as the leading engineering institution for eastern part of Iran. On September 1975 (Mehr 1354), Faculty of Engineering officially started its mission by admitting 30 students in Electrical Engineering major and 30 students in Mechanical Engineering major. Ferdowsi University of Mashhad is one of th best universities of Iran. 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. Moreover, students who become graduated form Ferdowsi can easily be accepted in further examinations like national examination for graduate programs. Courses offers in B.Eng., M.Eng., Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Materials Engineering and B.Eng., M.Eng in Chemical Engineering and B.Eng in Industrial Engineering.

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
• 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 late 1960s, and one of the first female members of Islamic-Leftist guerrilla Organization of People's Mojahedin in 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 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 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 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 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 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

External links

• Official Persian website of the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
• Official English website of the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
• Official news website of the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
• Official website of the Faculty of Engineering
• Official website of the university college of the FUM
• Official website of the Center of Excellence in Persian Language and Literature
• Official website of the Center of Excellence in Agronomy
• Main Library of the University
• Student administration portal
• Ferdowsi University of Mashhad's Central Library

[http://http//:en.um.ac.ir==References==

1. ^ http://www.tabnak.ir/fa/news/149763/%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B4%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%AC%D9%87-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%8A-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B4%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%87-%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86
2. ^ Problems and Issues in Higher Education: Perspectives on Iran-United States Educational Relations and Influences. pp.8