- Monterey Institute of International Studies
-
Monterey Institute
of International Studies
Motto Be the solution Established 1955 Type Private President Sunder Ramaswamy Academic staff 70 full time; 70 adjunct Postgraduates 790 Location Monterey, California, United States Campus Urban Colors All the flags of the world Website www.miis.edu 
The Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS), a Graduate School of Middlebury College, is a small, private graduate school in Monterey, California, United States. Founded in 1955 and formally declared a Graduate School of Middlebury College in 2010, the Institute specializes in international relations, international business, language teaching, and translation and interpretation.
The Institute comprises two graduate schools: the Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education and the Graduate School of International Policy & Management. In addition to the two graduate schools, the Institute is home to five research centers. The Institute awards Masters of Arts (M.A.), International Masters of Business Administration (MBA), Masters of Public Administration (MPA), and numerous certificates across a variety of disciplines. The Institute's mission is to create an academic community committed to preparing innovative professionals able to provide leadership in cross-cultural, multilingual environments.
Contents
History
Flags representing the home countries of the students at the Monterey Institute
Founding and Expansion
The Monterey Institute was established as the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies in 1955 by Gaspard Weiss, Remsen Bird, and Dwight Morrow Jr. to teach modern languages and cultures. Originally known as the Monterey Institute for Foreign Studies, the school’s focus was on promoting international understanding through the study of language and culture.[1]
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 14 buildings that house two graduate schools, multiple research centers, and numerous special programs. By the 1990s, the Monterey Institute was widely recognized as one of the most academically prestigious language and international policy studies schools in the country.[2]
Middlebury Affiliation
In December 2005, the Monterey Institute signed an affiliation agreement with Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. The affiliation draws on both schools strengths in international studies and language instruction. The Institute has evolved into an international professional graduate school dedicated to preparing students to respond effectively to the complex challenges of a rapidly changing global environment.[3]
In June 2010, the Institute was formally designated a Graduate School of Middlebury College.[4]
Academic Programs
Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education
The Translation, Interpretation, and Localization Management program trains translators, interpreters (including conference interpreters), and localization experts. The Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education also offers short-term, intensive and customized programs in languages, teacher training, and translation, interpretation & localization.[5]
Programs include:
- Language and Educational Linguistics: trains language teachers who will teach English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) and teach a foreign language. Certificate programs are also offered in these areas as well as in CALL (Computer-Assisted Language Learning) and Language Program Administration.
- Translation and Interpretation: educates language translators and interpreters for careers in international settings, and for court and medical interpreting in the community. MIIS offers four degree programs (M.A. in Translation, M.A. in Translation/Localization Management, M.A. in Translation and Interpretation, and M.A. in Conference Interpretation) in eight foreign languages (Arabic, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, and Spanish).
The Monterey Institute also offers several non-degree programs, including intensive ESL programs year round; Summer Intensive Language Programs,Custom Language Services, English for Diplomats Programs, short term translation and interpretation courses, and international policy certificate programs. The Institute is the only school in the Western Hemisphere offering graduate degrees in conference interpretation and in translation and interpretation between English-Chinese, English-Japanese and English-Korean.
Graduate School of International Policy & Management
The Graduate School of International Policy & Management offers a combination of graduate degree and non-degree programs. At the Graduate School of International Policy and Management (GSIPM), over 45% of the students are international students and nearly all GSIPM students have professional experience abroad.[6]
Programs include:
- International Policy Studies: master’s degree and certificate programs leading to international careers in government, nonprofit organizations, or the private sector. Programs include International Development, Human Rights, Conflict Resolution, International Environmental Policy, International Trade Policy, Terrorism Studies, Public Administration, and other specialized degree programs.
- Master of Public Administration(MPA) is a professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration. The Monterey International MPA program prepares students to become effective leaders and managers. Through coursework and practical field experiences, students integrate theory, knowledge, and skills. They also develop the personal traits of effective leaders and managers including adaptability, resourcefulness and critical self-reflection.
- International Business: MBA advanced professional degree programs leading to careers in international business. The program's diverse student body, comprising 50% international students and 50% women, as well as its 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio makes this MBA program particularly unique and highly personalized. The curriculum prepares students to perform successfully in cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral teams and business environments. The Monterey Institute has been granting MBA degrees since 1982 and has been accredited by AACSB International since 2002.[7]
Frontier Market Scouts Program
The Monterey Institute of International Studies, in partnership with Sanghata Global,[8] has founded and developed this program. The Frontier Market Scouts Program transforms compassionate and capable young professionals into talent scouts and investment managers serving local entrepreneurs and social-minded investors in low-income and weak-capital regions of the world. The Scouts provide business development assistance for local entrepreneurs and due diligence for investors with the goal of generating high-quality deal flows and supporting portfolio companies at a low cost.
The program includes:
- 3-week intensive training in Monterey or London: The training introduces participants to the world of impact investing and venture management, and prepares them to work directly with local entrepreneurs and impact investors in the global hotspots for social entrepreneurship.
- 6-month business development field placement in a low-income community: Scouts are provided with professional guidance as well as full access to our network of enterprise incubators and investors throughout their involvement in the field.
Research Centers
James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS)
The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) is the largest nongovernmental organization in the world devoted to curbing the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and is the only organization dedicated exclusively to graduate education and research on nonproliferation issues.[9]
In October 2010, the Austrian Foreign Ministry selected the CNS as its partner in the establishment of the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Nonproliferation. In a public announcement, the Austrian government said that it selected CNS from a large number of candidates to manage and operate the new center “because of its distinguished record of leadership in the field and its shared vision” for the new center.[10]
Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS)
The Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) sponsors research, lectures, and seminars on subjects relating to East Asia. Projects include research, conferences, and curriculum material development. In these projects CEAS collaborates with researchers and research institutions in China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia, and the U.S.[11]
CEAS also hosts visiting fellows who conduct research on topics of interest to the Center. Past visiting fellows include professors/researchers from the Economic Research Institute (Khabarovsk), the Economic Research Institute for Northeast Asia (Niigata), Renmin University of China (Beijing), the Institute of History, Archaeology, and Ethnology of the Far Eastern Peoples (Vladivostok), the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies (Seoul), Moscow State University, and the University of Maryland.[12]
Center for Globalization and Localization of Business Exports (GLOBE)
The Center for Globalization and Localization of Business Exports (GLOBE) provides education, consulting and research in the area of business globalization and localization. Faculty and student teams at the Center develop business plans for companies requesting localization assistance, and provide consulting and research services. Faculty and student teams at the Center help companies assess their globalization or localization needs, develop strategies and facilitate implementations through the Center's executive development, consulting and research services.[13]
In addition, the Center develops curricula in globalization and localization for the Fisher International MBA Program courses and training programs, and customized business courses for students enrolled in the Masters of Translation and Localization program in the Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation and Language Education (GSTILE), as well as for students in any of the Institute's other graduate programs.[14]
Monterey Terrorism Research & Education Program (MonTREP)
The Monterey Terrorism Research and Education Program (MonTREP) is a research and educational component of the Graduate School of International Policy & Management that conducts in-depth research, assesses policy options, and engages in public education on issues relating to terrorism and international security. The focus of the program is on the study of violence-prone extremist groups and their historical evolution, ideological motivations, organizational structure, demographic profile, operational methods, and potential interest in carrying out mass casualty attacks (including through the acquisition and use of so-called "weapons of mass destruction" [WMD]).
Center for the Blue Economy
The Center launches a certificate program in International Marine Policy in Fall 2012 – the first program of its kind in the entire state of California. The program will focus on conservation biology, environmental and natural resource economics, energy policy, and sustainable development.[15]
Profile
Admissions and Language Requirements
The Institute is one of the few schools with a bilingual requirement upon enrollment for all students. English is required for non-native speakers and two years of university-level language classes in either Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese (Mandarin), Russian, or Arabic for native English speakers.
Rankings
In 2007, Foreign Policy named the Institute one of the top 20 graduate schools in the US for international relations.[16]
In November 2009, the United Nations recognized the Monterey Institute as one of the world’s leading trainers of professional translators and interpreters, signing an agreement to expand internship and employment opportunities for current and future Institute students and graduates. The Institute is one of 18 partner institutions worldwide chosen by the U.N, and the only partner institution in North or South America.[17]
The Fisher International MBA program, at the Graduate School of International Policy & Management, is the winner of a top 15 ranking from Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review for four straight years, was also recognized in 2010 in The Princeton Review's 2nd annual "Student Opinion Honors for Business Schools" as one of the top 15 graduate schools of business in the category of Global Management.
With 16 participants in service in the Peace Corps during 2010, the Monterey Institute of International Studies ranked fourth nationwide for the number of students participating in a Peace Corps Master’s International Program.[18]
Student life
Diversity
The Monterey Institute is one of the facilities (along with the Defense Language Institute just a few blocks away) making Monterey the Language Capital of the World. At any given moment you can hear more than 50 different languages on campus grounds. The flags at the main building are not just decorative but represent the nationalities of students currently enrolled.
About one third of the 700 students are from foreign countries and nearly all the Americans enrolled at the institute have lived, worked or studied abroad, in such programs as the Peace Corps, AFS Intercultural Programs or Rotary International.
Student government
The Student Council acts as a liaison between the student body and the administration and is responsible for voicing student opinions, organizing numerous events on campus, and supporting a variety of student clubs. In addition, the Student Council leads a wide spectrum of initiatives through the Academic Affairs Committee, the Social Activities Committees, the Environmental Task Force Committee, IT Committee, and other ad-hoc Committees. Student Council meetings are open to all students.
The Student Council budget partially funds Student Clubs and many activities such as Happy Hours, an annual Halloween party, and other events. It also sponsors special programming and contributes to all-campus events such as the International Bazaar and the Follies Talent Show.
Activities
Follies Talent Show
Each year the Follies, a long-standing tradition at the Institute, is performed by members of the faculty and student body.
International Bazaar
Another annual tradition is the widely-anticipated Monterey Institute International Bazaar. This is the Institute's opportunity to celebrate the diversity of its campus with international food, exhibits, entertainment and costumes. Because each new member of the community contributes to the Institute a diverse background and an array of experience, each new student is considered a cultural ambassador and sharing is not just encouraged, it is expected.
Notable alumni
- William Lawton, Chairman, Seagate Global Group [1](MA International Economics '78)
- Daggubati Venkatesh, a popular actor in Telugu film industry.
- Ivar Chhina (IPS '90), chief financial officer of REI [19]
- Mrinal Desai (MBA ‘01), founder of Crossloop [20]
- Brendan Kyle Hatcher (IPS '05), U.S Diplomat
References
- ^ About MIIS-History
- ^ About MIIS-History
- ^ About MIIS-History
- ^ Integrating the Monterey Institute of International Studies and Middlebury College
- ^ About GSTILE
- ^ About GSIPM
- ^ All Member Schools - AACSB
- ^ Sanghata Global
- ^ Center for Nonproliferation Studies
- ^ CNS and Austrian Foreign Ministry launch Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
- ^ Center for East Asian Studies
- ^ Center for East Asian Studies
- ^ Center for Globalization and Localization of Business Exports
- ^ Center for Globalization and Localization of Business Exports
- ^ Center for the Blue Economy
- ^ CNS-MIIS Master's Among Top 20
- ^ University Outreach Program
- ^ The Monterey Institute and the Peace Corps
- ^ REI Names Ivar Chhina New Chief Financial Officer
- ^ Crossloop.com
External links
- Monterey Institute of International Studies home page
- Center for Nonproliferation Studies home page
- Globalization and Localization of Business Exports Center home page
- Google Maps link showing location of the school
Coordinates: 36°35′59″N 121°53′49″W / 36.59972°N 121.89694°W
Categories:- Universities and colleges in Monterey County, California
- Language schools
- Middlebury College
- Educational institutions established in 1955
- Monterey, California
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