An investigation by Iran Election Watch found no evidence that Iranian presidential candidate Hassan Rowhani received a PhD from the University of Glasgow as stated in his official biography. In April 2013, Rowhani's think tank, the Center for Strategic Research, asked Iran Election Watch to publish a correction, and had already changed Rowhani's degree from the "University of Glasgow" to the less prestigious "Glasgow Caledonian University" following the investigation. The University of Glasgow and Glasgow Caledonian University are separate institutions of differing global stature.

1. 10/27/2014 Iran Election Watch investigation leads to correction of official bio for presidential candidate | Iran Election Watch
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Iran Election Watch investigation leads to
correction of official bio for presidential
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Four months after an Iran Election Watch investigation, a think tank run by presidential
candidate Hassan Rowhani has corrected his official biography, which had claimed
Rowhani obtained a Ph.D. from the prestigious University of Glasgow. The think tank has
now asked Iran Election Watch to “publish a correction.”
Until recently, Rowhani’s bio on that
website claimed he had graduated from the
internationally acclaimed University of
Glasgow. For years, journalists and
scholars who profiled, researched or
interviewed Rowhani had noted as a
matter of fact that Rowhani held a Ph.D.
from that university.
After extensive reporting, Iran Election
Watch ran two stories in January noting it
found no evidence that Rowhani ever received a degree from the University of Glasgow.
Rowhani is Iran’s former chief nuclear negotiator and currently heads the Tehran-based
think tank, the Center for Strategic Research (CSR). He officially registered last week to run
in Iran’s 2013 presidential election.
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CSR wrote Iran Election Watch on April 14 regarding our website’s January reporting on
Rowhani’s academic past. The think tank clarified that the “correct university is GCU
(Glasgow Caledonian University) [and] not University of Glasgow, according to Rouhani
[Rowhani]’s biography on his personal website and his resume on [the] CSR website.”
Screenshot of the email Iran Election Watch received from the Center for Strategic Research in Tehran.
After receiving CSR’s request for a correction, Iran Election Watch looked into the matter
further. We found that CSR had itself corrected Rowhani’s official biography following our
January stories. Despite asking Iran Election Watch for a correction, the think tank had
changed Rowhani’s graduate degree granting institution from the “University of Glasgow”
to “Glasgow Caledonian University” in April 2013.
Screenshots below from the same page, in Farsi, show the changes with dates:

3. 10/27/2014 Iran Election Watch investigation leads to correction of official bio for presidential candidate | Iran Election Watch
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First screenshot from January 24, 2013.

4. 10/27/2014 Iran Election Watch investigation leads to correction of official bio for presidential candidate | Iran Election Watch
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Second screenshot from May 15, 2013.
The University of Glasgow and Glasgow Caledonian University are separate institutions
with different levels of international stature. The University of Glasgow is one of oldest
universities in the English-speaking world. Glasgow Caledonian University was established
in 1993 and has considerably less global standing.
The Guardian ranked 120 British universities earlier this year. The University of Glasgow
placed 14th while Glasgow Caledonian University ranked 91st.
Published on May 16, 2013 [http://iranelectionwatch.com/iran-election-watch-investigation-leads-to-
correction-of-official-bio-for-presidential-candidate/]
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