The USC Department of Arts Research admits students at master and Ph.D. levels. Its courses are mainly about art studies, history and sociology of art, introduction to art texts and artistic discourse.

It aims to encourage the students to develop more interest in and do research on arts. Its main purpose is to familiarize the students with the problems plaguing the art arena of the country and find solutions for them.

The graduates would have the opportunity to work in universities, research centers and art and culture institutes. Tehran University of Art was the first Iranian university to offer degrees in arts research in 1997. The University of Science and Culture admitted its first students of arts research in 2007. At present, 19 governmental universities and some branches of Islamic Azad University offer degrees in arts research in Iran.