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CMENAS is a U.S. Department of Education National Resource Center (NRC), which was established in 1961 to coordinate and facilitate interdepartmental and interdisciplinary training of specialists with expertise in the Middle East and North Africa. To that end, CMENAS has the goal of serving as a national resource for the teaching of modern Middle Eastern languages and providing instruction in the various academic fields needed to equip students with a well-rounded understanding of the areas, regions, and countries in which Middle Eastern languages are commonly used. 

CMENAS offers interdisciplinary bachelor's and master's degrees in Modern Middle Eastern and North African Studies. Students in these programs can choose both general and highly specialized coursework in many disciplines, including anthropology, history, political science, and public policy. Although the focus of CMENAS’s program is on the modern Middle East, many courses that demonstrate the connection between ancient and modern history and contemporary affairs in the region are also offered. In addition, they receive training at the introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels for the principal contemporary languages of the region (Arabic, Armenian, Hebrew, Persian, Turkish). All have international reputations for instructional excellence and are supported by Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships to enable graduate students to incorporate language training into their discipline-based programs of study.

Students graduating from CMENAS degree programs go on to careers in many fields, including higher education, government service, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. Work in government is particularly common among CMENAS master's students, some of whom take positions as analysts in United States government agencies dealing with the Middle East. In addition, because of CMENAS's unique dual-degree programs with UM's Schools of Law, Public Health, and Business, students can pursue careers as Middle Eastern specialists in these important professions.