Iranian Studies Departments and Centers in the World

Dec 20, 2020 in Persian Language

Khachik Gevorgyan

In this blog post, we have tried to present Iranian Studies centers, institutes, departments, programs worldwide. It seems an endless work to complete such a list, and we will update it regularly.

This list only presents the Iranian Studies Centers outside the Islamic Republic of Iran. You can read our previous post if you are interested in Persian language courses in Iran.

In this list, we have also included the Persian Studies programs, i.e., programs within the University that only teach the Persian language.

There is absolute chaos in the way the Iranian or Persian studies programs or departments are presented. It isn't easy to understand the difference between program, center, institute, school, department, fund, language program, major program, minor program. We call all these entities "Centers".

There are Iranian Studies centers within departments; endowed chairs, and unendowed professorships within departments of universities that are part of other schools; university schools affiliated with institutes; academies related to associations; majors inside minors; programs within centers offered by the foundations inside the departments outside the University but inside the faculty affiliated with a school and related to the institute, and so on.

Another ambiguity is that a program of Iranian Studies can often be a part of the following departments or schools: Middle Eastern Studies, Islamic Studies, Religious Studies, Philosophy, Oriental Studies, Near Eastern Studies, Linguistics, Politics, International Relations, History, and so on. We have included some of such cases in this list. If you know of any relevant programs, please send them to us, and we will update the list immediately.

The other problem is the websites of Iranian Studies centers. The website technologies of many Iranian Studies departments, centers, schools, programs seem to have remained in the early 90s. Even if the center, program, the department is inside one of the best universities, with a great website, the Iranian Studies center's website is often very inconsolable. The present state of the website technologies of Iranian Studies may become a topic of another article.

In this list, we have presented only the centers that have at least a working website. We have most probably missed many centers because the centers do not have a properly working website.

Please, if you find a missing entity, or you think we should delete something from this list, please let us know via email: [email protected]

At the end of the article, we also present the Iranian Studies foundations, associations, and language programs. We have also prepared the list of Iranian Studies Journals.

The list is presenting the Iranian Studies centers in each country. This list only gives the name of the Center and a link to the website. In the future, we will also add a description of each Center. The format of this article is not yet complete. We are working on updating this list regularly.

Thank you, and I hope this is a helpful list.

Iranian Studies in Armenia

Department of Iranian Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies, Yerevan State University

Institute of Oriental Studies, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia

Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian-Armenian University, Yerevan

Iranian Studies in Australia

Persian Program, Australian National University

Farsi Courses, The University of Queensland

Iranian Studies in Austria

Institute of Iranian Studies, Austrian Academy of Sciences

Iranian Studies in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Department of Oriental Philology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo

Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo

Institute of Oriental Studies, University of Sarajevo

Iranian and Persian Studies in Canada

Persian Studies, University of Toronto

Learn Farsi, University of Toronto

Learn Persian, Simon Fraser University

Persian Program, The University of British Columbia

Persian Course, York University

Iranian Studies in Georgia

Institute of Oriental Studies, Ilia State University

Center of Iranology, Georgian International Academy of Sciences

Persian Language Summer School (4-8 weeks)

From Jul 07, 2024 to Aug 30, 2024

Yerevan, Armenia

See Details & Apply

Iranian Studies in France

Institut d'études iraniennes, l'Université Sorbonne Nouvelle

Iranian Studies in Poland

Department of Iranian Studies, University of Warsaw

Department of Iranian Studies, Institute of Oriental Studies, Jagiellonian University in Krakow

Iranian Studies in Kazakhstan

Faculty of Oriental Studies, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University

Iranian Studies in the Netherlands

Amsterdam Center for Middle Eastern Studies

Persian and Iranian Studies, University of Leiden

Iranian Studies in Germany

Institute of Iranian Studies, East Asia and the Middle East Academic Unit, Free University Berlin

Institute of Iranian Studies, Department of History and Cultural Studies, Freie Universitat Berlin

Institute of Iranian Studies, Goettingen University

Iranian Studies, University of Bamberg

Iranian Studies Program, Marburg University

Iranian Studies in Lithuania

Centre of Oriental Studies, Vilnius University

Iranian Studies in Norway

Persian Courses, University of Oslo

Iranian Studies in India

The Centre of Persian & Central Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Persian Language Courses, Deccan College - https://www.dcpune.ac.in/persian-language-courses.php (website is not available)

Department of Persian, Jamia Millia Islamia

Institute of Indo-Persian Studies

Iranian Studies in Israel

Tel Aviv University ACIS - Alliance Center for Iranian Studies

https://en-humanities.tau.ac.il/iranian

Iranian Studies in the United States of America

Persian Language Summer School (4-8 weeks)

From Jul 07, 2024 to Aug 30, 2024

Yerevan, Armenia

See Details & Apply

Arizona University Persian Program at the School of Middle Eastern & North African Studies

https://menas.arizona.edu/persian

Arizona University Roshan Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Persian and Iranian Studies

https://persian.arizona.edu/

In 2016, Dr. Kamran Talattof with the support of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences received a multimillion-dollar grant from the Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute to establish the Roshan Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Persian and Iranian Studies. He founded the program in 2016-2017.

Berkeley Initiative for Iranian Studies

https://cmes.berkeley.edu/berkeley-initiative-iranian-studies-biis

Boston University

https://www.bu.edu/ecpt/persian/persian-courses/

Columbia University Ehsan Yarshater Center for Iranian Studies

https://cfis.columbia.edu/

The Ehsan Yarshater Center for Iranian Studies was established at Columbia University in 2018 with the support of a generous gift from the Persian Heritage Foundation in honor of Professor Ehsan Yarshater's remarkable scholarship and his lifelong dedication to the study of Iran's culture and history.

Fullerton

http://hss.fullerton.edu/mll/academics/Persian/Persian%20Courses.aspx

Georgetown University Persian Studies Program

https://persian.college.georgetown.edu/

Support for the Persian Studies Program is provided, in part, by the Jalinous Endowed Fund for Persian Culture and Language Studies. The Jalinous Fund supports lectures, programming, faculty and student research, and teaching and related to the Persian language and culture at Georgetown University.

George Washington University Persian Program

https://cnelc.columbian.gwu.edu/persian

George Mason University

https://mcl.gmu.edu/about-the-department/persian

Georgia Tech

https://modlangs.gatech.edu/languages/persian/courses

Harvard Iranian Studies

https://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~iranian/ (website is not available)

Indiana University Persian program at the Department of Central Eurasian Studies (CEUS)

https://iaunrc.indiana.edu/opportunities/languages/persian.html

New York University Iranian Studies Initiative

https://wp.nyu.edu/isi_nyu/

https://as.nyu.edu/content/nyu-as/as/departments/meis/language-programs/persian.html

NC University

https://fll.chass.ncsu.edu/persian/

Ohio State University Persian Studies Minor

https://nelc.osu.edu/CoursesandPrograms/AcademicPrograms/Undergraduate/Persian

Portland State University Persian Minor

https://www.pdx.edu/world-languages/persian

Princeton University Persian Language Studies

https://nesp.princeton.edu/programs/persian-language-studies

Princeton University

https://iran.princeton.edu/

The Center was established in 2012, supported by a generous gift from alumni and Board of Trustees members Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, Class of 1980, and Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani, Class of 1974. Launched to promote groundbreaking independent scholarship and teaching, the Center adds a new dimension to programming first inspired by the Pahlavi Fund, which dates to 1969 and exists to promote a new understanding of Iranian society and culture.

San Diego State University Persian Language Program at the Department of Linguistics and Asian/Middle Eastern Languages

https://linguistics.sdsu.edu/languages_and_esl/persian/

San Francisco State University Persian Studies Program at the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures

https://mll.sfsu.edu/persian-program/

Stanford University Hamid and Christina Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies

https://iranian-studies.stanford.edu/

Hamid and Christina Moghadam endowed the Program in Iranian Studies in 2003, enriching the Stanford curriculum and exemplifying their dedication to the pluralism of ideas.

Stonybrook

https://www.stonybrook.edu/sb/bulletin/current/courses/per/

Michigan

https://lsa.umich.edu/middleeast/languages/languages/persian-.html

University of Connecticut

https://catalog.uconn.edu/directory-of-courses/course/PERS/

University of Pennsylvania Persian Language Program

https://web.sas.upenn.edu/persian/

University of Utah Persian Major or Minor

https://languages.utah.edu/undergraduate/languages-offered/persian.php

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Persian Program

https://linguistics.illinois.edu/languages/persian-program

University of Maryland Roshan Institute for Persian Studies

http://sllc.umd.edu/persian/

In 2007, Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute made a $3 million leadership gift to the University of Maryland College Park Foundation and in 2008, a major and a minor in Persian language and studies were developed. As a result, the existing four-year old "Center for Persian Studies" expanded into the current Roshan Institute for Persian Studies.

CSUN

https://catalog.csun.edu/academics/pers/courses/

UC San Diego Heritage Persian Program

http://ling.ucsd.edu/language/hlp-persian.html

UCLA Program of Iranian Studies at the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures https://nelc.ucla.edu/iranian/

UCLA Pourdavoud Center for the Study of the Iranian World

https://pourdavoud.ucla.edu/

The Pourdavoud Center was made possible by a gift from Professor Pourdavoud's granddaughter, Dr. Anahita Naficy Lovelace, and her husband, Mr. James B. Lovelace.

UC Irvine Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture

https://www.humanities.uci.edu/persianstudies/

The Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture was made possible through the generosity of Dr. Fariborz Maseeh and The Massiah Foundation.

UCI Ferdowsi Presidential Chair in Zoroastrian Studies at the Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture

https://news.uci.edu/2020/07/29/massiah-foundation-challenge-gift-to-fund-uci-chair-in-zoroastrian-studies/

UC Santa Barbara Iranian Studies Initiative

https://www.iranianstudiesinitiative.ucsb.edu/

The Iranian Studies Initiative (ISI) was established in 2010 with support from the Duncan and Suzanne Mellichamp Endowment in Global Religion and Modernity in collaboration with the Department of Religious Studies and the Center for Middle East Studies. With a generous contribution from the Gramian-Emrani Foundation we started our conference series in 2016. Iranian Studies faculty and staff organize annual lectures, symposia, film screenings, and conferences.

University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Minor in Iranian Studies

https://dornsife.usc.edu/mdes/iranian-studies/

Persian at Rutgers University

https://amesall.rutgers.edu/languages/113-persian

Persian at UC Davis

https://mesa.ucdavis.edu/language-info/persian

Persian Studies Program, San Jose State University

https://www.sjsu.edu/persianstudies/

University of Chicago Iranian Prehistoric Project

https://oi.uchicago.edu/research/projects/iranian-prehistoric-project

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Persian Program

https://asianstudies.unc.edu/persian/

https://asianstudies.unc.edu/persian/persian-language-courses/

University of Oklahoma Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies

https://www.ou.edu/cis/sponsored_programs/farzaneh-family-center

The Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies serves as the hub for Iranian Studies at the University of Oklahoma. Established in 2010 as an academic program within the OU David L. Boren College of International Studies, the Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies expanded into a center in 2016 through a generous donation by the Farzaneh Family.

University of Virginia Persian Program

https://mesalc.as.virginia.edu/persian

University of Washington Persian and Iranian Studies Program

https://nelc.washington.edu/programs/persian

University of Wisconsin Persian Program at the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures

https://alc.wisc.edu/languages/persian/

Yale University Program in Iranian Studies at MacMillan Center

https://iranianstudies.macmillan.yale.edu/

Pittsburgh

https://lctl.pitt.edu/languages/persian/persianfarsi-course-descriptions