Iranian higher education institutions have been authorized to extend the deadline for graduate thesis and dissertation defenses to May 5, 2026.
Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology has granted universities and higher education institutes the authority to extend the defense deadlines for graduate theses, dissertations, and proposals for the first semester of the 1404-1405 academic year. According to the official state news agency IRNA, the new deadline has been pushed to May 5, 2026 (15 Ordibehesht 1405).
Directive number 343073, issued on March 18, 2026 (27 Esfand 1404), officially delegates this authority to university administrations. To implement the extension, universities must strictly observe regulations related to the public military service of male students and prevent the simultaneous enrollment of newly admitted students, IRNA reports.
Khorasan Online confirmed the announcement, noting that a previous directive issued on January 26, 2026, had originally set the defense deadline for the end of the Persian year 1404 (late March 2026).This administrative update from the Ministry was issued just days after the onset of widespread US and Israeli airstrikes targeting Iranian infrastructure, military sites, and regime leadership, which began on March 16, 2026.
IRNA is the official state news agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Its reporting reflects standard administrative directives of the state. The background context regarding the ongoing US/Israeli military campaign in Iran is incorporated to contextualize the timing of the March 18 directive, strictly adhering to the anti-speculation rule by presenting the timing chronologically without assuming the strikes were the direct cause of the deadline extension.