Artsakh University

For the present-day university operating on the premises of the former Artsakh University, see Karabakh University.

Artsakh State University

Արցախի Պետական Համալսարան
Former names	Stepanakert State Pedagogical Institute Artsakh State University
Type	Public
Active	1969–2023
Location	Mkhitar Gosh 5 , Stepanakert , 375000 , NKR 39.82496°N 46.76205°E / 39.82496; 46.76205
Campus	Urban
Website	www.asu.am

Artsakh State University (Armenian: Արցախի Պետական Համալսարան) was a university in Stepanakert. It was the oldest and largest university in the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, and it produced over 20,000 graduates in 60 fields of study over the course of its 50-year history.

Following the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive and the flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, the university ceased operations in Stepanakert, and its premises were appropriated by Azerbaijani Ministry of Science and Education to establish Karabakh University (Azerbaijani: Qarabağ Universiteti) on 28 November 2023, which began admitting students in 2024.

Students from Artsakh State University have campaigned for the university to resume operations in exile in Armenia.

History

The university was established in 1969, in Stepanakert, the centre of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.

At the time of its establishment, the university was called the Stepanakert Branch of Azerbaijan State Pedagogical Institute named after Lenin and had only two Chairs: the Chair of Language and Literature and the Chair of Mathematics. Education was conducted in Armenian, Azerbaijani, and later in Russian.

In 1973, the university got an independent status and was renamed into Stepanakert State Pedagogical Institute.

In the late 1980s, during the Karabakh movement, the institute became a centre of political activism among Armenian students and faculty.

As a result, classes at Stepanakert State Pedagogical Institute were temporarily suspended, and the university moved to Vanadzor Pedagogical Institute. After the Spitak earthquake of December 7, 1988, the university lecturers and students had to return to Stepanakert, as Stepanakert branch of Vanadzor Pedagogical Institute.

Artsakh State University

In October 1992, the Government of Armenia made a decision to merge the Stepanakert branch of Vanadzor Pedagogical Institute with Stepanakert branch of Yerevan Engineering University, renaming the newly established university into Artsakh State University, ASU.

In the 2008–2009 academic year, the university adopted a three-tier degree structure (bachelor's, master's, and doctoral studies) aligned with the Bologna Process, offering both full-time and part-time instruction.

Prior to 2023, the campus consisted of an administrative building and three academic buildings, housing five faculties with approximately 3,000 students and 50 doctoral candidates. The academic staff of 200 included 16 professors, 78 associate professors, 53 senior lecturers, and 15 assistants.

Educational centres at the university included:

• Armenological Centre
• Ethnographic Centre
• Centre of Friends of Russian Culture
• Knowledge Testing Computer Centre

Campus facilities included computer and science laboratories, an observatory, two gymnasiums, two conference halls, an assembly hall seating over 300, a library holding 100,000 print volumes and 40,000 digital volumes, and an in-house publishing unit that issued the Academic Bulletin, Armenological Magazine, and a monthly university periodical.

The university maintained cooperation agreements with higher education institutions in Armenia—including Yerevan State University, Armenian State Pedagogical University, Armenian State University of Economics, National Polytechnic University of Armenia, and the American University of Armenia—as well as Russian universities such as Vladimir State University and Saratov State University, and universities in Transnistria, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia. It also ran joint educational training programs with Synopsys Armenia and Karabakh Telecom.

Campus and academics

The campus included three canteens, a 250-room dormitory for students from outside Stepanakert and visiting faculty, and a memorial dedicated to 75 students killed during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Faculties and research

Artsakh State University was organized into five faculties housing 16 academic chairs:

• Faculty of Natural Sciences
• Faculty of Philology
• Faculty of Pedagogy and Sport
• Faculty of History and Law
• Faculty of Economics

Faculty and students conducted research in political science, agricultural studies, and archaeology. Beginning in 2006, students and researchers from the university participated alongside an international archaeological team in excavations at Azokh, a prehistoric site noted for Neanderthal remains.

Study abroad and partner institutions

In 2011, in coordination with the US-based non-profit Artsakh Development Group, the university established a summer study abroad program with California State University, Dominguez Hills, hosting 12 to 15 students for courses on regional history, politics, and economics.

Other partner institutions included:

• University of Central Europe, Skalica, Slovakia
• Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University, Yerevan, Armenia
• California State University, Dominguez Hills, Los Angeles County, California
• Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

See also

• List of universities in the Republic of Artsakh

External links

• Official website
• University's entry in the SPYUR Information System