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Centers, Institutes, Initiatives

American University’s pioneering Centers undertake research regarding the world most pressing issues and carry out American University mission to produce novel ideas that inform society and enable decision-makers to adopt evidence-based practices. Through Centers operating on a system-wide basis and within individual Schools and Colleges, American University catalyzes research, creative production and knowledge dissemination within academia and beyond. Research centers vary in size, scope, and organization between and among the university’s eight schools and colleges.

University Research & Policy Institutes

University Research and Policy Institutes are high priority, well-resourced units that articulate programs drawing on capabilities distributed across the AU academic campus. These University-level entities operate at the forefront of their field and embody AU’s aspiration to world class leadership in select domains of knowledge creation and diffusion.

Cross-School Research Initatives

The mission of cross-school research initiatives is the discovery of new knowledge and/or service to the public or profession. These entities advance the overall mission of more than one school or college, come under the authority of the corresponding deans. These centers and institutes are intellectual and professional engines that show promise for the participation of leading scholars, policy makers, practitioners, and artists. Centers or institutes involve a team of collaborators.

School-Based Research Centers

Schools and Colleges across campus spearhead initiatives within their units that strive to effect major impacts on scholarship and public understanding of pressing issues. These Centers or institutes can involve a single principal investigator or a team of collaborators positioned to attend to major questions of our time and are supported by external sponsors.