TEHRAN –Times Higher Education (THE) Interdisciplinary Science Rankings (ISR) has placed 29 Iranian universities among top institutions worldwide for interdisciplinary science research.

ISR is a project launched in association with Schmidt Science Fellows; it has ranked a total of 749 universities from 92 countries.

University of Tehran with a global ranking of 77 is placed first in the country. 

Shiraz University (ranked 132 globally) Razi University (174), Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (187), University of Tabriz (201-250) ranked second to fifth, respectively.

Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, and Urmia University are ranked joint sixth with a global ranking of 251-300.

Interdisciplinary science refers to the integration of the knowledge, traditions and processes from multiple scientific disciplines. 

It can involve multiple academics who collaborate with one another across different disciplines. It may also be a single academic approaching a scientific question across multiple disciplines.

The Interdisciplinary Science Rankings is the first effort of its kind to measure universities’ contributions and commitment to interdisciplinary science. 

It includes 11 carefully calibrated performance indicators to assess institutions across three key areas, each representing a stage in the life cycle of research projects: inputs (funding); process (measures of success, facilities, administrative support and promotion); and outputs (publications, research quality and reputation).

The methodology is based on 157 million citations, 18 million research publications, and survey responses from more than 20,000 scholars globally.

Massachusetts University of Technology, Stanford University, and National University of Singapore ranked first to third, respectively. 

In the ISR 2025, only science disciplines are covered, namely those that fit within the THE high-level subjects of computer science, engineering, life sciences and physical sciences. If a research project involves two or more science disciplines, it is considered interdisciplinary science.

However, if it involves only one science discipline then it is not considered interdisciplinary science research, even if it also involves one or more non-science disciplines.

Recent rankings

The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asia University Rankings placed 32 Iranian universities in the list of top universities in 2025, compared to 31 universities in 2024.

Published annually since 2009, the QS Asia University Rankings highlight the top universities in Asia each year. 

University of Tehran (with a global ranking of 87) is placed first among Iranian universities, followed by Sharif University of Technology (ranking 97 globally) and Amirkabir University of Technology (ranking 114 globally), Mehr news agency reported.

Isfahan University of Technology, Shiraz University, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, University of Tabriz, Shahid Beheshti University, and University of Isfahan are ranked fourth to tenth, respectively. 

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025 placed 85 Iranian universities among the top institutions compared to 75 universities in 2024.

The 2025 rankings include 2,092 ranked universities from 115 countries. There are 185 new entries compared with last year.

Recognized as the world’s most comprehensive evaluation of university performance, the latest methodology includes 18 carefully calibrated indicators to assess institutions across five key areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry engagement, and international outlook.

Sharif University of Technology ranked first in the country with a global ranking of 301-350.

Amirkabir University of Technology, and Iran University of Science and Technology (ranking globally 351 –400) were placed second.

Kermanshah University of Medical Science, and University of Tehran were placed third with a global ranking of 401- 500.

Babol Noshirvani University of Technology, Shiraz University of Technology, and Tehran University of Technology were ranked joint fourth, they ranked 601-800, globally.

A total of 100 universities from Iran were ranked by EduRank based on research outputs, non-academic prominence, and alumni influence.

The rankings were determined by analyzing 14.9 m citations received by 1.26 m academic publications made by 310 universities from Iran, the popularity of 867 recognized alumni, and the largest reference database available.

This year, 14131 universities from 183 countries were ranked across 246 topics.

According to the report University of Tehran, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and Sharif University of Technology were the best universities in the country, IRIB reported.

The Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities, also known as the National Taiwan University (NTU) Rankings, placed 21 Iranian institutions among the top 1,200 universities worldwide, compared to 18 universities in 2023.

University of Tehran won the best ranking among Iranian institutions, ranking 291 globally.  

University of Tehran ranked 30 in chemical engineering as well as energy science and engineering, 34 in mechanical engineering, and 73 in agriculture.
Tehran University of Medical Sciences (with a global ranking of 359), Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences (491), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (540), and Tarbiat Modarres University (577) were placed second to fifth, respectively.

Tehran University of Medical Science’s best ranking globally was 22 in pharmacology and toxicology.

Moreover, Khajeh Nasir Toosi University of Technology and Yasouj University were among the top 1200 institutions in the world based on full-time academic staff.

The 2024-2025 edition of Best Global Universities rankings included 69 Iranian universities, up from 52 in 2023, among the world’s 2,250 top universities.

These institutions from 104 countries were ranked based on 13 indicators that measure their academic research performance and their global and regional reputations which helps students to explore the higher education options that exist beyond their own countries’ borders and to compare key aspects of schools’ research missions.

University of Tehran (with a global ranking of 275), Islamic Azad University (374), Sharif University of Technology and Tehran University of Medical Sciences (516), University of Tabriz (521), and Amirkabir University of Technology (649) ranked first to fifth in the country, respectively.

Shanghai ranking 2024 placed nine Iranian universities among the top 1,000 institutions worldwide.

The 2024 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) was released by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy.

Since 2003, ARWU has been presenting the world’s top universities annually based on transparent methodology and objective third-party data. It has been recognized as the precursor of global university rankings and the most trustworthy one.

This year, more than 2,500 institutions were scrutinized, and the best 1,000 universities in the world were published.

Tehran University of Medical Sciences and University of Tehran, which were among the top 500 universities in the world with a rank of 401–500, were placed top in the country.
Tarbiat Modares University (601–700) was placed second.

Iran University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti of Medical Sciences, and Sharif University of Technology with a ranking of 701-800, shared the third rank in the country.

Amirkabir University of Technology, Iran University of Science and Technology, and University of Tabriz (901 –1000) were ranked joint fourth.

MT/MG