 Monterey Institute of International Studies: The Monterey Institute of International Studies has developed, over the course of four decades, an international reputation for the cross cultural emphasis of its instruction, the high level of personal interaction among its international student body and its multinational faculty. An institute brochure perhaps says it best: "The Monterey Institute, established in 1955 to teach modern languages in their cultural context, has evolved into the most international professional graduate school dedicated to preparing students to respond effectively to the complex challenges of a rapidly changing global environment.'' With an enrollment of about 700 students, a faculty of 70 and a support staff of 68, the institute successfully bridges the gap between the theoretical and the practical. Consider that among the graduate school's offerings is the only master's degree program in conference interpretation in the United States. Or that its faculty members interpreted for First Lady Hillary Clinton during a recent international summit conference in Miami. Or that the institute was contracted to send interpreters to the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Or that the United Nations, the Department of State and European Union attend Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation exams every spring to recruit graduates to meet their need for superior professionals. The Monterey Institute truly has an international atmosphere, both among its student body and in its curriculum. Its students bring rich backgrounds in foreign languages when they enroll at the institute -- almost half enter with undergraduate degrees in language or with degrees that combined languages with another field of study -- and represent more than 50 countries. In fact, one-third of the student body is from outside the United States. Additionally, nearly all the Americans enrolled at the institute have lived, worked or studied abroad, in such programs as the Peace Corps, AFS Intercultural Programs, Rotary International and Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program. The faculty is multinational with a wide range of international experience and expertise. The student to residential faculty ratio is a low 10:1. Programs at the Monterey Institute are designed to develop bilingual professionals as the institute integrates advanced foreign language education into professional international programs in business, public administration, policy studies and environmental policy. Monterey Institute students can take courses on European comparative politics, the European Community and international marketing in English, French, German or Spanish; can study the Japanese economy in a course offered in both Japanese and English, or may enroll in "Business Climate in China'' and "Chinese Business Practices'' in Mandarin or English. In two other master's programs -- Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and Teaching Foreign Language -- about half those who obtain the degrees work outside the United States. The majority of the students enrolled at the institute pursue graduate degrees while 10 percent are upper-division undergraduates or nondegree students from abroad. 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. Research centers at the Monterey Institute include the Center for International Trade Strategy, the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, the Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, the Center for East Asian Studies, the Center for Language in Education and Work and the International Interpretation Resource Center. The institute also offers, through its Custom Language Services, practical, customized language programs for nontraditional students. This intensive program generally starts with a basic six-week course of individualized instruction, providing six hours of individualized instruction each day for a total of 180 hours. All instructors in this program are native-level language speakers who are fully experienced teachers. Twenty-five languages are available, and other languages may be offered by request. The institute also offers this program on-site. During the summer the Monterey Institute offers an Intensive Language Program, that extends over eight or nine weeks, in eight languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Spanish. Robert Gard Jr., who was president of the institute from 1987-99, said, "For almost 40 years, the Monterey Institute has been engaged in preparing international professionals who can deal effectively with the problems posed by a turbulent international environment. This calls for bilingual skills, cultural sensitivity, in addition to required substantive knowledge. Our graduates have made a difference as managers, public officials, researchers, teachers, and translators and interpreters, and they have given the Monterey Institute the reputation as the graduate school for international careers.''
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