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University Directory · Middle East & North Africa

Top 25 universities in Iran

The 25 leading universities and higher education institutions in Iran, ordered by the citations their research has received. Part of the WAC University Directory.

25 institutions listed · data October 2026

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  1. 1

    Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS)

    Tehran, Iran

    • 121,914 research works
    • 7 million citations
    • h-index 810
  2. 2

    University of Tehran (UT)

    Tehran, Iran

    • 164,281 research works
    • 4.7 million citations
    • h-index 392
  3. 3

    Shahid Beheshti University (SBU)

    Tehran, Iran

    • 105,942 research works
    • 3.2 million citations
    • h-index 364
  4. 4

    Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU)

    Tehran, Iran

    • 78,623 research works
    • 2.9 million citations
    • h-index 384
  5. 5

    Islamic Azad University, Tehran (IAU)

    Tehran, Iran

    • 129,974 research works
    • 2.4 million citations
    • h-index 298
  6. 6

    Tarbiat Modares University (TMU)

    Tehran, Iran

    • 75,719 research works
    • 2.4 million citations
    • h-index 334
  7. 7

    Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (TBZMED)

    Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, Iran

    • 39,149 research works
    • 2.3 million citations
    • h-index 335
  8. 8

    Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT)

    Tehran, Iran

    • 50,214 research works
    • 2 million citations
    • h-index 299
  9. 9

    Sharif University of Technology (SUT)

    Tehran, Iran

    • 47,820 research works
    • 2 million citations
    • h-index 316
  10. 10

    Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (MUMS)

    Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan, Iran

    • 42,202 research works
    • 1.9 million citations
    • h-index 285
  11. 11

    Shiraz University

    Shiraz, Iran

    • 58,437 research works
    • 1.9 million citations
    • h-index 281
  12. 12

    Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS)

    Shiraz, Fars, Iran

    • 44,165 research works
    • 1.8 million citations
    • h-index 287
  13. 13

    Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST)

    Tehran, Iran

    • 45,282 research works
    • 1.8 million citations
    • h-index 289
  14. 14

    Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS)

    Tehran, Iran

    • 51,388 research works
    • 1.8 million citations
    • h-index 349
  15. 15

    Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (IUMS)

    Isfahan, Iran

    • 41,913 research works
    • 1.6 million citations
    • h-index 334
  16. 16

    University of Tabriz

    Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, Iran

    • 46,656 research works
    • 1.5 million citations
    • h-index 286
  17. 17

    Isfahan University of Technology (IUT)

    Isfahan, Iran

    • 33,266 research works
    • 1.5 million citations
    • h-index 281
  18. 18

    Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM)

    Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan, Iran

    • 52,909 research works
    • 1.3 million citations
    • h-index 257
  19. 19

    Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences

    Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province, Iran

    • 17,153 research works
    • 798 thousand citations
    • h-index 246
  20. 20

    K. N. Toosi University of Technology (KNTU)

    Tehran, Iran

    • 24,146 research works
    • 733 thousand citations
    • h-index 210
  21. 21

    University of Isfahan (UI)

    Isfahan, Iran

    • 37,579 research works
    • 703 thousand citations
    • h-index 216
  22. 22

    Kerman University of Medical Sciences

    Kerman, Iran

    • 19,100 research works
    • 655 thousand citations
    • h-index 208
  23. 23

    University of Guilan

    Rasht, Gilan Province, Iran

    • 26,962 research works
    • 652 thousand citations
    • h-index 182
  24. 24

    Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (AJUMS)

    Ahvāz, Khuzestan, Iran

    • 20,212 research works
    • 648 thousand citations
    • h-index 192
  25. 25

    Urmia University

    Urmia, West Azerbaijan, Iran

    • 26,151 research works
    • 645 thousand citations
    • h-index 206

Ordered by total research citations recorded in OpenAlex (October 2026). Works, citations and h-index are OpenAlex figures for the institution. How the list is made.

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About the directory

How institutions are chosen and ordered

The directory lists 1436 universities, colleges and higher education institutions in 199 countries and territories. In countries with 200 or more higher education institutions recorded in OpenAlex it lists the top 25; everywhere else, the top 5.

Institutions are ordered by the total number of citations their research has received, as recorded in OpenAlex, the open catalogue of the world’s research, with data taken in October 2026. This is a transparent, research-based order: it favours large research institutions and does not measure teaching quality, student experience or graduate outcomes. University systems are left out in favour of their campuses, and faculties or institutes are left out when their parent university is already listed. Names, cities and websites come from OpenAlex and the Research Organization Registry (ROR).

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