Academics

Academic Options

Middlebury offers undergraduate students four paths at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies:

• The Middlebury California Coast and Climate Semester offers students the chance to study climate and the environment in California. Students take core courses designed uniquely for this climate program and directly enroll in courses in the Environmental Policy and Management program at MIIS.
   
• The Middlebury Global Security Semester offers students the chance to study nonproliferation, terrorism studies, financial crime, and cybersecurity, and the option to take language classes. Students directly enroll in courses in the Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies program at MIIS.
   
• The Middlebury International Studies Semester offers students the opportunity to enhance their undergraduate degree with a customized semester of classes at our Monterey campus. Students directly enroll in MIIS courses learning from experts in international policy, trade, intercultural study, and global security.
   
• The Middlebury Language Education Semester offers students the chance to engage with key principles and practices of language teaching in today’s diverse educational contexts, with an emphasis on intercultural competence, social justice, and service learning.  Students directly enroll in language education courses at MIIS.

Credit

Students are expected to enroll in a full load of courses at MIIS, totaling at least 12 but not exceeding 18 credits. Part-time enrollment (fewer than 12 credits in a semester) is not permitted. If students enroll in more than 18 credits, they may be charged an overload rate of $1,600 per credit.

Courses at MIIS are currently offered in different modalities: in person, hybrid/blended, and online. All SAAM students must enroll in courses taught in person or hybrid/blended.

Weekend workshops may be taken for credit; however, all courses are individually evaluated to determine eligibility for undergraduate degree credit. Many weekend workshops are offered only on a pass/fail basis. If a student enrolls in a course where pass/fail is the only available grade option for the course, the course may be considered for undergraduate degree credit and, if approved by your institution, will count as a nonstandard grade (NSG).

For Middlebury College Students

MIIS courses that are offered in their entirety as pass/fail will not count as one of the two non-standard grade mode courses students are permitted to take (either under the former Pass/D/Fail option or the current Credit/No Credit option) but will count toward the total of five courses with non-standard grading a student may count toward graduation. The Credit/No Credit grade option is not available for courses taken with the Study Away at Monterey program.

See the conversion information below for MIIS and Middlebury College credits. Since the credit equivalent assigned to each course is a matter of policy, not assessment, students may not appeal the determinations of credit values.

*1 Middlebury College credit=4 semester credits