Center for Women and Family Studies

Introduction

The Women's and Family Studies Center at the University of Tehran (formerly known as the Center for Women's Studies and Research) was established as a research center in 2001 (1380 in the Iranian calendar). It began scientific and research activities aimed at identifying, examining, and offering solutions to the issues faced by Iranian women. The center operates with the goal of guiding, organizing, expanding, and promoting studies and research in the fields of women and family at both national and international levels. Since 2004 (1383), following the approval of the University of Tehran’s Board of Trustees, in addition to conducting research activities and recognizing the impact of graduate education on advancing research, the center has been responsible for training Master's degree students in Women's Studies and has admitted several cohorts of students. The initial statute of the center was signed as an agreement between the University of Tehran and the Center for Women's Participation Affairs of the Presidential Office (now the Vice Presidency of Women and Family Affairs) by the then-President of the University of Tehran.

Scope of Activities of the Center
The center's activities cover three main areas: research, education, and publication of scientific outputs. These include conducting research projects related to women and family at national and international levels, organizing specialized conferences and seminars, conducting training workshops, training specialized human resources at the Master's level, and publishing scientific-research journals. The center is composed of the Management section, Research Committee, Publications, Commission for Collaborative Scientific Cooperation with internal and external organizations and institutions, as well as administrative and financial units. An International Relations unit was added later. These departments are responsible for educational activities of the Women's Studies Master's program, interaction and collaboration with domestic and international organizations, conducting research projects, designing and implementing short courses and workshops, and organizing specialized conferences and seminars. It is noteworthy that the center’s goals, policies, and overall strategy are defined by its Policy Council, which consists of the President of the University of Tehran, the Head of the Women's and Family Studies Center, the Vice President for Research at the University, and the Vice President for Education and Graduate Studies.

Head of the Center
The head of the center is appointed by the President of the University of Tehran for a term of three years.

Members of the Research Committee
The research committee members include the head of the center, permanent faculty members of the center, the center's senior research expert, a representative from the University’s Research Vice Presidency, and a faculty member representing various faculties of the University of Tehran. The committee members focus their activities on five research groups.

The Women's and Family Studies Center of the University of Tehran is the publisher of the scientific-research quarterly journal Women's Studies Research, which has published many issues to date. This journal is published each season in accordance with the statute of scientific-research journals approved by the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology. It is worth mentioning that the Women's Studies Research journal has received several certificates of appreciation for achieving top ranks in scientific festivals at the university and ministry levels. For instance, according to the statistics of the Regional Information Center for Science and Technology, the journal achieved first place in 2006 (1385) and second place in 2007 (1386) among scientific-research journals of the University of Tehran.

Given the esteemed position that the Women's Studies Research journal earned among journals in the field of women’s studies and in line with the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology's policy to specialize journal content, the Women's Studies Research journal was divided into two scientific-research biannual journals titled Women in Development and Politics and Women in Culture and Arts. Also, with the approval of the respected President of the University of Tehran, several issues of another scientific-research journal in English have been published at the Women's and Family Studies Center.

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