Established in 1955 as the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies, founders Gaspard Weiss, Remsen Bird, and Dwight Morrow Jr. envisioned a learning institution that promoted international understanding through the study of language and culture. While the institute’s name has evolved into the Monterey Institute of International Studies its core identity as an innovative leader in international education continues to define professional, global learning.

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.
The Institute Today

The Monterey Institute offers graduate programs that prepare innovative professionals to provide leadership in cross-cultural, multilingual environments. Practical skills, collaborative processes, and innovative approaches are defining features of a Monterey Institute education. The Institute’s unique "Monterey Way" learning model ensures that students are learning through firsthand experiences in more than one language. Monterey Institute learners are problem solvers and process masters, building sustainable, equitable solutions for a global community through our interdisciplinary blend of business, policy, and language.

The Institute's Graduate School of International Policy and Management and the Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education offer degrees in international policy studies, translation and interpretation, language education, and international business that have propelled our alumni into international careers that address the critical challenges of this century.