Payame Noor University (PNU) is a state distance education university with the headquarters based in Tehran, 32 provincial centers, 500 local study centers and campuses all around the country and one International Study Center located in the headquarters. Established in 1988, PNU is a legal body under the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology.

PNU took its first intake at 5 study fields at 28 local study centers remained from Abureihane Birouni University and Islamic Azad University. Presently, the university has 3,500 academic members and 1,000,000 students.