The University of Central Asia (UCA) has opened campuses at high altitude sites in Naryn, Kyrgyz Republic (2016) and Khorog, the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) Tajikistan (2017), and the Tekeli campus in Kazakhstan is currently in the planning phase.

The UCA Naryn campus, Kyrgyzstan.

The inaugural campus of the University opened in Naryn, Kyrgyz Republic in September 2016.  It is the first phase of a larger vision for the 252-hectare site, gifted by the Kyrgyz Government.  Classes commenced for the inaugural class of 71 undergraduates at the Naryn Campus on September 5, 2016.

According to the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), Phase I includes a 13,927m² space for 150 students featuring state of the art classrooms, library and laboratories, secure, modular student dormitories and faculty and staff residences.  Its international standard athletic facilities, including two tennis courts and a football pitch are open to the public and UCA’s sports dome offers indoor athletics year-round.

When the final phase is complete, the campus will accommodate 1,200 students and span 125,000m².

UCA Khorog campus, Tajikistan

UCA’s campus site in Khorog, GBAO Tajikistan is located 2,100 meters above sea level on land.  It opened in 2017.

UCA's School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPCE) operates a Town Campus in Khorog. Phase I of the UCA Khorog campus includes a three-story, 15,000 m² facility featuring an academic building, library, laboratory, classrooms, a computer lab, student common spaces, the dining hall, administrative offices, faculty residences and more.

The Academic Block will house a library, classrooms, a computer lab, student common spaces, dining hall, administrative offices and faculty reception, offices and residences.

Each UCA campus features secure, modular dormitories and athletic facilities open to the public, including football pitches and tennis courts.

In 2015, UCA formally secured a loan to advance construction.  Alongside a US$64.4 million commitment from the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), including US$7.5 million from the Aga Khan Foundation, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the United States Government’s development finance institution has extended US$30 million to complete Phase I construction of its Khorog campus.

UCA Tekeli campus, Kazakhstan..

UCA’s campus in Tekeli, Kazakhstan is located in the Almaty region, 40 km from the regional capital Taldykorgan.  To prepare the campus site for construction, UCA has undertaken extensive grading works.

UCA was founded in 2000 as a private, not for profit, secular university under an International Treaty signed by the Presidents of Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan, and His Highness the Aga Khan; ratified by the respective Parliaments and registered with the United Nations.  The University is a unique institution of higher education focused on the development of mountain societies.