• Research Library and Translation Program

• Publications of Academic Journals

• Khmer Language and Culture Study Program

• Conferences and Workshops

• Undergraduate and Postgraduate Fellowships

Who is CKS? What is it’s mission? Founded in 2000, the Center for Khmer Studies (CKS) is a

non-governmental educational institution supported by an international consortium of educational institutions and individual donors.

It is the sole member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) in Southeast Asia.

The Center’s Mission, is to promote research, teaching and public service in the social sciences, arts and humanities as they relate to Cambodia and mainland Southeast Asia.

The Center is administered from its headquarters in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. It maintains a small administrative office in New York and a support office in Paris, Les Amis du Centre d’Etudes Khmeres.

CKS seeks to:

Promote research and international scholarly exchange through programs that increase understanding of Cambodia and its region,

Strengthen Cambodia’s cultural and educational structures, and integrate Cambodian scholars into regional and international exchange,

Promote a vigorous civil society.

How does the Center do this?

Senior Fellowship Awards

Short term (3 months) and Long Term (12 months) fully-funded opportunities for prospective PhD candidates, and post-Doctoral to conduct relevant research in Cambodia and Southeast Asia

2011-2012 research projects include:Political Science, Angkorian History, Historical Technology, Clinical Psychology, Art History, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Archeology, Colonial Architecture, Education and Development

Summer Junior Resident Fellowship Programme

A two month programme of study combining interactive classroom sessions, research, with guest lecturers and field trips to sites of relevant interest and Cambodian organizations.

15 Undergraduate Students from the Cambodia, U.S. and France

Two courses:

Cambodia History and Culture

Nation-Building in Cambodia After the Khmer Rouge

Southeast Asia Studies Curriculum Development Program

The program aims to provide Cambodian junior lecturers, or recent graduates from Cambodian universities, with knowledge and skills to design and develop curricula in the social sciences, arts or humanities disciplines within Southeast Asian Studies.

The program is structured around lectures, interactive group work and seminars.

By the end of the program participants will have gained a fundamental understanding of how to design curricula for the development of Southeast Asian Studies programs and courses.

The knowledge and skills gained will help inform and improve standards of teaching and course design at their respective institutions.

Workshops and Conferences

CKS has an active workshop and conference schedule throughout the year in both Siem Reap and Phnom Penh

In 2012 the Center opened its doors for a public lecture series. The aim is to draw together Cambodian and international scholars, business people and artists to discuss topics in the field of Cambodian and Southeast Asian studies, across all disciplines in the social sciences, arts and humanities on a monthly basis.

The lectures and seminars provide an excellent opportunity for junior and senior Cambodian scholars to interact with others around topics of common interest.

CKS Library Situated in Wat Damnak, a living Buddhist monastery in the heart of Siem

Reap, the Library is the largest public academic library in Cambodia outside of Phnom Penh, and the second most important for the social sciences and humanities in the whole country.

Since it opened in 2001, the CKS Library has seen its collection grow from a few hundred to over 15,000 titles

Our collection, managed by two CKS-trained Cambodians, serves as an invaluable information resource to scholars and researchers from Cambodia and overseas, local students, monks and the general public.

The Library is open to everyone, free of charge, from Monday through Saturday.

The majority of Cambodian visitors are high school teachers and students, researchers, Buddhist monks and professional tour guides. Young Cambodians drop by daily and read alongside international scholars and researchers.

CKS Research Library, Siem Reap

CKS Public Library

CKS Conference Hall

What does CKS office in Phnom Penh do?

Provides cutting edge Programmes designed to realize the Center’s goals

Southeast Asia Curriculum Design Program

Translation and Publishing Programme

Khmer Language and Culture Study Program

Public Lecture Series and Workshops

Phnom Penh Office:234 Street 450, Tuol Tumpung II, Chamkamorn,Phnom Penh, CambodiaTel/Fax: (855) 023 991 937www.khmerstudies.org

Publishing ProgramKhmer Language Translations

Siksacakr: The Journal for the Center for Khmer Studies

CKS is proud to be contributing to the revitalization of this sector through activities that include: the training of young Cambodians in publishing and translation through applied learning, seminars and workshops and the publication of original research materials and monographs, and the translation into the Khmer language of research and academic materials.

Translation Capacity Building One of the most pressing problems facing Cambodia’s higher

education sector today is the lack of academic texts available in the Khmer language.

Almost all of the books used in graduate programs are in English, and students often do not master the English language sufficiently well to comprehend higher-level academic readings.

To address this need CKS has developed a Translation Capacity Building program to train and mentor a core team of translators, in conjunction with our Building Capacity in Cambodian Higher Education program (BIC-HE).

A notable example is the Khmer language translation of David Chandler’s The History of Cambodia, published by CKS in 2005. Already in its second printing run, the popularity of this book for Cambodians continues to grow.

Siksacakr: The Journal of Cambodia Research

Founded by CKS Trustee Michel Antelme (INALCO) and sponsored by the Center for Khmer Studies (CKS), Siksacakr: The Journal of Cambodia Research, a peer-reviewed journal, aims to bridge the worlds of Khmer, Francophone and Anglophone scholarship on Cambodia.

All articles submitted to Siksacakr in English and French appear both in their primary language, and in Khmer translation. Similarly, Khmer articles are translated into either English or French, making new scholarship by Cambodians accessible to students and educators who are not literate in Khmer

Access to Siksacakr is provided free-of-charge at the CKS’ public library in the grounds of Wat Damnak, Siem Reap.

Why CKS? The central importance of Education provision at all

levels of Cambodian society as Cambodia moves through the post-Conflict phase of development

The central need for high quality training programmes to improve teaching and research skills among Cambodian University staff

The central importance of facilitating Khmer Studies internationally and regionally, and providing international educational exchange to better understand and explain contemporary Cambodian society.

Challenges for the Future

Continued Support for the Phnom Penh Programmes

Continued support for Junior Fellowship Programme in Siem Reap.

Development and expansion of the JFT model to reach more Cambodian students and scholars.

Development and expansion of Junior Fellowship programme

Support CKS Support CKS’s Library fund: acquisition of books, equipment and

computers, and the ongoing training of our Cambodian librarians. Support important CKS public outreach: free lectures, workshops and

conferences, publications on contemporary and historical topics, and translation of essential educational texts into Khmer.

Help CKS train junior faculty at Cambodian universities: rebuilding higher education after its deliberate destruction by the Khmer Rouge. 

Join CKS!Director’s Circle ($35,000 and up)

Patrons ($20,000-$34,999)Sponsors ($10,000-$19,999)

Supporting Members ($1,000-$9,999)Members ($100-$999)

 Contributions to CKS are tax deductible in the US.  French contributions can be made

through Les Amis du Centre Khmer.  Please contact us for further information:center@khmerstudies.org / www.khmerstudies.org/donate