UCA  is one of the world’s few regional, internationally chartered, fully residential institutions with a mission to improve the quality of life of mountain societies.

The School of Arts and Sciences offers Bachelors Degree programmes with majors in Computer Science, Communications and Media, Global Economics, and Earth and Environmental Sciences at its residential campuses in Khorog, Tajikistan and Naryn, Kyrgyzstan. Future plans include majors in Engineering Sciences and Business Management.

The Graduate School of Development (GSD) is the home for multidisciplinary research on Central Asia's social, economic, and cultural development. GSD is comprised of five entities: Institute of Public Policy and Administration, Mountain Societies Research Institute, Civil Society Initiative, Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit, Aga Khan Humanities Project, and the Afghanistan Research Initiative. With over 150 publications on its website available for free download, GSD is a singular storehouse of knowledge.

The School of Professional and Continuing Education is the leading provider of short cycle professional education courses designed to improve employment and income-generating opportunities. These courses are offered at 17 learning centres, including five in Afghanistan.

SPCE courses include coding and digital security, digital and media literacy skills, English language, tourism and IT, entrepreneurship, and vocational courses such as electrical training and automotive repairs, masonry, plumbing, carpentry, etc. SPCE is also the only official centre for many international qualifications like the International Computer Driving License (ICDL) and Cambridge Assessment English in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

Naryn Urban Resilience Programme (NURP) is a five-year project designed to help transform Naryn town into a resilient urban settlement, equipped to prosper economically, socially and culturally in the challenging mountain environments of Central Asia. NURP promotes partnership between government, community, business, and international agencies to achieve the sustainable investments required for a prosperous and secure economic future for Naryn.

To support the enhancement of resilience in Naryn and cities across Central Asia, the three implementing agencies of AKDN – The Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, The Aga Khan Foundation, and the University of Central Asia (UCA), with the support of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO),have been collaborating with the Governments of Kyrgyzstan (for Naryn) and Tajikistan (for Khorog) to develop a Central Asian model for development tied to international best practice in the delivery of Urban Resilience Programming. The Naryn Urban Resilience Program is an analogue of the Khorog Urban Resilience Program and adopted/adjusted for Kyrgyzstan.

UCA and COP. UCA actively participated at the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), held on 11-15 November in Baku, Azerbaijan. The event brought together global leaders, researchers, and activists to tackle pressing climate issues, with a spotlight on international cooperation for resilience, sustainability, and decarbonisation.
Representing UCA’s Graduate School of Development (GSD), Dr Madina Junussova, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Policy and Administration (IPPA), participated in a session on decarbonising urban transport in Central Asia. At the Kyrgyz Republic Pavilion, Dr Vitalii Zaginaev, a Research Fellow at GSD’s Mountain Societies Research Institute (MSRI), shared his research on leveraging modern technologies to monitor natural disasters. Maksim Kulikov, MSRI’s Academic Team Lead, further enriched UCA’s presence at COP29 by sharing findings from social studies conducted in Batken and Naryn, Kyrgyz Republic illustrating how local communities observe and adapt to climate change. He also presented comparative research on the impact of climate change on natural resources in these provinces.
UCA’s involvement at COP29 contributed to raising awareness about the importance of climate risk management in Central Asia, particularly through innovative research and the application of technology. Building on the momentum of COP29, UCA is planning several follow-up initiatives, including the Post-COP29 Winter School in Tekeli in January 2025, which will focus on urban resilience and carbon neutrality for high school students. Additionally, UCA is organising a Green Finance Webinar in collaboration with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to disseminate knowledge on green finance initiatives.