[5] Today, Funding for the University of Tabriz is provided by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology.

The history of the higher education in Tabriz, well known for being a cradle of civilization for centuries, goes back to 720 years ago when the Rab' l-Rashidi international complex was founded.

Today, the university provides both undergraduate and graduate programs in 22 main departments.

[8] Undergraduate admission to the University of Tabriz is limited to the top 3 percent of students who pass the national entrance examination administered annually by the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology.

The participants of this exam must answer the questions of physics, mathematics and chemistry well in order to get admission.

The master and doctorate exams are similar and the participants answer the specialized questions of their fields.

As such, many students of University of Tabriz believe their grades do not reflect their academic performance.

Sixteen faculty members were among one percent top scientists of the world in 2021.

[25] Times Higher Education World University Rankings in 2022[citation needed] Academic Ranking of World Universities in 2022[26] U.S.News Subject Ranking in 2024[27] Due to its research work, the university is recognized as a Center of Excellence for six fields: Geographical Studies of Northwest Iran; Biology; Mechatronics; Molecular Plant Breeding; New Materials and Clean Chemistry; and Photonics and Plasma.