The Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University received in 2007 the first ever US Department of Education Title VIa UISFL (Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program) grant awarded specifically for the study of Iran. Through this two-year grant to its Iranian Studies Program, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies has been able to play a significant role in making available a greater understanding and appreciation of the cultural heritage and history of Iranians and the peoples of the greater Iranian world (including other countries in which Iranian languages are spoken, such as Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan).

The following activities have been carried out with the help of this grant:

* The creation since 2007 of five new courses on Iran: Introduction to Iranian Studies, History of Iran, Women in Iran, Avicenna (Ibn Sina) and Philosophy in Iran, Social Movements in Twentieth-Century Iran.
* The infusion of extra Iranian subject matter into undergraduate courses from other academic disciplines (including: The Literatures of India, History of South Asia, Islam, Turkic Peoples, Multiple Identities of the Middle East, Islamic Art, World Cinema).
* A proposal to establish a minor in Iranian Studies.
* A proposal to establish a professional certification program in Persian translation.
* The addition of $7,000 worth of books to the Alexander Library collection, which is available to the campus community and the New Jersey public.
* Periodic faculty workshops increasing awareness of Iran and the Iranian world and encouraging the use of material about Iran in the curriculum of the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers.
* Public conferences dedicated to topics relating to Iranian Studies.