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The American University of Central Asia (AUCA), formerly the ''Kyrgyz-American University'' and the ''American University in Kyrgyzstan'', is a liberal arts university located in Bishkek, the capital of the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan. AUCA was established in 1997 with funding from the United States government and the Open Society Institute, a non-government donor organization set up by Hungarian philanthropist George Soros. One of its founders was human rights attorney and journalist Scott Horton.〔(Scott Horton Interviews The Other Scott Horton ), ''Antiwar Radio'' (Dec. 11, 2010)〕 While the university focuses on offering higher education opportunities to Central Asian students, its student body and faculty comes from all over Asia and other parts of the world. In March 2010, AUCA has established an official partnership with Bard College located in the state of New York, United States. The partnership allows students of American Studies, Anthropology, Economics, European Studies, International and Comparative Politics, Journalism and Mass Communications, Psychology, Sociology, and Software Engineering programs to receive liberal arts degrees fully accredited in the US. According to the USAID accreditation report, "AUCA is the first higher education institution in Central Asia that functions according to the American model, with a credit-hour system, an American-style liberal arts curriculum, and a commitment to democratic values, freedom of expression and inquiry, and academic integrity and honesty."〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=USAID Accreditation Report )〕 The university is chartered in Kyrgyzstan and is authorized by the Kyrgyz Ministry of Education to offer the Kyrgyz National Diploma in eleven undergraduate programs and one graduate program (an MBA). AUCA also offers American-style diplomas, and students are required to take courses in both Russian and English. Currently AUCA and Bard College are entering into a collaboration to develop a joint-degree program, in which students at AUCA will receive both Kyrgyz diplomas and US accredited diplomas from Bard College.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Inform Agency Belui Parus )〕 ==History== In 1991, as independence swept across Central Asian countries, the region advanced deliberately into a fast-changing world of free markets and democracy. This wave of change spurred new ideas in the educational system resulting in the establishment of the Kyrgyz-American School (KAS) within the Kyrgyz State National University (KSNU) in Bishkek in 1993. KAS experienced such dramatic growth over the next four years that it could no longer remain a school within KSNU and was poised to become an independent institution. In 1997, by a decree of the President of Kyrgyzstan, KAS became the American University in Kyrgyzstan (AUK), and an independent international Board of Trustees was established as the governing body.〔http://auca.kg/en/about_auca/history?PHPSESSID=b8f4a9c3a2b2cccff34e185726bdb475〕 AUK was soon proposed internationally as a university based on the American liberal arts tradition of free and critical inquiry. Young scholars from 30 countries soon arrived for this new approach to education in Central Asia. In 2002, due to the University’s expanded mission and future vision, the Board of Trustees changed the name to reflect the University’s regional significance: the American University of Central Asia.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「American University of Central Asia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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