American University of Armenia

Origins The idea of opening an American-style institution of higher education in Armenia originated in the late 1980s. When Armenia was struck by a devastating earthquake in 1988 the country, then still part of the Soviet Union, was opened to unprecedented international humanitarian and technical assistance. A number of earthquake engineers from the West helped in the reconstruction of the disaster zone. In 1989, Yuri Sarkissian, then rector of the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute, proposed to Armen Der Kiureghian, Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, the establishment of a Western-style Armenian technical university to advance higher education in Armenia. Der Kiureghian and another earthquake engineer, Mihran Agbabian, Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern California, set out to realize that goal. A number of American and Armenian academics supported the concept of the university. Der Kiureghian and Agbabian, along with the late Stepan Karamardian, formerly Dean of the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Riverside, presented their proposal to the Armenian government. Agbabian became the founding president in 1991 and served until 1997. ==Campus and estate==

The university's two central buildings, the Main Building and the Paramaz Avedisian Building, are located at 40 Marshal Baghramyan Avenue in central Yerevan. Main building The university's main building, informally known as the "old building" (հին մասնաշենք), housed the Political Enlightenment House of the Central Committee of the Armenian Communist Party during the Soviet period. It was granted to the AUA on September 21, 1991, by the government. The six-story building comprises lecture halls, auditoriums, laboratories, library facilities, classrooms, and administrative offices. Paramaz Avedisian Building Construction on the Paramaz Avedisian Building (PAB) began in 2005. and opened its doors on November 1, 2008. Located next to the main building, it encompasses of space, housing classrooms, seminar rooms, laboratories, research centers, and faculty offices. Built in 2018, AUA's Student Union adjoins the Paramaz Avedisian Building (PAB). AUA Center AUA Center is located at 9 Alex Manoogian Street in central Yerevan. The center was established in 1999 through the financial support of the U.S. government. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded $300,000 to renovate and upgrade the building. Dzoragyugh Buildings Two buildings were donated by philanthropists K. George and Dr. Carolann Najarian in 2016. Following the completion of AUA's Student Residence, construction began on the Najarian Center for Social Entrepreneurship in 2021. Many of the university's journalism and writing courses are taught there. AGBU Papazian Library Founded alongside AUA in 1991, the AGBU Papazian Library bears the name of the Papazian family in recognition of their generous support to the university. the library held 30,676 printed books, 672,058 digital resources, and various media formats including CDs, DVDs, and cassettes. The library has received significant donations from notable Armenian Americans, including historian Richard G. Hovannisian who donated 1,338 books, and scholar Vartan Gregorian, who donated over 600 primarily English-language titles in 2014. ==Accreditation==

The AUA was accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Senior College and University Commission in 2006. It received candidacy status for accreditation in 2002, becoming the first university in the former Soviet Union to be accredited by a U.S. educational institution. Accreditation means degrees issued by the AUA have a status equal to those issued in the U.S. By 2013, the university had received accreditation from WASC and a license from the Armenian Ministry of Education and Science to offer four-year education. ==Notable alumni==

• David Akopyan, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative a.i. in Syria, graduated from Master of Business Administration (MBA) program in 1993 • Emil Babayan, Deputy Prosecutor General (since 2013) who holds a degree of Master of Laws from 2001 • Sedrak Barseghyan, Adviser to Minister-Chief of Government Staff of Armenia (since 2013). Class of 2009. • Lilit Galstian, a member of parliament from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (2007–2012) who graduated from the faculty of Political Sciences and International Relations in 1996 • Tevan Poghosyan, a member of parliament from Heritage party (since 2012) who graduated from the faculty of Political Sciences and International Relations in 1996 • Hovhannes Avoyan, chief executive officer and Founder of Picsart, who graduated as a Master of Political Sciences and International Relations in 1995. • Artashes Emin, translator, former Honorary Consul of Canada. Graduated as a Master of Law in 1999. • Anahit Avanesian, Armenian Minister of Health • Anna Simonyan, Federal MP Candidate for Bloc Quebecois & Commission Members and founder of Clove a start up with offices in Yerevan, Montreal and San Francisco. Graduated with an MBA in 2001. • Dalita Avanesian, Armenian singer and actor. ==Colleges and schools==

• Zaven & Sonia Akian College of Science & Engineering • Manoogian Simone College of Business & Economics • College of Humanities & Social Sciences • Gerald & Patricia Turpanjian School of Public Health Undergraduate programs • Bachelor of Arts in Business • Bachelor of Arts in English and Communications • Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance • Bachelor of Science in Computer Science • Bachelor of Science in Engineering Sciences • Bachelor of Science in Data Science • Bachelor of Science in Nursing • Bachelor of Science in Environmental and Sustainability Science • Bachelor of Science in Economics Graduate programs • Master of Business Administration • Master of Science in Economics • Master of Science in Management • Master of Engineering in Industrial Engineering and Systems Management • Master of Science in Computer and Information Science • Master of Political Science and International Affairs • Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Foreign Language • Master of Laws • Master of Public Health • Master of Arts in Human Rights and Social Justice • Master of Arts in Multiplatform Journalism Certificate Programs • Graduate Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language • Graduate Certificate in Translation • Graduate Certificate in Finance • Graduate Certificate in Data Analytics • Certificate in Hotel and Hospitality Management • Executive Certificate in Management ==Presidents==

• Mihran Agbabian (1991–1997) • Haroutune Armenian (1997–2009) • Bruce M. Boghosian (2009–2014) • Armen Der Kiureghian (2015–2019) • Karin Markides (2019–2022) • Armen Der Kiureghian (interim, 2022–2023) • Bruce M. Boghosian (2023–present) ==Rankings and reputation==

The American University of Armenia is widely considered as one of the top universities in Armenia. It has been described as such by former Education Minister Armen Ashotyan (2009–2016), the U.S. Embassy in Armenia, Armenian Weekly, the Armenian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, independent news agency CivilNet, and other media outlets. AUA is the top private university nationally, ranked #2 after Yerevan State University, and #39 in Europe University Rankings and Western Asia in 2025. According to a 2009 business report by Michigan State University, "the only reputable MBA program in Armenia is offered at the American University of Armenia". At his 2015 AUA Commencement Speech, U.S. Ambassador Richard Mills said: "AUA is like no other university in Armenia. At no other school are you challenged to think critically like you are here. As an extension of our well-regarded University of California system, AUA has planted and nurtured informed critical thinking skills that will stand you in good stead throughout the rest of your lives." At a June 1994 fundraising banquet for the AUA, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Harry Gilmore stated that the university was one of the "islands of light" in an Armenia caught in war and economic hardship, where people had been living without heat and light for several years. Gilmore praised the university as follows: ==Notable visitors and speakers==

Notable individuals who have visited the university and/or have given lectures include: • Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce (April 2014); • Rock singer Serj Tankian (April 2015); • Third President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan (July 2015); • Former Governor of Massachusetts and the 1988 Democratic nominee for President Michael Dukakis (April 2016); • Democratic Representative from California Jim Costa (July 2016); • Russian nuclear physicist Yuri Oganessian (September 2016); • American-Armenian Nobel Laureate Ardem Patapoutian (June 2022); • Nobel Laureate Emmanuelle Charpentier (September 2022); • NASA Engineer Nagin Cox (September 2022); • Environmental activist Greta Thunberg (November 2024); • Turkish-German historian and sociologist Taner Akçam (April 2025); ==Politics==

Several months after the violent crackdown of opposition protests on March 1, 2008, AUA, among other prominent institutions, refused to rent meeting space to opposition groups and democracy advocates under government pressure, according to Joseph Pennington, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan. On May 2, 2018, during the Velvet Revolution, a long list of AUA faculty members signed an open letter "unequivocally support[ing] the Armenian people's peaceful movement to restore social democratic values and fair, transparent elections." The letter added: "We support the students, workers, and other citizens of Armenia who are collectively saying no to oligarchic rule, corruption, a biased judiciary, and other socio-economic injustices." ==Gallery==

File:American University of Armenia (neighborhood view).jpg|The AUA buildings and the surrounding neighborhood File:American University of Armenia.JPG|Main Building File:American University of Armenia - Avedisian Building - HDR.JPG|Paramaz Avedisian Building entrance File:American University of Armenia - HDR.JPG|A general view of the Paramaz Avedisian Building and the Main Building File:Pamela and Edward Avedisian building.jpg|Pamela and Edward Avedisian building ==See also==