As Armenia’s political, cultural, and educational center, Yerevan provides direct access to the institutions, debates, and cultural traditions shaping contemporary Armenian society. Universities, museums, memorials, libraries, cultural organizations, and public spaces bring questions of language, identity, historical memory, religion, and regional relationships into focus.
The city itself reflects multiple layers of Armenian history. Ancient foundations coexist with Soviet-era planning and architecture, while contemporary Yerevan has developed an active arts, technology, food, and café culture. Public spaces such as Republic Square and the Cascade play an important role in civic and cultural life.
Yerevan also provides a practical base for exploring Armenia beyond the capital. The country’s relatively compact geography places monasteries, archaeological sites, Lake Sevan, wine-producing regions, and mountain communities within reach through program excursions and independent travel.
Learning in Yerevan
Yerevan supports study across language, identity, history, culture, and regional affairs, with Armenia’s major academic, political, and cultural institutions concentrated in and around the capital.
Language
Study Armenian within its national and cultural context, or Persian while exploring the historical and contemporary relationships between Armenia and neighboring Iran.
International Relations & Security
Explore Armenia’s regional relationships, diplomacy, and security challenges through programs and regional travel that place Yerevan within the wider South Caucasus.
Identity & Society
Explore how language, religion, collective memory, migration, and public institutions shape Armenian identity and contemporary society.
History & Culture
Study Armenia’s historical legacy through the museums, architecture, memorials, and cultural traditions that remain integral to life in the capital.
Student Life in Yerevan
Yerevan’s compact center and active public spaces make it easy for students to develop their own routines in the city. Cafés, parks, open-air markets, restaurants, and gathering places around the Cascade and Republic Square remain active well into the evening, giving much of the center a highly social atmosphere.
Concerts, festivals, galleries, food culture, and a growing contemporary arts scene provide plenty to explore outside the classroom, while the city’s manageable scale makes many parts of daily life accessible on foot or by inexpensive public transportation.
My teacher was phenomenal. I accomplished so much more than I thought was possible over such a short period of time, all thanks to my teacher.
— Lina Khatcheressian, Armenian Language & Culture, Summer 2026
Programs in Yerevan
Winter Break Yerevan: Persian Language Intensive
Spend winter break in Yerevan with intensive Persian language study and a cultural program exploring Armenia, its connections with Iran, and the city during the holiday season.
Crossroads: Geopolitics and Security in the Caucasus
Travel across Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia while exploring geopolitics, conflict, and identity in one of Eurasia’s most strategic regions.
Iran: Society, Power, and Regional Order
Examine Iran through lectures and regional context, exploring society, sanctions, and geopolitics at the crossroads of Eurasia.
Yerevan: Persian Language
Study Persian in Yerevan while exploring Iranian society, culture, and regional connections through immersive, context-rich language learning.
Yerevan: Armenian Language & Culture
Intensive Armenian language study in Yerevan, exploring identity, history, and culture through immersive, context-rich learning experiences.
