History
Payame Noor University was established in 1988 as the only open and distance learning university in the Islamic Republic of Iran by integrating the University of Abureihane Birouni and Iran Azad University. The University took its first intake in five degree programs at 28 study centers.
Education
PNU educational system is focused on student, content as well as coordinated and unified exams administered throughout the country. Based on the specified resources for each course at each study field and following students self-instruction and group tutorials by teachers via educational media, students sit in coordinated exams at all PNU study centers.
Payame Noor University Overview
Payame Noor University Rankings
Study Portals Meta Ranking
Top 29.5% Iran
Top 73.1% Worldwide
Studyportals ranking look at the scores of the most used ranking systems and present you with one number of how well this University performs.
Best Global Universities Rankings
2074
By U.S. News & World Report
Dropped 102 places compared to 2025
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
3 year trend Best Global Universities Rankings
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 1842 | 1972 | 2074 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
World University Rankings
1501
By Times Higher Education
The university hasn’t moved up or down in the rankings over the past year.
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
3 year trend World University Rankings
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 1501 | - | 1501 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Payame Noor University Campus Locations
#1 Main Campus
Iran Country
Tehran City
Payame Noor University Student Reviews & Awards
3.2
Based on 22 reviews
- 5 Star 4 Reviews
- 4 Star 6 Reviews
- 3 Star 7 Reviews
- 2 Star 1 Review
- 1 Star 4 Reviews
Learned some good points about general English
I want to improve my education by studying abroad and in overall I learned good skills by going to university
medium
The forward process in the field of education and raising collective knowledge and awareness
good
it was good experience .but the study level wasnt good enough
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