Iran splits degree recognition between two ministries. The Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (MSRT), through its Student Affairs Organisation, grades foreign universities A, B or C for every non-medical field. The Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) keeps its own annual list of foreign universities for medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and the other medical fields. A TRNC degree counts in Iran only as far as the university's place on the relevant list allows, and the graduate still submits apostilled transcripts and credentials.
What's documented
Ministry of Science list (non-medical fields)
On the Ministry of Science list announced on 5 December 2023 (147 countries, 2,290 universities), Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) and Near East University (NEU) are in group C (متوسط, "average"). Group C counts for bachelor's and master's degrees. It does not count for a PhD: since 22 June 2019 a doctorate is evaluated only from group A or B universities, so for a student admitted to a group C university after that date the documents are evaluated at most at master's level. Cyprus International University (CIU), Girne American University (GAU), Bahçeşehir Cyprus University (BAU), Final International University (FIU) and the University of Kyrenia were not on the list we read. We read it from a copy updated on 14 October 2026 (raahjoo.com), because the ministry's own sites do not load from Cyprus; confirm your university's row on grad.saorg.ir from Iran.
Medicine and pharmacy (Ministry of Health)
MOHME publishes its own list of foreign universities accepted for medical fields each year, separate from the Ministry of Science list. NEU states on its own accreditations page that MOHME accredits its health departments. That is the university's claim: we could not open MOHME's current list from Cyprus to confirm it. NEU also lists WFME on the same page. The World Directory of Medical Schools lists the medical schools of NEU, CIU, GAU and the University of Kyrenia, and states that a listing does not denote recognition. NEU and EMU hold ACPE (US) accreditation for pharmacy, which carries weight internationally but does not replace the MOHME list.
Engineering
For engineering and every other non-medical field, the Ministry of Science group decides: EMU and NEU are group C. EMU holds ABET accreditation across eight engineering disciplines at BSc level, Middle East Technical University Northern Cyprus Campus (METU NCC) holds ABET for several undergraduate engineering programmes, NEU holds ENAEE and EUR-ACE recognition for its Faculty of Engineering, and European University of Lefke (EUL) holds EUR-ACE. These are quality signals for employers and for study elsewhere; they do not change a university's group on the Ministry's list.
What to verify yourself
- From Iran, open the Ministry of Science list on grad.saorg.ir and find your university's group, and keep a dated copy from the year you enrol.
- Planning a PhD: choose a group A or B university. A doctorate from a group C university is evaluated at most at master's level.
- Medicine, dentistry or pharmacy: check MOHME's current list of foreign universities for the university and faculty by name, and ask NEU for a copy of the MOHME accreditation it cites.
- Ask your intended university for written confirmation that its specific programme (not just the faculty) holds the accreditation cited, including current validity dates.
- Arrange apostille and certified Persian translation of all credentials before returning to Iran — MSRT and MOHME both require this.
MOHME: https://behdasht.gov.ir/ — MSRT: https://www.msrt.ir/en — Student Affairs Organisation: https://grad.saorg.ir/