In the early twentieth century, many architecture schools worldwide adopted the École des Beaux-Arts teaching methods and structure. Iran, led by a newly formed modernist government and strongly influenced by France’s cultural politics in the Middle East, was among those that adopted the Beaux-Arts system. The École played a crucial role in educating the first generation of Iranian architects, and its graduates were instrumental in professionalising architectural education by establishing the first school of art and architecture, the Faculty of Fine Arts, at Tehran University. This paper explores the agency of the Beaux-Arts in the establishment of formal and Western-based architectural education in Iran. It begins with a brief historical background and overview of Franco-Iranian cultural connections, which resulted in the arrival of Beaux-Arts graduates in Iran. It then delves into the marginalised status of traditional master builders [me’mars] and thoroughly examines the influence of Beaux-Arts on the professionalisation of architectural education in Iran. A comparative study between the Faculty of Fine Arts in Tehran and the École des Beaux-Arts reveals, on the one hand, the seamless adaptation of the Beaux-Arts educational system, and, on the other, the Beaux-Arts contribution to the dissemination of the French cultural agenda in Iran up to the 1960s.