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April 30, 2016, the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) held an Open Doors Day for its Master’s programs. Attendees received materials explaining the programs’ application procedures, listened to guest lectures relevant to each program, and sat in on seminars explaining the benefits of getting a Master’s at AUCA.

CrossFit is a fitness program that has become so popular CrossFit classes and competitions are no longer an uncommon sight at universities. Recently, AUCA held its own crossfit competition for its students. The heart of the competition was the promotion of a healthy lifestyle and regular physical activity.

Shukrona Nazirmadova, a sophomore majoring in International and Comparative Politics at AUCA, is currently spending her semester abroad at the Kansai University in Osaka, Japan. Shukrona is the first student from AUCA to go to Kansai University. Below, she shares with us her impressions on school and life in Osaka.

Begimai Izmailova, a senior in the psychology department at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA), tells us how to get a SILC grant. SILC supports student-initiated projects, professional development opportunities, and student research. It awards small grants every month to AUCA students.
 

Andrew Wachtel, the president of the American University of Central Asia (AUCA), met with Nadya Zhuravleva, a representative of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Extension program. The mission of the UCLA Extension is to provide extraordinary learning experiences for adults of all ages.

Nurgul Tilenbaeva, previously an AUCA alumni ambassador in Hungary, is now living in Geneva, Switzerland and doing her PhD in Development Economics at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. Nurgul graduated AUCA in 2010 from the department of Economics. She has shared with us her experiences studying abroad and memories of being a student at AUCA.

AUCA has received official licenses for its Master’s programs in sociology and anthropology from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic. Only a few universities in the Kyrgyz Republic have a license for a Master’s program in sociology, and no other university has a license for a Master’s degree in anthropology.

On April 21, 2016, at precisely 12:10, a group of AUCA students and staff members opened their books and began to read in the Forum while famous quotes from writers about books and reading were screened on the main LED display. The flash mob was held in complete silence, only interrupted by the ticking of the clock. And after exactly five minutes, people closed their books and went back to their offices and classrooms.

The Student Intellectual Life Committee (SILC) supports student-initiated projects, professional development opportunities, and student research. It awards small grants every month to AUCA students. Gulnora Iskandarova, a senior student of Anthropology department, told us about her SILC experience.

Earlier this month [add link to article], AUCA Professor of Anthropology Cholpon Chotaeva gave a presentation on her newly published lecture book the History of Kyrgyzstan, written in English for an English-speaking audience. Professor Chotaeva, a Doctor of Historical Sciences, is the Coordinator of the Anthropology and Sociology Departments at AUCA.