Payame Noor University

Payame Noor University

دانشگاه پیام نور Dāneshgāh-e Payām-e Nūr
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Motto	تحصیل برای همه، هر کجا و هر زمان
Motto in English	Education for all, anywhere and anytime
Type	Public open university
Established	1987
Chancellor	Abolfazl Farahani
Vice-Chancellor	Abdollah Motamedi
Academic staff	1,345
Students	1,101,182 total
Location	Tehran , Tehran , Iran
Campus	Urban
Athletics	? teams
Colours	Light blue
Website	www.pnu.ac.ir

Payame Noor University (PNU) is a public university system and one of the largest universities in Iran, with its headquarters in Tehran, 31 provincial centers, 485 local study centers, other campuses around the country, and an International Study Center located in the headquarters in Tehran. Established in 1988, is a legal body under the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology.

PNU took its first intake in five study fields at 28 local study centers. Presently, the university has 3,500 academic members and 1,100,000 national and international students.

Its name means "The message of Light" in Persian.

History

Payam e Noor University of Shiraz

Payam-e Noor University (Payame Noor University = Payam Noor University) is one of the largest universities in Iran, whose name means "The message of Light" in Persian. It was established by decisions based on the meetings (No. 94 & 97) in 1986 by SCCR (Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution of Iran). It accepted the first group of students in Mehr 1367 (September 1987) in five branches and in the remaining 28 centers of the University of Abu Rayhan and Iran Free University.

Courses

Undergraduate course

Bachelor's degree programs

Business

• Accountancy
• Business Administration

Social Culture

• Education (Management of Curriculum Planning)
• English Language Translation
• General Psychology
• Geography (Rural Geography)
• Law
• Library Sciences
• Persian Language and Persian Literature
• Social Sciences (Research)
• Statistics
• Theology and Islamic Studies (Jurisprudence and Basics of Islamic Laws)

Engineering

• Aerospace Engineering
• Architecture
• Automotive Engineering
• Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Computer Sciences
• Computer Software Engineering
• Electronic Engineering
• Executive Management Engineering
• Industrial Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Metallurgy Engineering
• Polymer Engineering
• Project Management Engineering
• Railway Engineering
• Robotic
• Urban Planning

Post graduate course

Master's Degree programs

• Business Administration
• Education (Curriculum Planning)
• English Language Teaching
• Chemistry (Organic, Inorganic, Physical and Analytical)
• Ethics (Philosophy of Ethics and Ethical Philosophy)
• Executive Administration
• General Linguistics
• General Psychology
• Geography (Rural Planning)
• Geography (Urban Planning)
• Mathematics (Applied and Pure)
• Nahj-ol-Balagheh Studies (Fundamentals of Religion and Islamic Studies)
• Persian Language and Persian Literature
• Persian Language Teaching
• Law (International, Private, Penal and Criminology)
• Public Administration
• Social Sciences (Sociology)
• Theology and Islamic Studies (Koranic Sciences and Hadith, Jurisprudence and Basics of Islamic Laws, Philosophy and Islamic Speech)
• Theoretical Physics
• General Chemistry
• General Biology

Ph.D course

Ph.D Degree programs

• Health Psychology
• Accountancy
• Chemistry
• Distance Education Planning
• English Language Teaching (TEFL)
• General Linguistics
• Geography
• International Law
• Persian Language and Literature
• Physical Education (Management) Planning

International students

International student information

In 1990, the Faculty of Overseas of PNU was established for the study of Persian Language and Literature at Bachelor, Master and Ph.D levels. The aims of these programs is to give foreign students an understanding of Iranian culture and art.

In the new organization of the university, the Faculty of Overseas is replaced by the International Study Center. This implies that the Center is authorized to offer all the degree programs of PNU. These programs are correspondence courses, which heavily rely on textbooks. The language of instruction is Persian. The center has 1182 students admitted through Degree programs in 55 countries.

Admission

Since it is impossible for most international students to enroll and take part in the National University Entrance Exam, the International Study Center provides opportunities for students to continue their studies through degree programs at Bachelor, Master and Ph.D level.

International applicants are admitted at the university on the basis of their high school GPA or their exam results. The center also enrolls students on the basis of their secondary school or their bachelor's degree GPA at two levels of bachelor's and master's degrees subsequently. The final exams of students of the center are administered with the assistance of the Iranian consulates and embassies around the world. Having acquired necessary scores at the exams of the first semester, and having a high educational background at university or high school levels with high GPA, the encompassing students will become regular students.

Language courses for non-Persian

The following Persian basic language courses are launched for non-Iranian nationals worldwide:

Level	Duration
Basic Persian	4 months
Advanced Persian	4 months
Academic Persian	4 months

Controversy

Iranian universities faced criticism in early 2007 about their treatment of Bahá'í students. Although religious identification has been removed from entrance exam papers, students are reportedly being expelled once their religion is discovered.

The controversy specifically focused on Payame Noor when an official university letter confirmed the expulsion as government policy. Over 30 Baha'i students have been expelled under the policy.

Additionally, in 2008, the university declared that Arabic will be the "second language" of the university, and that all its services will be offered in Arabic, concurrent with Persian. (See Iranian Arabs).

Departments and faculty

Department and Faculty of Humanities

• Dean: Dkosari

Department and Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences

• Dean: Dr. Mohammad Taghi Amini - Academic Position: Assistant Professor

Department and Faculty of Engineering

• Dean: Dr. Hassan Fallah - Academic Position: Assistant Professor

Department and Faculty of Agricultural Sciences

• Dean: Dr. Mohsen Shookat Fadaee - Academic Position: Associate Professor

Department and Faculty of Basic Sciences

• Dean: Prof. Seyed Ahmad Mirshokraie - Academic Position: Professor

Department and Faculty of Art and Media

• Dean: Dr. Hooshang Khosrobeigi - Academic Position: Assistant Professor

Department and Faculty of Theology and Islamic Sciences

• Dean: Dr. Mo'meni

See also

• Higher education in Iran
• List of universities in Iran

External links

• Official website, in Persian and English