Monterey Institute of International Studies is a graduate school specializing in international relations. It is located in historic Old Monterey, a two-hour drive south of San Francisco, and six hours north of Los Angeles. The institute was founded with the purpose of teaching modern languages in their own cultural context, in 1955. Over the years, this modest venture has grown into an international professional graduate school, dedicated to grooming students from world over to respond effectively to the challenges of a dynamic globalized world. Now, MIIS has about 700 students on its rolls, of which half are international students from more than 50 countries across the world. MIIS provides a rigorous graduate education and training for professional careers in international contexts through its four schools - The Fisher Graduate School of International Business, Graduate School of International Policy Studies, Graduate School of Language and Educational Linguistics, and the Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation – and the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Though focused mainly on graduate education, MIIS also offers a small honors undergraduate program that deserving students may transfer into. Monterey Institute of International Studies is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.