BIHE - Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education

The Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) was founded in 1987 in response to the Iranian government's continuing campaign to deny Iranian Bahá'ís access to higher education. As its graduates excel in post-graduate studies internationally, BIHE's commitment to high academic standards, international collaboration, and an innovative teaching and learning environment is being increasingly recognized. BIHE offers 56 university-level programs across five faculties and continues to develop and deliver academic programs in Sciences, Engineering, Business and Management, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

Faced with unrelenting religious persecution involving a wide range of human rights violations, including systematic denial of access to higher education, BIHE developed several unique features which have become its defining strengths. Courses delivered at the outset only by correspondence, were soon complemented by in-person classes and tutoring. Over time, this was accompanied by leading-edge communication and education technologies. In addition, an affiliated global faculty (AGF) has been established comprised of hundreds of professors from accredited universities outside Iran who support BIHE as researchers, instructors, and consultants.

The need to create a new university for those who were denied access to higher education captivated the minds of exceptional faculty and staff from within Iran. For over thirty-five years they have offered their talents and dedicated their efforts to building an exemplary institution and cultivating a student body prepared for fulfilling careers, further studies, and social responsibilities. BIHE provides its students with the necessary knowledge and skills not only to persevere and succeed in their academic and professional pursuits, but to be active agents of change for the betterment of the world.