Farhangian University

Approved by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution in 2011, all teacher training centers in Iran—with a century-long tradition—were merged into a single institution: Farhangian University (FU). Officially launched in January 2012, FU began by enrolling nearly 25,000 undergraduate students.
FU operates as an umbrella organization with about 64 main campuses and 34 centers across all 32 provinces. These campuses were pre-existing teacher education centers, marking a shift toward a more academic model of teacher preparation. FU is governed by a board of trustees headed by the President of Iran.
Its vision is to train future teachers as Reflective Practitioners—classroom researchers with a strong Iranian identity. This is implemented through a four-year, 150-credit program using a Competency Approach, with strong emphasis on the Student Teaching Component. The university’s philosophy: teacher education is more coachable than teachable.
Students are employed by the Ministry of Education upon entry, reflecting a strong government investment aimed at attracting top talent.
With its headquarters in northwest Tehran, FU currently has around 120,000 students and 4,500 staff, with branches in Tehran and cities nationwide.