The history of the higher education in Tabriz, well known for being a cradle of civilization for centuries, goes back to 720 years ago when the Rab' l-Rashidi international complex was founded. Inheriting this background, the University of Tabriz, founded in 1947, is the second oldest university in Iran. Currently, it has 21 faculties, 792 faculty staff, around 21600 full time students from which about 9500 are postgraduates, one international campus, 10 research institutions and centers and four centers of excellence.
University of Tabriz has an active role in international associations, e.g. International Universities Council (IUC), Eurasian Silk Road Universities Consortium (ESRUC), and Association of Caucasian Universities (KUNIB). Furthermore, University of Tabriz was the full member of the Administrative Board of International Association of Universities (IAU) from 2008-2012. Moreover, it has signed 90 MOU with different universities in the world to conduct joint programs.
University of Tabriz is a top 10 university in Iran and was ranked 5th among the comprehensive universities in 2016. Five faculty members were among one percent top scientists of the world in 2016. Based on Thomson Reuters, it was included among the most influential universities in the world and ranked 4th among Iranian comprehensive universities.