University of Kashan

The University of Kashan in the city of Kashan, Iran, 230 km south of Tehran, was opened in 1974 as the first higher education institution in Kashan. Starting only with 200 students taking undergraduate courses in physics and mathematics, the university now offers study in over 180 courses, in 11 faculties, including engineering, chemistry, arts and humanities. Housed on 530 hectares of campus, the university has about 8,000 students across over 180 courses, 60 per cent of whom are female. There are about 180 full-time academic staff members. About 40 per cent of students are in postgraduate studies. The University of Kashan is the only university in Iran in which students are able to study for an MSc or PhD in nanotechnology, which takes place at a dedicated research centre. The Carpet Research Centre focuses on the art of carpet weaving: carpet-dying, designing, raw materials, history, sociology, carpet-mending, economics and business. Other research institutes specialise in areas such as energy, astronomy, water and sustainable development and architecture and urban development. Facilities include an observatory, with a planetarium. There is also an entrepreneurship centre, healthcare centre and student counsel centre, dormitory complexes, a restaurant complex, green spaces, a mosque, study halls, sports facilities including a shooting range, and a health-care centre. The university also has several affiliated centres in Ghamsar, Niasar and Tehran. The Centre for Kashan Studies has been created to study the culture, history and ecology of the area, publishing Kashan Shenakt Periodical.