The university traces its origins back to 1957, when the first group of students was admitted to the Kazakh Polytechnic Institute to study “Industrial and Civil Engineering.” In 1961, the “Architecture” program was launched, and the corresponding faculties were established: Construction, Architecture, and Sanitary Engineering.
In 1980, based on these faculties and the Almaty branch of the All-Union Correspondence Engineering and Construction Institute, the Almaty Architectural and Construction Institute (AASI) was founded. The first rector of AASI was Serekpek Mukashevich Baibolov, a prominent builder, production expert, and Doctor of Technical Sciences.
In 1987, Pavel Alexandrovich Atrushkevich became rector of AASI. Under his leadership, in 1991, the institute became the first university in Kazakhstan to be certified and accredited. In 1992, AASI was renamed the Kazakh State Academy of Architecture and Construction (KazGASA).
In 2000, Amirlan Aydarbekovich Kusainov, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Honorary Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan, a full member of the American Society of Engineers and Builders and the International Association for Soil Mechanics, Foundations, and Geotechnical Engineering, as well as an academician of the Academy of Higher Education Sciences of Kazakhstan, was appointed rector. He is also an academician of the International Engineering Academy and a foreign academician of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Building Sciences (RAAS). He is a scientist, educator, and innovator.
In 2001, the Kazakh State Academy of Architecture and Construction was renamed the Kazakh Head Architectural and Construction Academy (KazGASA).
KazGASA is the leading university in Kazakhstan and a recognized scientific and educational center in the Central Asian region. It was one of the first to implement the credit system of education. Among the firsts in Kazakhstan, the following were established: the Board of Trustees, the Customer Council, expert commissions by specialties, the Laboratory of Educology, the Association of Graduates of Architectural and Construction Specialties (AVASS), and more.
AASI-KazGASA was the first specialized university in Kazakhstan in the fields of architecture and construction and, to this day, as a methodological center, plays a significant role in the development of educational programs in Kazakhstan.
In 2007, KazGASA passed international accreditation for the “Architecture” program by UNESCO-IAU (confirmed in 2011). Since 2009, under the chairmanship of KazGASA, the International Festival of Architectural and Construction Schools of Eurasia has been held regularly.
Kazakh-American University (KAU) was established based on the synthesis of American and Kazakh university programs through articulation agreements, with the goal of providing undergraduate education in English. The idea was conceived by the founder of the university, Amirlan Aydarbekovich Kusainov. The university was officially founded on September 12, 1997.
KAU was a unique institution, combining the best traditions of the Soviet and American educational systems. From its inception, elements of the credit system were integrated into the academic process. The experience of Kazakh-American University was considered when creating the Rules for the Credit System of Education, approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2005.
KAU was the first university to introduce “comments”—monthly reports by professors on student performance and behavior shared with their parents. At the same time, the Feedback system was introduced, where students were surveyed about the quality of instruction by each professor. KAU actively introduced new systemic, technological, managerial, and social programs.
Since 1997, KAU was one of the first universities in Kazakhstan to implement the process of separating student education and the assessment of their knowledge; a multi-point letter grading system; an innovative payroll system; Hand-outs (active distributed materials); the concept of trilingual education; universal criteria for comprehensive language assessment; a trilingual glossary; and the defense of thesis works in English.
The International Educational Corporation (IEC) was founded in 2007 based on two universities: the Kazakh Head Architectural and Construction Academy (KazGASA), established in 1980, and the Kazakh-American University (KAU), established in 1997. IEC is presented as a unified educational, scientific, and industrial complex, bringing together educational, scientific, production, and other departments that are legal entities. The statute was approved by the general meeting of the founders of IEC, as recorded in protocol No. 1 on December 7, 2006.
In July 2009, during a reorganization, IEC was registered with the Department of Justice of Almaty as a Joint Stock Company (Certificate of State Registration No. 98672-1910-JSC, dated July 2, 2009). In 2014, IEC successfully passed state accreditation for educational activities for a period of 5 years (Order No. 1894 of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, dated December 19, 2014) for 16 bachelor’s degree programs, 9 master’s programs, and 5 doctoral programs. In 2015, IEC was accredited by the Independent Kazakhstan Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NKAOKO) — both institutional and specialized accreditation.
In 2017, the 20th anniversary of KAU’s founding and the 25th anniversary of the Design Faculty opening were celebrated. In 2018, a jubilee meeting of the Republican Methodological Council of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (UMO RUMS MES RK) took place at IEC, marking 30 years in the USSR and 25 years in Kazakhstan for architectural, construction, and design specialties. In 2019, following the university program rankings by the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Atameken,” IEC ranked among the leaders in 8 educational programs.
Today IEC:
Key Advantages and Achievements of Our University:
A multidisciplinary university offering undergraduate programs in 11 fields (32 educational programs), master’s programs in 3 fields (16 educational programs), and doctoral programs in 3 fields (6 educational programs).
A leading specialized university in Kazakhstan in the fields of architecture, construction, and design, responsible for the coordination of academic work across 41 universities in Kazakhstan through its Methodological Council (UMO).
Offers educational programs that include courses from American universities.
Provides education in English.
The first university in the world to receive accreditation from the UNESCO-IAU Commission.
Boasts a highly qualified teaching staff, with many professors being recognized researchers, specialists, and founders of research schools, as well as authors of numerous publications and monographs.
Hosts a Dissertation Council for the defense of PhD dissertations.
The corporation has a modern material and technical base that meets sanitary standards and the requirements of state educational standards for the implemented specialties. This includes:
Main Academic Building (GUK)
Main Administrative Building (GAK)
Sports and Wellness Complex (SWC)
Military Department (MD)
Student Dormitory (SD)
This infrastructure ensures a comfortable, well-equipped environment for both academic and extracurricular activities, providing all the necessary facilities for students, faculty, and staff.
Almaty, Bostandyk District, 050043, Ryskulbekov Street, 28
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