The history of medical, dental, and pharmaceutical education in Iran

History of Medicine Education:

In 1849, the first modern college of higher education in Iran, Dar-ol-Fonoon (house of skills, polytechnics) was established. In 1918 the College of Medicine separated itself from the Dar-ol-Fononoon, and became an independent school under the management of the Ministry of Science. In 1934, the University of Tehran was established with the School of Medicine as its first school, followed by The School of Dentistry, School of Law, School of Political Sciences, and The School of Engineering. Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (then National University) is one of the three medical universities in Tehran which began its mission in 1964 with establishing the Schools of Medicine and Dentistry. Following the merge of some of the treatment and educational units and organizations affiliated to the then Ministry of Health and “Melli University” (National University), in 1986, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences began its activities independently.

History of Dentistry Education:

In 1925 plans for training dentists were outlined in a report by the Health department of the Ministry of education, and under regulations approved by the supreme council of education. In the summer of 1928 the governmental medical college in Tehran was required to include courses on oral and dental diseases in its curriculum. In 1930 a college of dentistry was attached to the medical college, offering a five-year diploma course. In 1934, the school of dentistry was incorporated as a department in the Faculty of medicine when Tehran University was established in the same year. In the academic year 1956 the department of dentistry was detached from the Faculty of medicine and established as a separate faculty. A new building was opened on the Tehran University campus the next year, and subsequently the faculty established dental wards, with trained specialists and modern equipment, in most of the hospitals affiliated with Tehran University. Several other universities also established faculties of dentistry: the National University (Shahid Beheshti University) in Tehran in 1965, Pahlavi University in Shiraz in 1969, and Isfahan University in 1975. Dental departments in private hospitals and clinics and individual dentists also contributed to improving standards of oral and dental health in the larger cities and provincial capitals.

History of Pharmacy Education:

With the foundation of Dar-ol Fonoon in Tehran almost 165 years ago, the modern training emerged. In 1922, a pharmacy department was set up at the school of medicine. In 1956, the pharmacy faculty started its activity independent from medical faculty.

In 1985, the management of medical education and related disciplines were transferred from the Ministry of Science to the Ministry of Health.