American University of Central Asia

The American University of Central Asia, commonly abbreviated to AUCA, is a liberal arts university located in Bishkek, the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic, and it was earlier known as the Kyrgyz-American School and then as the American University in Kyrgyzstan.中亚美国大学（英文简称 AUCA）是坐落于吉尔吉斯共和国首都比什凯克的一所文理型大学，早期先后被称为吉尔吉斯－美国学校与在吉尔吉斯斯坦的美国大学。

Its origins lie in 1993, when it opened as a specialist school inside Kyrgyz State National University, and it has been described as the first higher education institution in Central Asia to function on the American model, with a credit-hour system and a liberal arts curriculum that it continues to follow today.该校始于 1993 年作为吉尔吉斯国立大学内设的一所专门学校开办，被称作中亚第一所按美国模式办学的高等教育机构，实行学分制并开设文理课程，而这套美国式文理框架一直沿用至今。

It is placed in the 801-850 band of the QS World University Rankings 2027, awards American-style as well as Kyrgyz national diplomas, and requires students to take courses in both Russian and English, reflecting a dual national and American academic identity.它在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中列第 801-850 位，同时授予美式与吉尔吉斯国家文凭，并要求学生以俄语和英语两种语言修读课程，体现出本国与美式并重的双重学术身份。

History

• AUCA began its existence in 1993 as the Kyrgyz-American School, a specialist school housed within Kyrgyz State National University in the capital city of Bishkek.中亚美国大学始于 1993 年的吉尔吉斯－美国学校，是设在首都比什凯克吉尔吉斯国立大学内部的一所专门学校。

• In 1997 the school was reconstituted as an independent institution and given a new name, the American University in Kyrgyzstan, separating it formally from its parent university.1997 年该校改组为独立机构并更名为在吉尔吉斯斯坦的美国大学，正式与母体大学分离。

• Its founding funding came from the United States government together with the Open Society Institute, a non-governmental organisation established by the Hungarian philanthropist George Soros.其创办资金来自美国政府与由匈牙利慈善家乔治·索罗斯创立的开放社会研究所这一非政府组织。

• One of the people credited with founding the institution is the human rights attorney and journalist Scott Horton, who helped shape its early liberal arts character.该校创办人之一是人权律师兼记者斯科特·霍顿，他参与塑造了学校早期的文理特色。

• In 2002 the university adopted its present name, the American University of Central Asia, to reflect a student body drawn from many countries and a mission to serve the whole region.2002 年学校启用现名中亚美国大学，以反映其生源来自多国并服务整个地区的使命。

• While the university concentrates on widening higher education for Central Asian students, its student body and faculty increasingly come from other parts of Asia and the wider world.学校重心在于为中亚学生拓展高等教育机会，但其学生与教师日益来自亚洲其他地区与世界范围。

• In March 2010 AUCA established a partnership with Bard College, a private liberal arts college located in New York State in the United States.2010 年 3 月中亚美国大学与美国纽约州的私立文理学院巴德学院建立合作伙伴关系。

• The Bard partnership lets students in American Studies, Anthropology, Economics, European Studies, International and Comparative Politics, Journalism and Mass Communications, Psychology, Sociology and Software Engineering earn liberal arts degrees fully accredited in the United States.借助与巴德学院的合作，美国研究、人类学、经济学、欧洲研究、国际与比较政治、新闻与大众传播、心理学、社会学和软件工程专业的学生可获得美国完全认证的文理学位。

• According to the USAID accreditation report, AUCA is the first higher education institution in Central Asia with a credit-hour system, an American-style liberal arts curriculum and a commitment to democratic values, freedom of expression and academic integrity.据美国国际开发署的认证报告，中亚美国大学是中亚第一所实行学分制、采用美式文理课程并承诺民主价值、言论自由与学术诚信的高等教育机构。

• The university is chartered in Kyrgyzstan and authorised by the Kyrgyz Ministry of Education to offer the Kyrgyz National Diploma in eleven undergraduate programmes and one graduate programme, a Master of Business Administration.学校在吉尔吉斯斯坦注册办学，经吉尔吉斯教育部授权，在 11 个本科专业和 1 个工商管理硕士专业授予吉尔吉斯国家文凭。

• Apart from the national diploma, AUCA also confers American-style diplomas, and students are required to study courses delivered in both Russian and English during their degrees.除国家文凭外，学校还授予美式文凭，学生在读期间须修读以俄语和英语授课的课程。

• After the United States troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, a number of Afghan students continued their studies at AUCA.2021 年美军撤出阿富汗、阿富汗伊斯兰共和国垮台后，一批阿富汗学生转入中亚美国大学继续学业。

• The 2022 AUCA commencement was held as a joint event with students graduating from the American University of Afghanistan, an unusual cross-border convocation.2022 年中亚美国大学毕业典礼与阿富汗美国大学的毕业生联合举行，属罕见的跨境授位活动。

• The former main building of AUCA was constructed in the 1930s and served the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic.学校旧主楼建于 1930 年代，曾供吉尔吉斯苏维埃社会主义共和国共产党中央委员会使用。

• The same Soviet-era building was used by the Supreme Soviet of the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic, the legislature of the republic before independence.这座苏联时期建筑还曾作为吉尔吉斯苏维埃社会主义共和国最高苏维埃即独立前共和国立法机关的办公场所。

• Portraits of Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels still hang in the conference hall of the old main building, while the coat of arms of the Kirghiz SSR is kept on its facade.旧主楼会议厅仍悬挂弗拉基米尔·列宁、卡尔·马克思和弗里德里希·恩格斯的画像，楼体外墙上保留着吉尔吉斯苏维埃社会主义共和国的国徽。

• In 2008 Iskhak Masaliev, then a Kyrgyz parliament member from the Party of Communists of Kyrgyzstan, called for AUCA to be moved because of the historic value of its current main building.2008 年时任吉尔吉斯共产党议员伊什哈克·马萨利耶夫以现主楼具历史价值为由，主张将中亚美国大学迁址。

• The new main building, opened in 2015, rises four storeys and is organised around a central forum that serves as the university's main meeting place.2015 年启用的新主楼高四层，围绕一座作为学校主要集会场所的中庭论坛布局。

• The new building uses geothermal heating and rainwater harvesting to reduce its environmental impact, an unusual sustainable design for a university in the region.新楼采用地热供暖与雨水收集系统以降低环境影响，在该地区高校中属少见的可持续设计。

• The new campus was designed by the New York based architect Henry Myerberg and is located to the south of the central part of Bishkek.新校园由驻纽约建筑师亨利·迈尔伯格设计，位于比什凯克中心城区以南。

• John Clark led the newly independent university as its first president from 1997 to 1999, after which David Huwiler held the office from 1999 to 2004.约翰·克拉克于 1997 至 1999 年出任独立办学后的首任校长，其后大卫·休维勒于 1999 至 2004 年接掌校务。

• Ellen Hurwitz served as president from 2005 to 2010, followed by Andrew Wachtel from 2010 to 2018, with Jonathan Becker acting as interim between longer tenures.埃伦·赫尔维茨于 2005 至 2010 年任校长，安德鲁·瓦赫特尔于 2010 至 2018 年继任，乔纳森·贝克尔在较长任期之间担任临时校长。

• Andrew Kuchins held the presidency from 2019 to 2021, after which Jonathan Becker again served as interim from 2021 to 2023 until Timothy E. O'Connor took office in 2023.安德鲁·库钦斯于 2019 至 2021 年任校长，其后乔纳森·贝克尔再度于 2021 至 2023 年任临时校长，直至蒂莫西·E·奥康纳在 2023 年上任。

• The academic vice-presidency passed from Kamilla Sharshekeeva, who served from 1997 to 2005, through Gulnara Aitbaeva in 2005 and Bakyt Beshimov from 2005 to 2007, then Bermet Tursunkulova from 2008 to 2015, and Nurgul Ukueva from 2019 to 2023 before Chynarkul Ryskulova took the post in 2023.教务副校长之职先由卡米拉·沙尔舍克耶娃于 1997 至 2005 年担任，经 2005 年古尔纳拉·艾特巴耶娃与 2005 至 2007 年巴克特·别希莫夫接手，再由贝尔梅特·图尔松库洛娃于 2008 至 2015 年、努尔古尔·乌库耶娃于 2019 至 2023 年执掌，2023 年起由奇纳尔库尔·雷斯科洛娃接任。

Academics

• The New Generation Academy offers full-time and part-time programmes preparing students for university study, including intensive English, college mathematics and university-level academic classes.新生代学院提供全日制与业余制预科项目，为学生升入大学做准备，课程含强化英语、大学数学与大学层次学术课。

• Participants in the New Generation Academy may also complete their programme in the Russian language, and students can apply for a dedicated scholarship programme to support their study.新生代学院学员亦可以俄语完成项目，学生可申请专门的奖学金项目以支持学业。

• At undergraduate level the university offers American-style Bachelor of Arts degrees across fifteen programmes, among them American Studies, Anthropology, Economics, European Studies, Journalism, Psychology, Sociology and Software Engineering, each built on the liberal arts model rather than early specialisation.本科阶段学校按美式模式在 15 个专业授予文学学士学位，含美国研究、人类学、经济学、欧洲研究、新闻学、心理学、社会学与软件工程等，各专业均以文理教育为基础而非过早专业分流。

• The General Education Program supplies units from a core curriculum that may be taken towards credits in any undergraduate programme, giving students a shared academic foundation.通识教育项目提供核心课程模块，可计入任一本科专业的学分，为学生奠定共同学术基础。

• Beyond undergraduate degrees, AUCA runs professional graduate programmes in ten of the specialties identified as most needed in Kyrgyzstan.除本科学位外，学校还在吉尔吉斯斯坦认定的十大最急需专业领域开设职业型研究生项目。

• Master of Arts degrees are awarded in Anthropology, Urbanism and International Development, in Applied Psychology, in Central Asian Studies, in Journalism and in Sociology.文学硕士授予方向包括人类学、城市学与国际发展、应用心理学、中亚研究、新闻学和社会学。

• Other graduate offerings include a Master of Arts in Teaching, a Master of Laws, a Master of Science in Economics, and a Master in Talent Management and Human Potential Development.其他研究生项目包括教育硕士、法学硕士、经济学硕士以及人才管理与人的潜能发展硕士。

• The professional graduate portfolio is anchored by a Master of Business Administration, the single graduate programme licensed to award the Kyrgyz National Diploma.职业研究生体系以工商管理硕士为骨干，它是唯一获准授予吉尔吉斯国家文凭的研究生项目。

• The AUCA Library provides information resources and services supporting teaching, learning and research, and holds about 60,000 items in its print collection of books, textbooks and manuscripts.学校图书馆为教学、学习与研究提供信息资源和服务，纸本馆藏约 60000 种，涵盖图书、教材与手稿。

• The library gives users access to thirty online databases, a large electronic complement for an institution of its size in the region.图书馆为用户提供 30 个在线数据库的访问权限，对该地区同等规模院校而言是可观的电子资源储备。

• In 2006 the library partnered with the Kyrgyz Libraries Information Consortium to initiate open access in Kyrgyzstan, placing the university at the front of a national movement.2006 年图书馆与吉尔吉斯图书馆信息联盟合作，在吉尔吉斯斯坦推动开放获取，使学校走在全国性运动前列。

• AUCA acted as the pilot university for the country's Electronic Archive program, and its library today offers open access to twenty-one different resources listed on its website.学校担任该国电子档案计划的试点高校，图书馆如今在网站上提供 21 种不同资源的开放获取。

• Software Engineering is one of the undergraduate programmes carried under the Bard College partnership, giving graduates a US-accredited degree in a technical field.软件工程是依托巴德学院合作开设的本科专业之一，毕业生可获美国认证的技术学科学位。

• Journalism and Mass Communications is taught at undergraduate and graduate level, reflecting the university's stated commitment to a free press and freedom of expression.新闻与大众传播专业从本科延伸至研究生层次，体现学校对新闻自由与言论自由的明确承诺。

• Economics and International and Comparative Politics are among the flagship social science programmes, closely connected to the university's regional studies mission.经济学与国际和比较政治属旗舰社会科学专业，与学校的区域研究使命紧密相连。

• Central Asian Studies, the region-focused master's programme, builds directly on the university's founding purpose of serving the whole of Central Asia.以区域为本的中亚研究硕士项目，直接承继学校服务整个中亚的创办宗旨。

• American Studies and European Studies, both accredited through Bard College, extend the liberal arts core into transatlantic subject matter.美国研究与欧洲研究均经巴德学院认证，把文理核心延伸至跨大西洋学科领域。

• Instruction across these programmes is delivered in Russian and English, so that graduates leave able to work in both the regional and the international academic languages.上述各专业均以俄语和英语授课，使毕业生能同时使用地区性与国际性学术语言工作。

• The professional graduate ladder spans law, business and education, since the Master of Laws and the Master of Business Administration sit alongside the Master of Arts in Teaching and the Master of Science in Economics.职业研究生体系贯通法学、商科与教育，法学硕士与工商管理硕士与教育硕士、经济学硕士并列。

Campus

• The university sits in Bishkek, the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic, at coordinates around latitude 42.87 and longitude 74.59, in the northern part of the country.学校位于吉尔吉斯共和国首都比什凯克，坐标约北纬 42.87、东经 74.59，地处该国北部。

• Its old main building, a 1930s Soviet structure, still carries the emblem of the Kirghiz SSR on its facade and retains the portraits of Soviet leaders within.旧主楼是 1930 年代的苏联建筑，外墙仍带吉尔吉斯苏维埃社会主义共和国徽记，内部保留苏联领导人画像。

• The former home of the Communist Party Central Committee and of the Supreme Soviet gives the campus a layered history shared with the republic's government.这座曾属共产党中央委员会和最高苏维埃的旧宅，使校园与共和国政府共享一段多层的过去。

• The new four-storey main building, opened in 2015, is arranged around a central forum that functions as the main meeting place of campus life.2015 年落成的新主楼共四层，围绕一座充当校园生活主要集会场所的中庭论坛而建。

• Environmental systems on the new campus include geothermal heating and rainwater harvesting, technologies chosen to lower the building's impact on the Bishkek environment.新校园的环保系统包含地热供暖与雨水收集，选用这些技术以降低建筑对当地环境的影响。

• Designed by New York based architect Henry Myerberg, the new building stands to the south of the central part of Bishkek, away from the old Soviet district.新楼由驻纽约建筑师亨利·迈尔伯格设计，坐落在比什凯克中心城区以南，远离旧苏联街区。

• The relocation debate of 2008, when a communist-era parliament member sought the old building for preservation, shows that the campus itself has been contested ground.2008 年迁址争议中一名共产党时代议员主张保留旧楼，说明校园本身也曾是博弈之地。

• The pairing of a Soviet-era old building bearing the Kirghiz SSR emblem and a geothermally heated new building opened in 2015 makes the campus a physical record of Kyrgyzstan's transition from republic to independence, set within a single Bishkek university precinct.带吉尔吉斯苏维埃徽记的苏联旧楼与 2015 年启用、地热供暖的新楼并置，使校园成为吉尔吉斯斯坦由加盟共和国走向独立的一段实物记录，同集于一处比什凯克大学园区之内。

Reputation

• The QS World University Rankings 2027 place the American University of Central Asia in the 801-850 band, the position on which this entry is based.2027 年 QS 世界大学排名将中亚美国大学列入第 801-850 位，本条目即据此档位撰写。

• The university does not appear in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and no ranking position is recorded for it by that table, subject to the official THE list.该校未进入 2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名，该榜亦未记载其名次，具体以 THE 官方榜单为准。

• It is likewise absent from the 2026-2027 US News Best Global Universities ranking, where no entry for the university appears in the published table.该校同样未进入 2026-2027 年度 US News 全球最佳大学排名，已公布榜单中未见其条目。

• The university does not appear on the 2026 Shanghai Ranking Academic Ranking of World Universities main list either, so three of the four major global tables omit it this cycle.2026 年软科世界大学学术排名主榜亦无该校，故本轮四大全球榜单中有三榜未收录。

• In its regional dimension the university stands higher, ranked 262nd among universities in Asia and 14th among universities in Central Asia by the QS rankings for 2026.在区域维度上该校排名较高，按 2026 年 QS 榜单列亚洲高校第 262 位、中亚高校第 14 位。

• The same QS organisation ranked AUCA 138th among universities of the emerging Europe and Central Asia region in 2022, an earlier regional placing.同一 QS 机构在 2022 年将中亚美国大学列为新兴欧洲与中亚地区高校第 138 位，是该地区较早的名次。

• Because no aggregated bibliometric record is available for the institution, its measurable academic weight rests on the library's 60,000 print items, thirty databases and twenty-one open-access resources.由于该校缺少可汇总的文献计量记录，其可量化的学术分量落在图书馆 60000 种纸本、30 个数据库与 21 项开放获取资源上。

• No Nobel, Turing or Fields-level affiliate is recorded for AUCA, and its standing rests instead on institutional recognition such as the USAID accreditation report and the Bard College degree partnership.未见诺贝尔奖、图灵奖或菲尔兹奖级人物与该校关联，其地位转而依靠美国国际开发署认证报告与巴德学院学位合作等机构性认可。

• Regional standing outshines the global band, since the 2026 QS tables put AUCA at 262nd in Asia and 14th in Central Asia, even though the worldwide ranking lists omit it from their 2027 and 2026 editions.区域名次优于全球档位，因 2026 年 QS 榜单把中亚美国大学列亚洲第 262 位、中亚第 14 位，而各世界榜单的 2027 与 2026 版却将其略去。

Student life

• AUCA describes itself as bound to democratic values, freedom of expression and inquiry and academic integrity, ideals that frame the daily campus culture for its students.学校自我定位为坚守民主价值、言论与探究自由及学术诚信，这些理念塑造了学生的日常校园文化。

• Its student body is multinational, drawn from many countries of Central Asia and increasingly from other parts of Asia, making the campus one of the most international in Bishkek.学生来自中亚多国并日益扩及亚洲其他地区，使校园成为比什凯克最国际化的学府之一。

• After the fall of Afghanistan in 2021, Afghan students found a continuing home at AUCA, and the 2022 commencement joined them with graduates of the American University of Afghanistan.2021 年阿富汗变天后，阿富汗学生在中亚美国大学获得继续求学的家园，2022 年毕业典礼亦将他们与阿富汗美国大学毕业生联合授予学位。

• Because courses are taken in both Russian and English, everyday academic life is bilingual, and students move between the two languages in seminars and readings.由于课程同时以俄语和英语开设，日常学术生活是双语的，学生在研讨与阅读之间来回切换两种语言。

• The New Generation Academy feeds students into degree study through its intensive English and mathematics courses and its scholarship programme for those preparing for university.新生代学院以强化英语与数学课程和面向升学者的奖学金项目，为学生进入学位学习铺路。

• The central forum of the new building doubles as the main meeting place, anchoring informal gatherings and campus events for the student community.新楼的中庭论坛兼作主要集会场所，是学生社群非正式聚会与校园活动的核心。

• Twenty-one open-access resources from the library give students free digital access to scholarly material, an outcome of the university's role in Kyrgyzstan's open access movement.图书馆的 21 项开放获取资源为学生免费提供学术资料，是学校推动吉尔吉斯斯坦开放获取运动的结果。

• General Education core units, taken across all fifteen undergraduate programmes, give students from different majors a shared set of classes and intellectual reference points.面向全部 15 个本科专业的通识核心课程，让不同专业的学生拥有共同课堂与思想参照。

Notable people

• Among the founders of the institution is Scott Horton, a human rights attorney and journalist who helped establish the school when it was still the Kyrgyz-American School.该校创办人之一是斯科特·霍顿，一位人权律师兼记者，他在学校尚为吉尔吉斯－美国学校阶段参与创建。

• George Soros, the philanthropist who created the Open Society Institute, provided part of the founding funding that sustained the university in its first years.创立开放社会研究所的慈善家乔治·索罗斯，为学校最初几年提供了部分维持办学的创办资金。

• John Clark served as the first president of the independent American University in Kyrgyzstan from 1997 to 1999, setting the pattern of a foreign-led presidency.约翰·克拉克于 1997 至 1999 年出任独立的在吉尔吉斯斯坦美国大学首任校长，开创了由外籍人士担任校长的惯例。

• Andrew Wachtel held the presidency for eight years from 2010 to 2018, the longest continuous term among the university's leaders.安德鲁·瓦赫特尔于 2010 至 2018 年任校长八年，是学校历任领导中连续任期最长者。

• Timothy E. O'Connor has led the university as president since 2023, the current head of its executive leadership.蒂莫西·E·奥康纳自 2023 年起担任校长，是学校现任行政领导人。

• Bakyt Beshimov, later a prominent Kyrgyz academic and public figure, served as provost and vice-president for academic affairs from 2005 to 2007.巴克特·别希莫夫后来成为吉尔吉斯知名学者与公共人物，曾于 2005 至 2007 年担任教务副校长。

• Chynarkul Ryskulova has held the office of provost since 2023, the senior academic officer serving alongside the president.奇纳尔库尔·雷斯科洛娃自 2023 年起任教务长，是校长之下的首席学术官。

• Henry Myerberg, the New York based architect, gave the university its new four-storey main building opened in 2015 with its central forum.驻纽约建筑师亨利·迈尔伯格设计了学校 2015 年启用、带中庭论坛的新四层主楼。

• Iskhak Masaliev, a Kyrgyz parliament member from the Party of Communists of Kyrgyzstan, entered the university's story in 2008 through his call to relocate it from the historic building.吉尔吉斯共产党议员伊什哈克·马萨利耶夫因 2008 年主张把学校迁出历史建筑而进入该校叙事。

• Jonathan Becker twice held the interim presidency, in 2018-2019 and again in 2021-2023, bridging the transitions between the university's longer-serving presidents.乔纳森·贝克尔两度出任临时校长，分别在 2018-2019 与 2021-2023 年，衔接学校较长任期校长之间的过渡。