SIT Graduate Institute
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| Type | Private, Graduate |
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| Established | 1964 |
| President | Dr. Sophia Howlett |
| Students | 538 |
| Location | Brattleboro, VT, USA |
| Campus | Rural: Fringe |
| Website | graduate |
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SIT Graduate Institute (formally, the School for International Training) is an accredited institution of higher education administered by World Learning, a non-profit international development and education organization. The Graduate Institute offers master's degrees and graduate certificates in a variety of fields related to international education and sustainable development. Located in Brattleboro, Vermont, the school also maintains a branch campus in downtown Washington, D.C.
The School for International Training (SIT) was established in 1964. SIT filled a need of returned Peace Corps volunteers by offering a graduate degree in international development. The Vermont campus originally consisted of a small collection of dorms around a Carriage House on a scenic farm on the north end of Brattleboro. These early Peace Corps volunteers took lessons in foreign languages with materials and teachers from the language training from their service, and The School for International Training began to expand its offerings. By 1968, the small but increasing number of returned Peace Corps volunteers were requesting a degree in Teaching English as a Second Language, a new specialty. In 1969, two graduate programs were developed, International Career Training (ICT), and Masters in Teaching Languages (MAT) (French, Spanish and ESL). An undergraduate program, the World Issues Program (WIP), was developed in 1973 and resulted in 26 graduating classes. The WIP program was based on an experiential learning model. Students received their BA in International or Community Development. The last WIP class graduated in 1999.
The first MAT class consisted of three students, the second of 28 students, and the third of 38; in the fourth year the class size reached 50 students and stayed there for many years. ICTs spent part of their program on campus and part in internships around the world. MATs originally went to Mexico or Quebec for student teaching but by 1972, students began to develop other sites around the world. Eventually, the ICT program changed to PIM: Programs in Intercultural Management and developed specializations in NGS's and Civil Society, Peace and Conflict Transformation, Social Justice, Socially Responsible Management, Sustainable Development, International Education, Language and Culture, Teacher Preparation. Jody Williams, an MAT graduate, won the Nobel Prize for her work on banning land mines. Wangari Maathai, former Trustee Emerita, won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on sustainable development and democracy in Kenya.
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