Founded in 1999, the Center for Khmer Studies is an international not-for-profit institution dedicated to the study, teaching and research of Khmer civilization and the cultures of the Mekong. Linked to institutions and individual scholars worldwide, CKS seeks to promote scholarly interest in the region and to bring Khmer scholars into contact with their U.S. and international counterparts. Headquartered in a living Buddhist monastery, Wat Damnak in Siem Reap, near the historic park of Angkor, CKS provides a recognizable, common point of exchange, as well as an in-country logistical resource for scholarly undertakings. We think of ourselves as a bridge and a crossroads - a real "center".

CKS is committed to the advancement of scholarship on Khmer Studies by promoting a diversified community of researchers converging to undertake research in Cambodia. To that aim, CKS offers a diversified range of individual research fellowships and training opportunities for Cambodian, U.S. and international scholars.

The Center facilitates or directly supports in-country individual and team-based research projects involving international scholars who work collaboratively with Cambodian scholars. For example, three thematic three-year projects in pre-angkorean archaeology, anthropology and vernacular architecture have been running since 2001, thanks to the Rockefeller Foundation. In addition, CKS also conducts academic workshops and conferences, and supports a publishing and translation program with its tri-lingual academic bulletin Siksacakr. Finally, the Center maintains the largest public academic library in the country outside of Phnom Penh, with over 3,000 volumes and titles available.