Since its inception in 1992, AUA’s Extension Program serves as the University’s interface with the community. It targets certain sectors in government,academia, and private organizations to help them fulfill - by means of flexible and innovative programs - any further education and training programs they may need. These may deal with issues that have local or international significance and are designed to encourage a better understanding of social, economic, and political realities.

Programs and courses dealing with language proficiency, public administration, and social sciences are offered in the form of regular classes, public lectures, and seminars. People who come from the public or private sector attend these events. The Extension Program has included courses and lectures on environmental safety, library science, translation and interpretation, negotiation and settlement, accounting, banking, English, finance, taxation, government, media, Armenian language teaching, international economic relations, business communication, office management, and public administration. Programs may span anywhere from a few hours to a few months, depending on need.

It is seeking to expand its programs to reach people beyond the confines of Yerevan. As examples of this, it has collaborated with the British Broadcasting Corporation and Armenian State Television towards achieving this goal. It has also offered classes in Gyoomree and Vanadzor on Accounting principles. A series of courses offered in Spitak, with the help of the Eurasia Foundation, focussed on Management, Finance, Marketing, and Accounting. More recently, the Extension Program has established a series of language classes in Gyoomree, in response to public requests from that city.

With the active cooperation of USAID and the MacArthur Foundation, the Extension Program has promoted seminars, workshops dealing with the further professional development of lawyers and judges, as well as a conference dealing with topics in Political Science as it pertains to Transcaucasia today. Recent one-day workshops have dealt topics as diverse as the implementation of social change by using the means available to non-governmental organizations, and the development of the software development industry in Armenia.

Our Lecture Series features prominent leaders in Armenia and abroad who deliver a lecture - every three weeks or so - on topics of interest to the general public. Questions and answers follow these lectures. This event is transcribed and circulated, in both English and Armenian, in the form of a Newsletter and on the Extension Program’s Internet site. A new “Gordian Knot” series has focussed on presenting controversial issues by means of small, round-table type discussions that are also open to the public.

Its Internet site seeks to interest students and members of the general public in gathering information on Armenian topics. It has created, in collaboration with Armenian National Radio, a "This Day in Armenian History" feature as well as a Geographical information page. For students in Diasporan Armenian schools, it has created an on-line spelling dictionary of difficult words. The presentation is unique and aimed specifically at problems that arise in the pronunciation of Western Armenian.

The Extension Program’s activities are not part of the University’s degree programs and are offered on a non-credit basis. Nevertheless, it is a very busy part of University and community life. As a measure of its popularity, it has attracted some 1,500 campus visitors and participants annually.

The AUA Extension Program provides information on its activities via electronic mail. We have set up a mailing list called EXTEN-ANNOUNCE. It will help us to send you information via e-mail.

Should you wish to receive information on our activities, please send a message to:
MAISER@AUA.AM
Please leave the subject line empty and omit your signature. In the body of the message type:

SUBSCRIBE EXTEN-ANNOUNCE

If you no longer wish to receive our messages, please write to:
MAISER@AUA.AM
Please leave the subject line empty and omit your signature. In the body of the message type:

UNSUBSCRIBE EXTEN-ANNOUNCE

This command will remove your address from the mailing list.

Anyone interested in our activities may call the University Extension office at (374-1) 512-706 or
send e-mail at: extension@aua.am .

An application form; (This file can be downloaded)

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