AUK is Unique

The American University in Kyrgyzstan is unlike any other institution in Central Asia-or, for that matter, in all of the CIS. It is the first and only higher education institution in the region that functions according to the American model, with a credit-hour system, an American-style curriculum, and a commitment to democratic values, to freedom of expression and inquiry, and to academic integrity and honesty.

AUK enjoys an excellent reputation, both regionally and internationally, for academic excellence. AUK offers high quality undergraduate programs in Austrian & German Studies, British & American Studies, Business Administration, Economics, French Studies, International Relations, Journalism, Kyrgyz Studies, Law, Psychology, Sociology, Software Engineering. The University also offers an MBA. The quality of our programs has been recognized both nationally and internationally. Graduates of AUK receive both an American and a Kyrgyz National Diploma.

AUK recognizes that in order to be successful in today's increasingly interdependent world graduates must have a global perspective and must possess an appreciation and tolerance for a more diverse society. Therefore, AUK is an international community of teachers and students, and the University builds bridges between the East and West. AUK enrolls students from around the world, including all of the countries of Central Asia, Russia, Ukraine, the Baltics, Turkey, China, Korea, the United States, Canada, Iran, Lebanon the Netherlands, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Azerbaijan. The University is open to students of exceptional ability from any country, regardless of their age, sex, religion, or physical limitations. The faculty of AUK is also multinational, coming from the United States, Russia, Great Britain, Canada, Egypt, Germany, Romania, Italy, France, Greece, Australia, Korea, Japan, and Turkey and, of course, Kyrgyzstan.

Education at AUK consists of more than gathering knowledge and facts. It emphasizes critical thinking, problem solving, interpretation, learning through experience, and reflection. AUK is an institution that provides a foundation for lifetime learning and intellectual and personal growth.

Instruction at the University is delivered in both English and Russian, and competence in both languages is required for the successful completion of studies at AUK. Those who are qualified to enter the University but who need further work to master either language are enrolled in special preparatory programs that usually last one year. Those needing further help are offered extra instruction in the required language during the freshman year.

Location and Campus

The American University in Kyrgyzstan is located in the heart of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. Our urban campus is surrounded by the tranquility of Oak Park, the city's central libraries, theaters, museums, and imposing governmental structures. The atmosphere is cosmopolitan, and there are many cafes, theaters, galleries, and shops within easy walking distance from campus.

AUK's main building, the centerpiece of our campus, is the historic former meeting hall of the Supreme Soviet of the former Kirgiz SSR. Today our faculty meetings and school dances are watched over by the stern visages of Lenin, Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels. It is the university's intention to preserve this room in its present condition as a reminder of Kyrgyzstan's rich history.

AUK Students

American University is attracting some of the best students in the region and is becoming known as the place where Central Asia's next generation of leadership is being trained. AUK students have done extraordinarily well at international competitions, and they have also successfully made the transition to some of the best graduate schools in the world, as well as to rewarding careers.

Four AUK students have transferred to Georgetown University. One, Evgenia Kamisheva, graduated as the Marshall (highest achieving student - average 3.917) in the School of Business, and returned to Kyrgyzstan.

1. Seventy AUK students (many times the number from any other Kyrgyz university, although most others are substantially larger) have passed exams for international accounting standards, through programs offered by the Carana Corporation, a USAID contractor. One of our graduates is the first - and only - CPA in Kyrgyzstan. With these credentials, they will be able to help fledgling corporations in Kyrgyzstan (the first CIS country to join the WTO) to operate in the international marketplace.

2. AUK students are regular contributors to local papers such as Vechernii Bishkek and to Internet journals concerned with Central Asia, such as Central Asia and Caucasus Analyst. AUK graduate Vaselina Bragko works full time as the Editor for Kyrgyz Regional News for The Times of Central Asia, an English-language paper published in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

3. Three of the students in AUK's first entering class attended the University of Nebraska and were exposed to SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise), a program designed to teach college students to work in teams to initiate fundraising and humanitarian projects, and then to present them to a panel of judges. They returned to Kyrgyzstan to initiate the first international SIFE projects, and subsequently won both Rookie of the Year and second place (both in 1996) in the competition in the US. As a result of AUK's pioneering efforts, the SIFE program now has been adopted by several other universities in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, and recently by institutions in Uzbekistan and Russia as well.

4. AUK students founded the club, KSTAN (Kyrgyzstan - Service To All Needs) to address social service needs. They have collected money for children at orphanages, organized parties for the children, and traveled to orphanage there on a weekly basis to teach the children English. Recently they distributed trash receptacles around busy areas in central Bishkek and collected money for a children's cancer hospital.

5. AUK students have been accepted at, are enrolled in or have completed graduate school at Yale (MBA), the University of Indiana (Bloomington), the London School of Economics, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts), Hamburg University (Germany), the University of Nebraska, Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis, Central European University (Budapest), and Ball State University.

In fact, more than half of our graduating students have already had a semester or more in the United States. Most of them were able to go as a result of winning places in competitive scholarship programs, such as the President's program, "Specialists for the 21st Century." This program alone has sent students to the US in each of the past three years, and of 29 students chosen nationwide, 14 were from AUK. Recent experience demonstrates that AUK graduates return to Kyrgyzstan when they complete graduate school, bringing with them an international degree, work experience, and a firsthand understanding of how democratic institutions function in a free society.

6. More than 95% our graduates are either employed in their chosen careers or are in graduate school. Today they work in leading foreign and local enterprises and organizations such as the UNDP, the National Bank, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kumtor Operating Company, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and London's "Financial Times."

The Future

The American University in Kyrgyzstan is developing a new generation of leaders-a generation with a clear understanding of the interrelationships of economic resources, information, and personal freedom. We know that our graduates will play a leading role in the development of free, open, and prosperous societies in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia, the CIS, and beyond.