Art University of Isfahan was established in 1977 as (Isfahan Pardis College) in the heart of Isfahan, the city of Art and Architecture in central Iran. In the first years of academic activity, Pardis was a part of Farabi University, Tehran. This college was the first national center in the field of conservation, and its primary aim was to educate and train specialized artists and engineers in the field of restoration and conservation of historical artifacts and monuments and architectures.

The college re-started its activity 4 years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In 1990 the college became independent from Art University of Tehran (Farabi University) and 10 years later, in 2000 the college became accreditation as a University with 5 majors in undergraduate level in the fields of fine arts and architecture, and 3 majors in architecture and conservation in graduate level.

.Due to its settlement in historical houses and monuments in the city of Isfahan, an ideal artistic and architectural environment has been provided as the campus for its students