The Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS) is the youngest General Conference graduate institution. At the 1996 Annual Council, held in Costa Rica, the church voted to take over AIIAS when the Asia-Pacific Division was divided into two divisions, namely, the Northern Asia-Pacific Division and the Southern Asia-Pacific Division.

In 1991 AIIAS was started on a new campus 45 kilometers south of Manila, in the Philippines. A presidential decree from President Marcos in 1987 gave AIIAS permission to operate an international graduate institution in the Philip-pines with emphasis on the international character of its education. Currently AIIAS has students from 29 different countries and faculty from 16 different countries. The five officers of the institution come from India, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, and Spain—a truly international administration.

The institution has two schools, a graduate school and a theological seminary. The graduate school offers master’s degrees in the areas of business, health, and education. In the Education Department master’s and doctoral degrees are offered in the areas of educational administration, supervision and curriculum, and religious education. The seminary offers the following degrees for pastors: Master of Divinity, Master of Ministry, and Doctor of Ministry. It also offers academic degrees in religion, with a Master of Religion degree and Doctor of Philosophy degree.

English is the medium of instruction, and AIIAS operates an English Language Center to prepare non-English-speaking students to fully benefit from the instruction given.

AIIAS is currently serving the higher education needs of more than 650 students on the master’s and doctoral levels, with 137 students on campus in the two schools and an additional 60 students in the English Language Center. It is serving the needs of more than 500 students in Distance Learning Centers situated in the countries of Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Taiwan, Central and South Philippines, and Japan.

The increased enrollment has led to the appointment of more qualified faculty. The library is being automated, and with Internet and e-mail connections it is serving the research needs of the students. Plans for a new administration building have been approved and will be built in the next 12 months, making room for further expansion in the library—the heart of the institution. AIIAS, a colorful mix of many nationalities, is an ideal place for students from all parts of the world to study at an affordable cost.