Opportunities and Challenges of internationalization the curriculum at Al-Zahra University

The main aim of the present research was the analysis of opportunities and challenges of internationalization of higher education at Al-Zahra University. The research method was qualitative and its strategy was content analysis. The participants of this research indicated all professors and managers of Al-Zahra University. Afterwards, 22 faculty members were selected by use of a purposeful snowball sampling method. Data were analyzed using semi-structured interviews and data analysis was conducted based on content analysis. Challenges to curriculum internationalization were considered into two main categories: external and internal organizational factors. External factors included contextual and pressing factors, and intra-organizational factors contained the categories of educational process, administrative and executive process, and services and support. Opportunities for internationalization of the curriculum included "disciplines derived from rich Iranian civilization and culture", "common courses", "graduate courses" and "virtual and electronic courses opportunities for internationalization of the curriculum". In conclusion, the results showed that internationalization at Al-Zahra University offers a range of opportunities and constraints, therefore, it is suggested  that the use of these  opportunity to improve international relations.