The California Graduate Institute (CGI) was founded in 1968 as an independent graduate school specializing in psychology, marital and family therapy, and psychoanalysis. CGI and The Chicago School of Professional Psychology formally announced in fall 2008 that they were uniting. The merger was approved by The Chicago School’s accrediting body, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), in October 2008. HLC joins the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) as two of six regional associations that accredit public and private schools, colleges, and universities in the United States.