At a time when global alliances are shifting, technological change is accelerating, and the line between science and geopolitics is blurring, understanding the world requires new ways of thinking. For 75 years the MIT Center for International Studies (CIS) has met this challenge by bringing engineers, social scientists, and policy practitioners together to tackle the most pressing global issues. What sets CIS apart is that international studies is not a separate department but is embedded within MIT’s technical ecosystem, allowing scholars to apply tools and perspectives rarely found elsewhere.\ \ Founded at the dawn of the Cold War, CIS pioneered the view that science, technology, and geopolitics are deeply intertwined. Its early interdisciplinary model became a template for institutions worldwide. In 1961, Max Millikan, the center’s first director, sent a memorandum to President John F. Kennedy that helped inspire the Peace Corps, reshaping how the United States engages in global development. Later, Lincoln Bloomfield and Bill Kaufman helped establish security studies as a rigorous academic field, while Jack Ruina and George Rathjens founded the Arms Control and Defense Policy Program (now the MIT Security Studies Program), training generations of policymakers and scholars.\ \ On the exchange of knowledge, the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI), launched in 1983 by Suzanne Berger, sent thousands of MIT students abroad for research and study, demonstrating the power of reciprocal learning. Richard Samuels expanded this vision with the MIT‑Japan Program and the 2008 Global Seed Funds, creating a consistent strategy of sustained global partnership.\ \ CIS also mobilizes regional expertise to respond to crises: the MIT‑MENA Program assessed energy and security risks in the Strait of Hormuz; the MIT‑Ukraine Program brings scientific and technical expertise to design sustainable solutions for a nation at war; the MIT‑China Program builds a hub for scholars and policy experts navigating MIT’s engagement with China.\ \ In security studies, the MIT Security Studies Program, led by Taylor Fravel, continues to generate influential research on grand strategy, nuclear policy, and Asian security. Its new Center for Nuclear Security Policy (CNSP), directed by Vipin Narang, focuses on managing the risks of nuclear weapons in a volatile geopolitical environment. Seminar XXI, currently run by Kelly Greenhill, gathers emerging leaders from the U.S. government, military, and national security community for a nine‑month deep‑dive into nationalism, technological disruption, and global conflict.\ \ CIS invests in the next generation through undergraduate research, postdoctoral fellowships, visiting scholar programs, and the Robert E. Wilhelm Fellowship, fostering inquiry into governance, corruption, political reform, and social change. Public events such as the Starr Forum bring global voices to campus, sparking dialogue on international politics and policy.\ \ Looking ahead, CIS is entering a “CIS 2.0” phase, focusing on the geopolitical implications of artificial intelligence, global cooperation in the climate crisis, and the evolving role of the United States in an increasingly contested order. As director Evan Lieberman notes, interdisciplinary, cross‑institutional, and cross‑national collaboration remains the only viable path to address a complex world.\ \ Review