American University of Armenia (AUA)

American University of Armenia (AUA)

Founded in 1991, the independent American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, non-sectarian institute of higher education. The University is modelled on a Western style University and is committed to research, service and of course teaching.

Postgraduate Education
Currently, the University specialises in postgraduate education with Master of Arts and Science programmes available in Political Science, Public Health, Law, Comparative Legal Studies, Computer Systems Management, Business Administration, Industrial Engineering and teaching English as a Foreign Language.

English Language
The American University of Armenia hopes that by offering these courses in English the University will be able to include qualified students from other countries in the wider region. Also, because the AUA teaches its course in English they offer students additional instruction in the English Language and the use of computer applications to help with their studies.

Leninakan Earthquake
The Universities founding was in unfortunate times when in 1988 the infamous Leninakan Earthquake struck the region. Subsequently, a number of engineers specializing in earthquake damage and repair arrived in Armenia from various western nations to help with the reconstruction of the devastated area.

Development
As such, to foster educational progress in the country it was suggested by Yuri Sarkissian of the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute that a University based on the American Model would help Armenia to develop the skilled people the country needed to progress. Armen Der Kiureghian, Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley assisted in the establishment of the American University of Armenia in 1991 and it has gone from strength to strength. The institute now has 440 full time students studying a range of postgraduate courses and 71 academic staff engaged in teaching and research.

Barsam Building
In 2005, the Hye Business Suite Hotel was donated to the AUA. The hotel was gifted to the University by Hasmig Barsam to assist with the housing of international students; the building was renamed by the University after its benefactor. To assist with the transition and to prepare the building for its new purpose the United States Agency for International Development invested $300,000 under their American Schools and Hospitals Abroad programme. This ensured the building was reequipped to suit is new purpose and a number of significant repairs to the building we made in advance of its first intake of international students.

Papazian Library
In 1991, just after the American University of Armenia was established, the Papazian Library was built. Named after the Papazian family, who were generous benefactors of the American University of Armenia, the library was the most impressive in Armenia and whilst the university has just over 400 students enrolled on its courses the library’s subscribers are well over 10,000.