An Iranian operator monitors the nuclear power plant unit in Bushehr, about 1,215 km (755 miles) south of Tehran, November 30, 2009. Russia plans to start up Iran's first nuclear power station in March 2010 to coincide with the Iranian New Year, two
An Iranian operator monitors the nuclear power plant unit in Bushehr, about 1,215 km (755 miles) south of Tehran, November 30, 2009. Russia plans to start up Iran's first nuclear power station in March 2010 to coincide with the Iranian New Year, two sources closely involved with the project told Reuters. Russia agreed in 1995 to build the 1,000 megawatt nuclear power plant at Bushehr on the Gulf coast in south-western Iran, but delays have haunted the $1 billion project and diplomats say Moscow has used it as a lever in relations with Tehran. Picture taken on November 30, 2009. REUTERS/ISNA/Mehdi Ghasemi REUTERS/ISNA/Mehdi Ghasemi

Beginning February 2015, the University of Massachusetts (UMass) in Amherst has stopped Iranian students from enrolling in engineering and science courses at the graduate school level.

Covered by the policy are the graduate courses on Chemical Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Microbiology and Polymer Science & Engineering.

The university cited Washington sanctions on visas given to Iranians who want to enroll in specific graduate degrees. Gizmondo points out that UMass is the only public university to implement the ban.

The legal basis of the schools in imposing the ban is Section 501 of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 that prohibits the State Department from granting visas to Iranians who seek higher education that would prepare them for a career in Iran’s energy, nuclear science and nuclear engineering sectors as well as related fields.

Huffington Post reports that UMass Amherst removed the policy on Friday morning after it was heavily criticised on social media but by the same afternoon reinstated the policy.

To gather support against the policy, the Iranian Graduate Student Association and Persian Student Association in the university opened a Facebook page.

In a statement on Tuesday, the two student groups said they felt distressed, betrayed and worried over the impact of the UMass policy on family and friends who want to study in the university. The said the policy is arbitrary, discriminatory and should not be tolerated.

“Coming to America as an Iranian is already difficult, and now UMass has made it much more intricate, with little explanation. UMass Amherst is voluntarily pushing us as a collective, because of what our home government does,” the students said.

About 79 percent of Iranians in the US enroll in natural science courses.

Besides UMass, the Virginia Commonwealth University has a similar policy, according to Inside Higher Ed.

To contact the writer, email: v.hernandez@ibtimes.com.au