CAORC | Where We Work

MEMBER CENTERS

American overseas research centers (ORCs) promote international scholarly exchange, primarily through sponsorship of fellowship programs, foreign language study, and collaborative research projects. They facilitate access to research resources, provide a forum for contact and exchange, offer library and technical support and accommodation, and disseminate information to the scholarly and general public through conferences, seminars, exhibitions, and publications.

AFGHANISTAN – AIAS The American Institute of Afghanistan Studies (AIAS) is a private, nonprofit organization run by scholars with the aim of promoting and encouraging the systematic study of the culture, society, land, languages, health, peoples and history of Afghanistan.	ALGERIA – CEMA The Center for Maghrib Studies in Algeria (CEMA) is a private, non-profit research organization dependent on the American Institute for Maghrib Studies (AIMS). Its mission is to facilitate scientific research on North Africa, all disciplines combined, and to encourage the exchange of information in terms of scientific research. CEMA, located at the Cité du Chercheur, University of Oran 1 Ahmed Ben Bella . (Ex-IAP), was founded in 2004.	THE AMERICAS – ARENET The Americas Research Network (ARENET), formerly the Mexico Research Network (MEXRE), promotes and fosters international exchange and collaboration among scholars, students, institutions, existing organizations, and communities within the framework of innovative programs in research, education, and outreach throughout the Americas.
BANGLADESH - AIBS The American Institute of Bangladesh Studies (AIBS) is an association of institutions of higher learning in the United States aimed at promoting scholarly understanding between Bangladesh and the United States. AIBS was incorporated in 1988 with U.S. funding beginning in 1993 from the United States government through the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC).	CAMBODIA - CKS With offices in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the Center for Khmer Studies (CKS) is open to all, dedicated to promoting education and advancing scholarship on Cambodia and its region both within the U.S. and internationally. It does so directly in its research fellowship program, conferences and workshops, and in its sponsorship of in-country research projects, as well as through its institutional consortium. It supports a trilingual peer-reviewed annual journal.	CYPRUS – CAARI The Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute (CAARI) in Nicosia was established by the American Schools of Oriental Research in 1978 to provide scholars and students of all nationalities with the services and facilities on Cyprus comparable to those offered by other American overseas research centers in the Mediterranean region and the Near East.
EGYPT – ARCE The American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) is a private, nonprofit organization supporting research and conservation programs that encompass all aspects of Egyptian history and culture, from the prehistoric to modern day. For over a century, Americans have been active and productive partners with Egypt in the recovery and preservation of Egypt’s cultural heritage. For more than half a century, ARCE has filled a critical leadership function within the community of Egyptian and foreign scholars.	GREECE – ASCSA For over 130 years the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA) has been the preeminent overseas research institution devoted to the advanced study of all aspects of Greek culture from antiquity to the present day. The broad mission of the ASCSA has remained constant over its distinguished history: teaching, research, archaeological exploration, and publication and dissemination of research.	INDIA – AIIS The American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) was founded in 1961 to increase and improve understanding between India and the United States through academic research in various aspects of Indian life and thought. The Institute is headquartered at Gurgaon just outside of New Delhi and maintains branches in Kolkata and Pune.
INDONESIA – AIFIS The American Institute for Indonesian Studies (AIFIS) was established in January 2012. AIFIS is a consortium of U.S. universities and colleges that have expressed a keen interest in furthering the development of Indonesian studies in the United States. Its main goals are to foster scholarly exchange between Indonesian and U.S. scholars, to promote educational and research efforts by U.S. scholars in Indonesia, and to facilitate visits by Indonesian scholars to the United States.	IRAN – AIIrS In the belief that person-to-person connections are essential for fostering mutual understanding, the free flow of ideas and civil society cross-cultural engagement, the American Institute of Iranian Studies (AIIrS) promotes academic and cultural exchange between the US and Iran and strives to increase interaction through the facilitation of dialogue. Its purview comprises the historical Iranian world of Central Asia, the Middle East and South Asia as well as the modern political state of Iran.	IRAQ - TARII The Academic Research Institute in Iraq (TARII) was founded in 1989 by a consortium of American universities, colleges, and museums, in order to promote scholarly research on Iraq and exchange between American and Iraqi scholars. The Gulf War and subsequent U.N. sanctions on Iraq caused the organization to suspend its activities until 2003.
ITALY – AAR The American Academy in Rome (AAR) is one of the leading overseas centers for independent study and advanced research in the arts and humanities. Established in 1894, the Academy was chartered as a private institution by an act of Congress in 1905. The Academy’s central purpose is its fellowship program. Each year through a national juried competition, the Academy offers up to thirty Rome Prize fellowships, which range in duration from six months to two years.	JERUSALEM – AIAR The W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research (AIAR) in Jerusalem is the oldest American research center in the Middle East. Founded in 1900 as the American School of Oriental Research (ASOR), it was renamed in 1970 after its most distinguished director, William Foxwell Albright. Today, the Albright is one of three separately incorporated institutes affiliated with ASOR, the others being in Amman and Nicosia.	JORDAN - ACOR The American Center of Research (ACOR) is an international, nonprofit academic institution dedicated to promoting research and publication in the fields of archaeology, anthropology, art history, languages, history, religious studies, and other aspects of Near Eastern studies.
MONGOLIA – ACMS The American Center for Mongolian Studies (ACMS) was incorporated in April 2002 to encourage and facilitate academic projects in Mongolia and the Inner Asian region, which includes Mongolia and the border areas of China, Russia and Central Asia, such as Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Buryatia, Tuva and eastern Kazakhstan. The two primary projects of the ACMS include the opening of a permanent office and library in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.	MOROCCO – TALIM Saved from destruction in 1976 by a small but dedicated group TALIM is the research center in Morocco of the American Institute for Maghrib Studies – AIMS. TALIM continues to engage with the diverse and active communities of Tangier and beyond by holding cultural, educational, and research activities. Its lively museum, library, and reception areas exhibit documents and artifacts illustrating the relationship between Morocco and the U.S.	MYANMAR - Inya Established in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma)'s largest city, the Inya Institute encourages and supports the scholarly study of Myanmar across its cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity and also serves as a resource- and information-sharing platform for all scholars interested in conducting research and developing collaboration in the country. It is supported in the US by a consortium of universities with departments specializing in Myanmar/Burmese and Southeast Asian Studies.
NEPAL – ANHS The Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies (ANHS) was founded in 1971 as the Nepal Studies Association with support from the Ford Foundation. In 1999, to reflect a widening member base and area of interest, the association broadened its mandate to cover the entire Himalayan region and adjacent mountain areas (High Asia), and adopted its current name. ANHS is a nonprofit 501(C)3 educational organization governed by its constitution and by-laws.	PAKISTAN – AIPS The American Institute of Pakistan Studies (AIPS), a consortium of thirty American institutions of higher education, has promoted research by American scholars in and on Pakistan since 1973.	PALESTINE - PARC The mission of the Palestinian American Research Center (PARC), formed in 1998, is to improve scholarship about Palestinian issues, expand the pool of experts knowledgeable about the Palestinians, and strengthen linkages among Palestinian, American, and foreign research institutions and scholars. Pre- and post-doctoral fellowship awards underwrite research by both American and Palestinian scholars in a wide range of fields.
SENEGAL – WARA The West African Research Association (WARA) was founded in 1989. WARA’s mission is to promote research and scholarly exchange between West African and US scholars and institutions. WARA supports the production and dissemination of knowledge on West Africa and the diaspora through its research fellowships, conferences, and publications; and through the many programs headquartered at WARA’s research center in Dakar, Senegal.	SOUTH CAUCASUS – ARISC Incorporated in 2006 as a nonprofit corporation, the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC) encourages and supports the scholarly study of the South Caucasus states (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia) across all disciplines of the humanities, sciences, and social sciences from the earliest times to the present.	SRI LANKA – AISLS The American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies (AISLS) was established in 1996. Its central objectives are to promote U.S. research and teaching on Sri Lanka and to build links between U.S. and Sri Lankan scholars and institutions. It has 22 institutional and over 110 individual members.
TUNISIA – CEMAT Established in 1987, the Centre d’Etudes Maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT) is the overseas research center of the American Institute for Maghrib Studies (AIMS). Based in Tunis, our institutional priority and mission is to foster a variety of scholarly interactions between Tunisian and American and among Maghrebi scholars. CEMAT offers a library with works primarily in English on the Maghrib and the Middle East, and regularly organizes lectures, roundtables, and conferences.	TURKEY – ARIT Since its founding in 1964, the American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT) has sought to promote American and Turkish research related to Turkey in all fields of the humanities and social sciences. ARIT sponsors a multi-faceted program of research fellowships for American, Turkish and Central European scholars as well as Turkish language study.	YEMEN – AIYS The American Institute for Yemeni Studies (AIYS) was established in 1978 to facilitate, coordinate, and encourage academic research dealing with Yemen in all disciplines through its offices in the U.S. and in Yemen.

MEMBER CENTERS

AFGHANISTAN – AIAS

The American Institute of Afghanistan Studies (AIAS) is a private, nonprofit organization run by scholars with the aim of promoting and encouraging the systematic study of the culture, society, land, languages, health, peoples and history of Afghanistan.

ALGERIA – CEMA

THE AMERICAS – ARENET

BANGLADESH - AIBS

CAMBODIA - CKS

CYPRUS – CAARI

EGYPT – ARCE

GREECE – ASCSA

INDIA – AIIS

INDONESIA – AIFIS

IRAN – AIIrS

IRAQ - TARII

ITALY – AAR

JERUSALEM – AIAR

JORDAN - ACOR

The American Center of Research (ACOR) is an international, nonprofit academic institution dedicated to promoting research and publication in the fields of archaeology, anthropology, art history, languages, history, religious studies, and other aspects of Near Eastern studies.

MONGOLIA – ACMS

MOROCCO – TALIM

MYANMAR - Inya

NEPAL – ANHS

PAKISTAN – AIPS

The American Institute of Pakistan Studies (AIPS), a consortium of thirty American institutions of higher education, has promoted research by American scholars in and on Pakistan since 1973.

PALESTINE - PARC

SENEGAL – WARA

SOUTH CAUCASUS – ARISC

SRI LANKA – AISLS

The American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies (AISLS) was established in 1996. Its central objectives are to promote U.S. research and teaching on Sri Lanka and to build links between U.S. and Sri Lankan scholars and institutions. It has 22 institutional and over 110 individual members.

TUNISIA – CEMAT

TURKEY – ARIT

YEMEN – AIYS

The American Institute for Yemeni Studies (AIYS) was established in 1978 to facilitate, coordinate, and encourage academic research dealing with Yemen in all disciplines through its offices in the U.S. and in Yemen.