Soka University announces plan to acquire Middlebury Institute.

The acronym will live on under a new owner and a new name at MIIS. The Middlebury Institute for International Studies will become the Monterey Institute of International Studies at Soka University of America in a deal announced on Aug. 19 and expected to close in September.

Applications for a 2027 incoming class will be accepted starting Oct. 1 with a mission to "train professionals to advance understanding, promote peace, and drive change in pursuit of a more just world."

Jeff Dayton-Johnson, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the Institute, sent an email to MIIS faculty and staff on Wednesday morning announcing the news, a week-and-a-half before the fall semester begins on Aug. 31.

"As we continue to work toward the sale of the Institute to [Soka University of America], I want to emphasize that we remain committed to teaching out and supporting the final cohort of Middlebury Institute students in the coming year," Dayton-Johnson wrote. "During this transitional year, we will continue to plan a vibrant year for the final Middlebury Institute students."

Faculty and staff will learn more about the transition in a town hall meeting scheduled for Aug. 25. 

“The world-class graduate programs continuing at Monterey are a strong fit with Soka University of America’s mission and educational values,” Ed Feasel, president of Soka, said in a statement. “Bringing these programs into the Soka community strengthens opportunities for students and faculty while preserving the distinctive academic excellence that has made these graduate programs successful.”

Soka currently serves 480 undergraduates from more than 40 countries on its Southern California campus. “If Soka was going to build a graduate program, this is what we would want to create,” Feasel told the Weekly in May. “Our mission is to foster global citizens who lead contributive lives.”

Officials at Middlebury, based in Vermont, announced in 2025 they would close down most MIIS programs by 2027. (Middlebury will continue to operate the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies on the MIIS campus, as well as a dormitory downtown.)

Master’s programs that will continue to be offered on-campus include: nonproliferation and terrorism studies; threat intelligence; international policy and development; global governance and policy; translation and localization management; and interpretation for diplomats and executives. 

Only two foreign language interpretation programs—a master's in Chinese translation and interpretation, and in Spanish interpretation—will remain on the list of degree programs, a change for a campus that has long been regarded as a leader of translation and interpretation instruction. That means an end to programs in French, German, Russian, Japanese, Korean and Russian.

Degree programs will be offered online in sustainability, cybersecurity and location project management. Programs that are no longer listed in MIIS' offerings include environmental policy. 

A spokesperson says the deal includes the entire Monterey campus; a price has not been disclosed.