Describing itself as the "symbol of higher education" in Iran’s south-western Kokiluyeh and Boyerahmad province, Yasouj University was launched as Yasouj Technical Institute in 1983 and became a higher education complex 10 years later with the establishment of an agricultural institute.
Affiliated to Shiraz University throughout this period, it became an independent state university in 1996 and took its current name three years after that. Based in the provincial capital, Yasuj, the main campus has four faculties – science, agriculture, engineering and humanities.
Its development can be seen through the Department of Agronomy, established in 1988, which offered animal welfare and plant production from 1993, its first graduate degrees in 2005, plant production from 2006, forestry and watershed management from 2011 and doctorates from 2013. It has nine research laboratories covering subjects like insecticide, soil science and nematology and access to the 706-hectare Research Education Forest.
There are also two satellite campuses. The Gachsaran Oil and Gas University has operated since 2012 providing courses in polymer engineering, applied chemistry and welding mechanics. The Graduate School of Industry and Mines, established in Chahar in 2012, offers programmes in rural development, technical engineering, gas supply and statistics.
Research Centres cover natural resources, local and linguistic studies and floral and herbal medicine, with a medical herb garden currently under construction.
The Science and Technology Park hosted Iran’s first national technology and aerospace competition in 2018 while research discoveries in 2016 included a viper which uses a tail shaped like a spider to lure its prey.
