The paper describes the process of establishing a new and now thriving Middle East Studies major at Dickinson College, beginning in 2007, in which the two authors were the prime movers. We explain how we secured and deployed a two-year grant from the US Department of Education to create a rich interdisciplinary program that would be sustainable beyond the life of the grant and graduate students ready for a range of careers related to the region. Particular attention is given to the strengths and limitations offered by a liberal arts college environment for such a program, including academic, administrative and financial issues. Among the dimensions addressed are: establishing a credible language component; leveraging and nurturing faculty resources across the disciplines to provide strong and varied core and elective courses; study abroad options; community outreach; and quality control and assessment. Given time constraints, the presentation will focus on some of these issues, leaving the rest for the discussion period.