Nasr is university professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. Before that he served as professor of Islamic studies at Temple University. He also has taught at Princeton University, American University of Beirut, Tehran University and Harvard University.
Nasr's early learning in Tehran, Iran, emphasized a classical education in religion and Persian literature. He received a doctorate in history of science and philosophy, with an emphasis on Islamic science, at Harvard University. He also receiveda master's in geology and geophysics at Harvard. He received a bachelor's in physics and mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Nasr has held a number of positions in educational and cultural organizations. Among them, he served as chief adviser of the Al-Furqan Foundation in the United Kingdom in 1991, was responsible for the exhibition of Islamic science at the London Science Museum in 1976, was a member of the organizing committee of the First Muslim WorldEducational Conference in Mecca in 1975-77, and was founder and first president of the Iranian Academy of Philosophy.
At Aryamehr University, he served as president, 1972-75. At Tehran University, he was vice chancellor, 1970-71, and dean of the faculty of letters, 1968-72.
Nasr was the first Muslim to present the Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh. He has written more than 40 books and hundreds of articles, many translated into a number of languages.