The American University of Central Asia (AUCA) (russian: Американский университет в Центральной Азии; ky, Борбордук Азиядагы Америка Университети), formerly the ''Kyrgyz-American School'' and the ''American University in Kyrgyzstan'', is a

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

located in Bishkek, the capital of the republic of

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

History

AUCA began its existence in 1993 as the ''Kyrgyz-American School'' (KAS), a specialist school within the

Kyrgyz State National University The Kyrgyz National University, named after Jusup Balasagyn ( ky, Жусуп Баласагын атындагы Кыргыз Улуттук Университети; russian: Киргизский национальный университет ...

(KSNU) in Bishkek. In 1997, it was established as an independent institution and given a new name, the ''American University in Kyrgyzstan'' (AUK). Funding was provided by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

government and the

Open Society Institute Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with a st ...

(an

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

established by Hungarian philanthropist

George Soros George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...

). One of its founders was

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

attorney and journalist Scott Horton. In 2002, AUCA adopted its current name, to reflect both that its student body was drawn from many countries, and the university's goal was to serve the entire region. While the university focuses on offering higher education opportunities to Central Asian students, its student body and faculty increasingly come from all over Asia and other parts of the world. In March 2010, AUCA established a partnership with

Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 1860, ...

located in

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

in the United States. The partnership allows students of American Studies, Anthropology, Economics, European Studies, International and Comparative Politics, Journalism and Mass Communications, Psychology, Sociology, and Software Engineering programs to receive liberal arts degrees fully accredited in the US. According to the

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

accreditation report, "AUCA is the first higher education institution in Central Asia that functions according to the American model, with a credit-hour system, an American-style

curriculum, and a commitment to democratic values, freedom of expression and inquiry, and academic integrity and honesty." The university is chartered in Kyrgyzstan and is authorized by the Kyrgyz Ministry of Education to offer the Kyrgyz National Diploma in eleven undergraduate programs and one graduate program, an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

. AUCA also offers American-style diplomas, and students are required to take courses in both

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Old Campus

American University of Central Asia, Bishkek (2005)

The former main building of American University of Central Asia was constructed in the 1930s and was used by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Kirghiz SSR, and by the Supreme Soviet of the

Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic The Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirghiz SSR; ky, Кыргыз Советтик Социалисттик Республикасы, Kyrgyz Sovettik Sotsialisttik Respublikasy, ky, Кыргыз ССР, Kyrgyz SSR, russian: Киргизск ...

. Portraits of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

, and

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' In 2008 Ishak Masaliev, then a Kyrgyz parliament member from the

Party of Communists of Kyrgyzstan The Party of Communists of Kyrgyzstan, ''Partiya Kommunistov Kirgizii'', abbr. PKK is a communist party in Kyrgyzstan, founded on 22 June 1992. It publishes the daily newspaper ''Pravda Kyrgyzstana'' (russian: Правда Кыргызста ...

, called to change the location of AUCA, because of the "historic value" of the current main building.

New Campus

The new building has four stories, centered around a forum that serves as the main meeting place. The main building uses

geothermal heating Geothermal heating is the direct use of geothermal energy for some heating applications. Humans have taken advantage of geothermal heat this way since the Paleolithic era. Approximately seventy countries made direct use of a total of 270 PJ of ...

and

rainwater harvesting Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), aquifer, or a reservoir ...

to reduce its environmental impact. The building was designed by New York based architect Henry Myerberg and opened in 2015.

Academic programs

Preparatory programs

The university offers full-time and part-time programs to prepare students for university study. The programs include an intensive course of English language learning and university-level academic classes.

Undergraduate programs

The university offers American-style

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degrees in 15 undergraduate programs: *

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

, technology and international development *

Applied geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

Applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemati ...

and informatics * Business administration *

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

Environmental sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

and

climate science Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "place, zone"; and , '' -logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. This modern field of stu ...

European studies European studies is a field of study offered by many academic colleges and universities that focuses on current developments in European integration. Some programmes offer a social science or public administration curriculum focusing on develop ...

International International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

and

comparative politics Comparative politics is a field in political science characterized either by the use of the ''comparative method'' or other empirical methods to explore politics both within and between countries. Substantively, this can include questions relatin ...

and business law * Liberal Arts and Sciences or Liberal arts education *

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

and mass communication *

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

Software engineering Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term '' ...

* Television, cinema and

media arts New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of electronic media technologies, comprising virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video games, robotics, 3D pri ...

The university's General Education Program offers units from a core curriculum, that may be taken towards credits in any undergraduate program.

Graduate programs

In addition to its undergraduate programs, AUCA offers professional programs in ten of Kyrgyzstan's "most needed specialties." These are: *

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

** Anthropology,

Urbanism Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning, which is the profession focusing on the physical design and ...

and International Development ** Applied psychology **

Central Asian studies Central Asian studies is the discipline of studying the culture, history, and languages of Central Asia. The roots of Central Asian studies as a social science discipline goes to 19th century Anglo-Russian Great Game. During the 19th century, C ...

** Journalism ** Sociology *

Master of Arts in Teaching The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) or Master of Science in Teaching (MST) degree is generally a pre-service degree that usually requires a minimum of 30 semester hours beyond the bachelor's degree. While the program often requires education ...

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

(MBA) *

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

(LL.M.) * Master of Science in Economics Program (MSc) * Master in Talent Management and Human Potential Development

Library

AUCA Library provides information resources and services in support of teaching, learning and research. The library holds about 60,000 items in its print collection of books, textbooks, manuscripts and other materials. The library provides access to 24 online databases. The Library of AUCA partnered with Kyrgyz Libraries Information Consortium in 2006 to initiate Open Access in Kyrgyzstan. The American University of Central Asia acted as the pilot university for the Electronic Archive program. Today, the library offers open access to 21 different resources, all listed on the website.

Rankings

American University of Central Asia was ranked 138th among 449 universities from countries of the emerging Europe and Central Asia region in

Quacquarelli Symonds Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) is a British company specialising in the analysis of higher education institutions around the world. The company was founded in 1990 by Nunzio Quacquarelli. History On 5 October 2017, QS Quacquarelli Symonds acquired Ho ...

EECA

University Rankings College and university rankings order the best institutions in higher education based on factors that vary depending on the ranking. Some rankings evaluate institutions within a single country, while others assess institutions worldwide. Rankings ...

of 2022.

Governance

Presidents

* John Clark - 1997-2000 * David Huwiler - 2000-2004 * John D. Dreier - 2004-2005 * Ellen Hurwitz - 2005-2010 * Andrew Wachtel - 2010-2018 * Jonathan Becker - 2018-2019 *

Andrew Kuchins Andrew Carrigan Kuchins is an Americans, American political scientist, academic, and former head of American University of Central Asia. He has held senior positions at several think tanks, including Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Ce ...

- 2019-2021 * Jonathan Becker - 2021-present

Provosts

* Kamilla Sharshekeeva 1997-2003 * Gulnara Aitbaeva 2003-2006 *

Bakyt Beshimov Bakyt Beshimov (russian: Бактыбек Жолчубекович Бешимов; born 1954) is a leader of parliamentary fraction and deputy chairman of Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan. Bakyt Beshimov is a prominent opposition leader, famo ...

2006-2008

Gallery

File:AUCAHillary1000.jpg, Hillary Clinton delivering her speech during her visit to AUCA on November 11, 1997 File:AUCA-Soros300.jpg, Financer and philanthropist George Soros congratulates a new graduate at the Commencement ceremony of 2003 File:Vladimir Pozner by Augustas Didzgalvis.jpg, Vladimir Posner, Russian journalist and memorable spokesman for the Soviets, delivering a master class for AUCA students. File:KjellMagneBondevik.JPG, Kjell Magne Bondevik, Former Prime Minister of Norway, delivered a public lecture on Parliamentary Democracy. File:John Kerry at AUCA.jpg, John Kerry at the opening ceremony of the AUCA new campus on October 31, 2015 File:General David Petraeus crop.jpg,

David Petraeus David Howell Petraeus (; born November 7, 1952) is a retired United States Army general and public official. He served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 6, 2011, until his resignation on November 9, 2012. Prior to ...

CIA Director-designate in AUCA Library.