About Us
The UCLA Program of Iranian Studies was established at UCLA in the early 1960s as a doctoral program largely inspired by European precedents. After a bachelor’s degree was introduced in 1989, the Program began to attract young scholars interested in the newly formed undergraduate philological and historical curriculum.
Today, the Program of Iranian Studies continues to educate a large number of students, offering a wide range of courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels including Old and Middle Iranian languages, Old Iranian literary traditions, ancient Iranian religions, ancient Iranian history, and classical Persian literature and culture. Old Persian cuneiform and Avestan are taught at the elementary and advanced levels as are Parthian, Pahlavi, and Bactrian. Also offered are: a General Education (M60) course on Achaemenid Civilization and the Empire of Alexander; a General Education (M55) course on Gender and Sexuality in Arts and Literatures of Iran and the Middle East; a year-long upper division survey (M110 A–C) on the history of the Achaemenid, Arsacid, and Sasanian empires; as well as an introductory course on the history of Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism. In addition, courses in elementary, intermediate, and advanced Persian are taught, including graduate seminars on classical Persian poetics and prose. Coursework on Judeo-Persian and Baha’i studies is also offered.
The UCLA Program of Iranian Studies has been successful in securing academic positions for its PhD graduates at prestigious institutions such as UC Berkeley, Columbia University, Harvard University, and Stanford University.