American University of Central Asia is an international, multi-disciplinary learning community in the American liberal arts tradition. Its curriculum includes the Preparatory Program, twelve undergraduate majors and two graduate programs. In addition to its top-flight academic programs, AUCA is committed to freedom of expression, critical inquiry and academic honesty. AUCA is the first university in Central Asia to offer US accredited degrees in liberal arts through a partnership with Bard College in the United States. In addition to Bard, AUCA maintains partnerships with a number of universities and organizations worldwide. Of particular importance is our partnership with American University in Afghanistan. We now offer classes taught jointly with AUAF faculty and attended by students from both universities, using a virtual classroom funded by a grant from USAID.

AUCA and Bard College have created a partnership that, by granting Bard degrees to AUCA graduates in nine academic disciplines, will improve the quality of education at AUCA. The two institutions strive to create a new generation of students who believe that they can both do good and do well over a lifetime of learning and work.

AUCA is particularly proud of its reputation for academic honesty, both among individual students and faculty. The university has in place all the necessary safeguards to steward large grants, as we have demonstrated both with completed grants from organizations such as the Open Society Institute, USAID, the Mellon Foundation as well as with current grants, including a $2.7M grant awarded by USAID in fall, 2010. AUCA is proud, through the work of its Social Research Center, to have partnered on sponsored research projects with (among others) the Open Society Institute, the Soros Foundation, the Aga Khan Foundation, USAID, UNICEF, DFID, and many others.

The success of AUCA is evident in its 2,200 graduates, who continue their education at well-respected universities like Harvard, Yale, Indiana University, the Sorbonne and Central European University. AUCA graduates can also be found working at prestigious organizations across the globe, including the BBC, Citibank, Cisco Systems, Deloitte & Touche, Google, IBM, USAID, World Bank and many more.

AUCA is on the move, and looks confidently to a future of further innovation, collaboration and outreach. The undergraduate program will move to a new, state of the art, campus starting in fall 2013. AUCA is also acquiring a dormitory to attract and expand its cohort of international students, especially from Europe and the United States. AUCA is developing new programs to meet the needs of the community it serves, including the first Master’s Degrees in the region to be offered in Development Economics and Sustainable Development, as well as an expansion of its Continuing Education program with courses in civic education, retraining of military, and a new satellite campus in the southern Kyrgyzstan city of Osh.

AUCA has been opening doors for students in Central Asia for over 15 years, and will continue to strive to provide the best education to those students who want to change their world for the better.