The University of Washington established the
Department of Oriental Subjects in 1909 under the chairmanship of
Herbert Henry Gowen. The department became the
School of International Studies in 1976. In 1983, it was renamed the
Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies in honor of Washington state politician
Henry M. Jackson. As of 2016, the Jackson School was the United States' largest recipient of
United States Department of Education grants in support of area studies and hosted eight
National Resource Centers. Its oldest center, the East Asia Center, was established with a grant from the
U.S. Department of Defense in 1959 as the Far Eastern Institute. It was followed by the Middle East Center. Other National Resource Centers hosted by the Jackson School are the Canadian Studies Center; Center for Global Studies; Center for European Studies; Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies; South Asia Center; and Center for Southeast Asia and its Diasporas. In 2016 the Jackson School hosted the annual meeting of the
Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs, of which it is a founding member. ==Instruction==