Happenings at Anglo-American University of Prague

The Anglo-American University of Prague, an institution that has provided premium private education for 25 years, is proud to announce that it will move to the Thurn and Taxis Palace by the end of this year.

In keeping with tradition, the new campus will be located just down the street from AAU's present building at Letenská 5, Prague 1- Malá Strana.  The Prague Castle will be visible from almost all classrooms. All students will have the opportunity to wander along the cobbled side streets of Malá Strana, browse small shops, explore churches and discover traditional Czech pubs and restaurants.

The historic Thurn and Taxis Palace has been abandoned for several years and has passed through many hands over the past few hundred years before being given a neoclassical refurbishment by the Thurn and Taxis family in 1814.

According to the agreement signed with the Prague 1 Municipal Council two years ago, the university will have an exclusive lease of the palace for 15 years. Students will start classes in the new campus at the beginning of the spring semester 2015.The new premises will offer 17 fully-equipped classrooms, one Visual Arts Studio and double the space for its student body. The students can look forward to a brand new cafeteria as well as a modern student lounge for studying and socializing. Furthermore, free space for extracurricular activities and events will be made available, and will allow for more academic interaction and growth. All students will have access to the neighboring Vojanovy gardens, highlighting the exclusivity of AAU's new location.

The decision to move was made in order to accommodate a growing student body in a technically and academically advanced campus. AAU currently hosts students from more than 60 countries around the world and wants to provide them with the most upscale and modern campus available, while keeping its location in the beautiful and historic Mala Strana. AAU will leave the Lazenska campus completely and the facility will be rented out to new tenants, however, this is completely under the charge of the Knights of Malta.

Another happening at the university is the introduction of a new BA Program in Visual Art Studies that is opening in the Fall Semester 2015. The Visual Art Studies program at AAU offers several areas of concentration for BA level students: Art History and Art Theory, Arts Management & Curatorial Studies, and Art Studio including drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, and cross-media arts. Art History is a foundation requirement for all students, while European and American Art History are core components of the curriculum. Additional courses in World Art History (Asia, Latin America, and Africa, etc.) are required to better appreciate influences across art history and the wide circle of the art world today.

The Visual Art Studies program at AAU is for students interested in working in the following areas of what is more commonly referred to as the arts or creative industry: the program's courses in Arts Management & Curatorial Studies provide students with applicable skills to work at arts organizations from public and private museums, to primary funders or fund-raisers, and non-profit organizations focused on organizing arts events, exhibitions, and conferences. An understanding of the arts market (galleries, dealers, investors, auction houses) and recent trends in these areas is the key to finding employment in this area.

Overall, graduates of the Visual Art Studies program at AAU will have the foundational knowledge and practical skills to work at various levels in the art world depending on their interests and talent.

Here is a link to the program website.

If you would like to visit our new campus or find out more information about the BA program in Visual Art Studies, then please contact our Student Services office at [email protected]. We can also offer you an opportunity to visit a lecture and experience a lesson based on Anglo-American principles.

For more information about AAU and how to apply visit our website or Facebook page.