University of Religions and Denominations, the first specialized university in the field of religions and denominations in Iran, and an offshoot of the Islamic Seminary, aims to obtain knowledge of religions and denominations and strives for interactions and dialogues with their followers based on common beliefs. Furthermore, it pursues to conduct research, and train specialists in order to establish human solidarity, strengthen peace, alleviate human sufferings, disseminate spirituality and morality, and provide a scholarly introduction to Islam in consonance with the doctrines of the Progeny of the Prophet Muhammad (Ahl al-Bayt); peace be upon them.

URD seeks to help promote to mutual understanding, dialogue, and peaceful coexistence among world religions and the peoples of the world. The University is concerned to study world religions and religious traditions in an unbiased way. It is also concerned to show that our shared humanity is emphasized by all religions and we need to appreciate our common humanity, love one another and proceed to come together and make a better world of peace and friendship, while acknowledging our differences in every aspect.

URD is made up of seven faculties, Department for Distance Education, Research Center for Religions and Denominations, URD Press, and a special library which provides specialized resources on world religions.

The faculties are: the Faculty of World Religions; Faculty of Islamic Denominations; Faculty of Shia Studies; Faculty of Woman and Family; Faculty of Cultures and the languages of the World; Faculty of Philosophy; and Faculty of Mysticism.

The University’s Department for Distance Education offers over 12 distance learning undergraduate and postgraduate programs. For more information on available programs and how to apply, visit Department for Online and Distance Learning website.

University of Religions and Denominations Press is a department of URD; and its publishing program mainly includes scholarly monographs, higher education text books, encyclopedias, and journals.

For further information on URD Press scholarly monographs, higher education text books, and encyclopedias, visit http://press.urd.ac.ir/. For further information on URD Press journals, visit http://journals.urd.ac.ir/.