About

The UCLA Program of Iranian Studies, the UCLA Pourdavoud Institute for the Study of the Iranian World, and the UCLA Yarshater Center for the Study of Iranian Literary Traditions (in addition to other UCLA organizations) hold a number of active institutional memberships with professional organizations centered on Iranian and Persianate studies as well as the broader ancient worlds. Below is a brief summary of these organizations, as well as the benefits an institutional membership provides our UCLA affiliates.

The American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE)

Founded in 1948, the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) is a private, nonprofit organization composed of educational and cultural institutions, professional scholars, and private individuals.

American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC)

The American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC) encourages and supports scholarly study of the South Caucasus states (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia) across all disciplines of the Humanities, Sciences, and Social Sciences.

American Society for Premodern Asia (ASPA)

The American Society for Premodern Asia (ASPA) (formerly known as the American Oriental Society - AOS) is the oldest learned society in the United States devoted to a particular field of scholarship.

American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR)

The American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to initiate, encourage, and support research into, and public understanding of, the history and cultures of the Near East and wider Mediterranean world, from the earliest times.

The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA)

The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is the world’s oldest and largest archaeological organization, whose members include professional archaeologists, students, and enthusiasts, all united by their passion for archaeology and its role in furthering human knowledge.

Association for Iranian Studies (AIS)

The Association for Iranian Studies, Inc. (AIS), formerly The International Society for Iranian Studies, Inc. (previously The Society for Iranian Studies), was founded in 1967 as an academic society to support and promote the field of Iranian Studies at the international level.

The Association for the Study of Persianate Societies (ASPS)

The Association for the Study of Persianate Societies (ASPS) is a non-governmental, non-political, not-for-profit professional organization for researchers and scholars interested in the culture and civilization of the Persian-speaking societies and related areas in the Iranian civilizational area.

British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS)

The British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS) is the UK’s foremost learned society dedicated to promoting and supporting scholarship and research excellence on all aspects of Iran and the wider Persianate world, and to increasing public understanding and knowledge of this region.

Middle East Studies Association (MESA)

The Middle East Studies Association (MESA) is a non-profit association that fosters the study of the Middle East, promotes high standards of scholarship and teaching, and encourages public understanding of the region and its peoples through programs, publications and services.

Societas Iranologica Europaea (SIE)

The Societas Iranologica Europaea (SIE) is an international academic society in the field of Iranian Studies with members from European and non-European countries, which exists to promote, develop and support Ancient, Middle and Modern Iranian Studies in all subject areas.