Anglo-American University
Anglo-americká vysoká škola | |
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Former names | The New Anglo-American College |
|---|---|
| Motto | Private university education in the Heart of Europe. |
| Type | Private |
| Established | 1990 |
| President | Alan Krautstengl |
| Provost | Milada Polisenska |
| Students | 1000 |
| Location | , 50°05′24″N 14°24′32″E / 50.0899831°N 14.4090161°E |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colours | Red and Black |
| Affiliations | International Education Society ERASMUS |
| Website | www |
Founded in Prague in 1990, Anglo-American University (AAU), is the oldest private institution of higher education in the Czech Republic. It provides a personalized and distinctive university education in the English language. Utilizing the best from American and British academic traditions, AAU educates future leaders and global citizens in a multicultural setting of students and faculty from over 60 different countries.
AAU has an international core faculty trained at fine universities worldwide including Cambridge, Berkeley, Stanford, Yale, and Paris-Sorbonne. Among our professors are well-known published academics in their fields.
History
Anglo-American University was founded in 1990, shortly after the collapse of communism, as the Anglo-American College by Jansen Raichl and Dr. Vlasta Raichlová. Their vision was to create a higher education institution that would combine the best of Central European traditions with American and British academic principles.
Steady growth, increased visibility, and the conference of advanced graduate degrees prompted a reconsideration of the college's name in English to include university instead of college.
In 2010, Anglo-American University was invited to apply for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) institutional accreditation and has since successfully advanced from the eligibility stage. AAU is the first university not in the United States to have been invited.
Organization
Anglo-American University has from its inception offered studies under the School of Business Administration, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and School of Law. In 2006 and 2010 respectively, AAU established its School of International Relations and Diplomacy, and School of Journalism. In the fall of 2008, co-founder and esteemed lecturer of the school of law, John H. Carey II, died. It was announced at Carey's funeral that Anglo-American University's School of Law would be known officially as the John H. Carey II School of Law.
Anglo-American University offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs:
Preparatory Programs
• Certificate of Higher Education in Common Law (CertHE Common Law)
Undergraduate Programs (Bachelor ’s Degree)
• Business Administration
• Business Administration: Marketing and Communications Emphasis
• Business Administration: Strategic Marketing Analysis and Planning Emphasis
• Humanities, Society and Culture
• International Relations
• Jewish Studies: History and Culture
• Journalism and Communications
• Politics and Society
• Visual Art Studies
• Bachelor of Laws (LLB) – University of London International Programmes Courses
Graduate Programs (Master ’s Degree )
• Business and Law in International Markets
• Humanities
• International Relations and Diplomacy
• Master of Law (LLM)– University of London International Programmes Courses
Professional Programs
• MBA (Master of Business Administration) – in cooperation with Chapman University, California
AAU also offers various courses for students interested in getting to know more about Czech culture, including:
• Czech and Slovak Politics
• Cities of Central Europe: Prague, Vienna and Budapest
• Literature of Prague
• Prague Art and Architecture
• Czech as a foreign language
Campus
AAU’s main campus is located in the newly restored Thurn-Taxis Palace, a magnificent building with a rich history where the students can enjoy their studies in beautiful and spacious classrooms. The Thurn-Taxis Palace, a cultural monument dating to the 17th century, was previously owned by the Thurn und Taxis family, a German noble family with prominent standing in Europe.
Now in the ownership of the city of Prague, the palace offers 16 modern fully equipped classrooms, a computer lab and a visual arts studio along with a cafeteria, spacious courtyard and modern student lounges that students can take advantage of for studying and socializing. Located next to the palace and directly accessible from the campus are the Vojan Gardens, a beautiful and spacious park.
Accreditations
Most of AAU´s programs are accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic. Exceptions are the Certificate of Higher Education in Common Law (CertHE Common Law), LLB, LLM, and the Chapman MBA program, which are offered in cooperation with international partners.
The university’s key priority currently is the advancement of the WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) Senior College and University Commission accreditation process. WASC is one of the six regional accreditation agencies that accredit public and private educational institutions in the United States. The voluntary accreditation process is based on rigorous standards covering all aspects of the university's operations, including the quality of its academic programs and institutional structures, processes, and resources. Prominent universities accredited by WASC include Chapman University, the University of California, Stanford University, and the California Institute of Technology.
“Anglo-American University has been recognized as a Candidate for Accreditation by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), 985 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 100, Alameda, CA 94501, 510.748.9001. This status is a preliminary affiliation with the Commission awarded for a maximum period of five years. Candidacy is an indication that the institution is progressing toward Accreditation. Candidacy is not Accreditation and does not ensure eventual Accreditation.”
The Prague MBA program offered in cooperation with Chapman University, California is globally accredited by AACSB (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), the “gold standard” of business school accreditation.
The Certificate of Higher Education in Common Law (CertHE Common Law) and the LLB and LLM programs are offered in cooperation with the University of London.
Academics
Library
AAU Library houses a private collection of 19,000 books of non- and fiction predominantly in the English language. The library also provides all course reading, either physically or electronically, and supports research projects conducted by students and faculty. AAU students, staff and faculty are also granted access to the collections held by the Institute of International Relations Prague,[1] The Institute for Contemporary History, Academy of Sciences, and other libraries in Prague.
The library regularly stages performances of spoken word, varying styles of music and readings, and hosts discussion groups.
Arts
|art| SPACE is Anglo-American University's art exhibition gallery, and routinely hosts photography, paintings, installations, and sculptures by faculty and students. |art| SPACE operates under the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and is often used to showcase excellent course work in digital photography, visual arts and other creative courses and workshops held at AAU.
Scholarships
System of Merit-Based Scholarships ensures that the best students at AAU can study for free. AAU provides scholarships based on academic achievement measured by a student’s Grade Point Average (GPA).
Student body
AAU's most visible quality is the growing diversity of its student body, representing dozens of countries every semester. Full-time, exchange and study abroad students from hundreds of universities worldwide have applied and studied at AAU. Its campus demographics typically feature American, Chinese, Czech, French, Italian, Kazakh, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, and many other international students each semester.
Student council
Anglo-American University's Student Council is an autonomous body that represents students’ interests in university plans, policies, and procedures; secures student representation in university governance; elects one representative for the Academic Council; and organizes various student activities.
The Student Council consists of 12 members, plus 1 exchange student and 1 external adviser each semester and/or academic year. Council members are elected by the students at the beginning of each academic year.
Clubs
There are many clubs that the students can join, such as: Basketball Club, Chess Club, Cooking Club, Dance Club, Film Club, Football Club, Photography Club, Program Board, Volunteering Club: Helpful Hands, Yoga Club.
At the Lennon Wall
At the Lennon Wall is Anglo-American University's student newspaper. The newspaper takes its name from the John Lennon Wall, a symbol of freedom of expression located near the university's campus.
On its website, At The Lennon Wall states its mission: "to report news of interest to the students and to the campus community of the Anglo-American University in Prague."[2]
Notable alumni
AAU´s alumni body includes ambassadors, government officials, business owners and top managers from international companies such as Xerox, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Raiffeisenbank, and all of the Big 4 Firms: PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, EY, and KPMG.
- Kristina Soukupová, Ph.D. - Aerospace & Defence Practice Director at I3CAS Ltd.
- Ing. Josef Müller - Executive Director of CEO JA Czech Republic o. p. s (Junior Achievement Czech Republic)
- Aleksandar Isirov, BA - Co-Owner of Nike Prague store – Andreanne s.r.o.
- Jiří Brodský, MSc. - Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Kingdom of Denmark
- Johana Vamberská, BA - Graduate student at the University of Oxford
- Klára Poláčková - The first Czech woman to have conquered Mount Everest