Our History

MIIS Perspectives

Mission

The Monterey Institute of International Studies, a graduate school of Middlebury College, provides international professional education in areas of critical importance to a rapidly changing global community, including international policy and management, translation and interpretation, language teaching, sustainable development, and non-proliferation. We prepare students from all over the world to make a meaningful impact in their chosen fields through degree programs characterized by immersive and collaborative learning, and opportunities to acquire and apply practical professional skills. Our students are emerging leaders capable of bridging cultural, organizational, and language divides to produce sustainable, equitable solutions to a variety of global challenges.

Governance

The Monterey Institute of International Studies is governed by the Middlebury College Board of Trustees, which has legal and fiduciary responsibility for Middlebury College, the Monterey Institute, and all other Middlebury schools and programs.

Monterey Institute of International Studies Facts

• Located in Monterey, California, 120 miles south of San Francisco
• A leading provider of international graduate education
• Offers 11 degrees in fields including translation and interpretation, language teaching, international business,
international policy, nonproliferation and terrorism studies, and international environmental policy, as well as a
variety of certificate programs
• Internationally known for its James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
• Student body demographic sketch:
• More than 30 native languages spoken
• More than 60 countries represented
• More than one third are international students
• More than 90 percent of U.S. students have lived, worked, or studied outside of the U.S.

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Historical Timeline

MIIS Perspectives

Our History

The Monterey Institute of International Studies was established in 1955 as the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies by founders Gaspard Weiss, Remsen Bird, and Dwight Morrow Jr., who envisioned a graduate school that promoted international understanding through the study of language and culture. While the institute's name has evolved, its core identity as an innovative leader in international professional education has remained constant.

Over the decades the Institute has grown, adding new programs, faculty, and students to expand its global reach and educational mission. In 1961, the school moved to its current downtown Monterey location, where it presently occupies 18 buildings that house two graduate schools, multiple research centers, and numerous special programs.

In 2005, the Institute took a major step forward by affiliating with—and five years later becoming a graduate school of—Middlebury College. Middlebury is known worldwide for its leadership in undergraduate language instruction and international studies, and features both summer language immersion programs and Schools Abroad in 16 countries and 38 cities around the globe. Middlebury is also home to the oldest environmental studies program in the nation.

Monterey and Middlebury share much more than a common interest in cross-cultural communication and the environment, though—we share a commitment to making a difference in the world, and are building a truly global network of programs for future leaders in areas from translation and interpretation to environmental policy, economic development to language education, conflict resolution to sustainable business.

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MIIS Perspectives > History

Drag the timeline to the left and right to scroll through our historical milestones.

1955 Founded as Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies (MIFS) • First classes in German and French taught in the summer of 1955

1956 Accreditation received through St. Mary's College - 1st International economics course offered

1961 Monterey Public Library becomes first permanent building at 425 Van Buren Street (now President's Office) • Year-round classes first offered • MA in Political Arts established • Accredited by Western Colleges Association (now WASC)

1962 First executive business course offered

1963 First three MAs awarded in French, German and Political Arts

1966 Grant from Max Fleischman Foundation establishes MA in Interpretation

1967 Morse classroom building constructed • Chinese language instruction offered • MA in Education plus a credential in teaching offered

1969 MA in Linguistics offered

1976 MA in Intercultural Communication offered

1979 MIFS renamed Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) • Holland Student Center completed

1980 MA in International Policy Studies first offered • First Master of Business Administration (MBA) awarded • First Master of Public Administration (MPA) awarded

1982 First MA in TESOL graduates

1986 First MA in TFL degree awarded • First TESOL and TFL certificated offered

1989 Center for Nonproliferation Studies founded • Segal Wing of the Library completed

1991 McCone Faculty Office Building acquired

1992 Casa Fuente Administrative Office completed

1996 Korean T&I offered • MA in International Environmental Policy offered

1997 MA in Commercial Diplomacy offered

1998 McGowan building acquired with grant from William G. McGowan Foundation • CNS opens Washington, D.C. office

2000 Max Kade Language Technology Center opens • Computer Assisted Language Learning certificate offered

2002 Samson Student Center completed • MBA program receives AACSB accreditation

2005 Monterey Institute and Middlebury College sign affiliation agreement • 50th anniversary celebrated • MA in Translation and Localization Management offered

2009 Academic reorganization places existing degree programs under two new schools: • Graduate School of International Policy and Management • Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education

2010 Monterey Institute becomes "A Graduate School of Middlebury College"

2011 MA in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies offered • CNS opens Vienna Center • Center for the Blue Economy founded

2012 MA in International Education Management offered

Middlebury College's Vermont campus in the fall - The Monterey Institute of International Studies was founded in 1955, and in July 2010 became a graduate school of Middlebury College.

Middlebury Connection

About Middlebury

Founded in 1800, Middlebury College is a Vermont-based undergraduate institution known for its leadership in language education, international studies, and environmental studies. Middlebury offers its undergraduate students a broad curriculum embracing the arts, humanities, literature, foreign languages, social sciences, and natural sciences. Every summer, the main campus in Vermont and partner campus at Mills College in California are transformed into language schools devoted to the study of Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Middlebury College also provides a unique way to "live the language" through the C.V. Starr-Middlebury Schools Abroad, located in 34 cities in 13 countries throughout East Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Middlebury is also home to the nation's oldest undergraduate program in environmental studies, ranked third in the country by the Sierra Club.

Middlebury-Monterey Integration

In 2005, recognizing their many common interests and potential synergies, the Monterey Institute and Middlebury College signed an affiliation agreement. The agreement launched a five-year transition that concluded on July 1, 2010 with the formal designation of the Institute as a graduate school of Middlebury College. The combination of Middlebury and Monterey creates an unparalleled continuum of learning opportunities for students with a global perspective, from the Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy, to the two campuses' undergraduate and graduate degree programs, to specialized short-term programs such as Middlebury's Language Schools and Monterey's Summer Intensive Language Program.