PhD admissions system in Iran and in top 3 universities: A comparative stud

The present paper aims to investigate the differences and similarities of the PhD admissions systems in Iran and the leading universities in terms of objectives, desired qualities as well as entry requirements. In doing so, descriptive-comparative method was applied. Consulting with the Shanghai Ranking, the graduate admissions systems of the top three universities, i.e. Harvard University, Stanford University, and the University of Cambridge along with the Iranian PhD admission system were examined. To gather data, documentations and universities’ websites were examined. In addition, we corresponded with the graduate admission office of each university. Beredy’s method or framework was used to analyze data. Findings show: All graduate admissions systems look for highly qualified applicants. Additionally, the Iranian PhD system pursues other objectives as well. With regard to desired qualities, all graduate admissions systems look for a wide range of academic and non-academic qualities in the applicants. The Iranian PhD admissions system, however, seems to take less account of non-cognitive qualities. With regard to entry requirements, all graduate admissions systems utilize a variety of measurements to screen out applicants, but the entry requirements used in the Iranian PhD admissions system are flawed in terms of reliability, validity and relevance. Finally, some implications are offered.