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; Global Studies Center; West European Studies Center; Russia, East Europe, and Central Asian Studies Center; South Asia Center; and Southeast Asia Center.