Iranian Studies at UCLA encompasses two tracks. The Persian track covers the New Persian language, literatures, and Islamic philosophy, while the Old Iranian track deals with the languages, literary traditions, history, and religions of Ancient, pre-Islamic, Iran.

Whereas the Persian track is primarily embedded in the history and culture of the Muslim world and requires a thorough knowledge of Arabic and Arabic literature, the Iranian track is mainly directed towards students interested in the languages and cultures of the Ancient world, notably, the Ancient Near East (Assyria, Babylonia, and Elam), the Greco-Roman world, as well as Indo European and Indic studies.

Undergraduate and graduate concentrators in Iranian Studies, notwithstanding their chosen track, are required to become well acquainted with the core tenets of the Iranian civilization. An excellent command of Persian and Classical Persian literature is expected to be acquired, along with a solid knowledge of Old and Middle Persian (for graduate students), as well as a keen understanding of Iranian history and religions. The set aim of the Iranian Studies program at UCLA is to instruct young men and women to become generalists, that is, well versed in all the variegated aspects of the Iranian civilization.

The Iranian Studies program at UCLA, endowed with the Musa Sabi Term Chair of Iranian (one of the few chairs of Iranian Studies in the Americas), is one of the handful programs in the world that cover the entire spectrum of Iranian Studies, and offers courses embracing the languages and cultures of Pre-Islamic and Muslim Iran.

Among other distinctive strengths of the Iranian Studies program at UCLA is the focus on medieval Persian and Arabic philosophy, in particular, on Suhrawardi's Philosophy of Illumination. It is the program's aspiration to complement the pronounced philosophical orientation of Iranian Studies at UCLA with course offerings on the philosophical tenets of pre-Islamic Iran, as manifest from the Zoroastrian Middle Persian writings (Pahlavi texts).

Another focal point of the Iranian Studies program at UCLA is the study of Ancient Iranian history, making it one of the few institutions throughout the world offering, in conjunction with the Department of History at UCLA, regular lectures on the history of Ancient Elam, as well as on the Mede, Achaemenid, Arsacid, and Sasanian, empires. Our students' understanding of the Ancient world is further enhanced and complemented by introductory lectures on the religions and religious practices in Ancient Iran: from Zoroastrianism to the so-called "Mazdakite movement."

The endowment of the Habib Levy Distinguished Visiting Professorship has led to the intensification of the Iranian Studies Program's focus on Judeo-Persian with the declared aim to train doctoral candidates for the purpose of invigorating this important, but neglected, field of inquiry.