The Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics (GIAL) is an upper level undergraduate school, and also graduate school located in the southwest corner of Dallas, Texas. From its beginning in 1998, GIAL provided training for applied linguistics and language development work in minority languages around the world. Courses are offered in such areas as macro-sociolinguistics, multilingual education, language survey, translation, descriptive linguistics. More recently, a degree program in World Arts (ethnomusicology and other arts) was started in 2008. GIAL is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award Baccalaureate and Masters Degrees.