The Peace Corps has welcomed Clark University’s International Development, Community & Environment (IDCE) department to its Paul D. Coverdell Fellows program, a graduate fellowship that offers financial assistance to returned Peace Corps volunteers (RPCVs) and places them in degree-related, professional internships in underserved American communities. Through the program, RPCVs admitted to Clark’s IDCE graduate programs will receive a 50-percent tuition remission worth more than $27,000. In addition, IDCE will award at least one competitive fellowship annually with 100 percent tuition remission.
“The Peace Corps is delighted to partner with Clark University and help more Americans pair Peace Corps service with graduate school,” said Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams. “Peace Corps volunteers are creative problem solvers who have demonstrated a commitment to public service and a desire to learn about other cultures, languages, and skills. A returned Peace Corps volunteer will make an excellent addition to any graduate program.”
The new IDCE partnership will offer Peace Corps Fellows the opportunity to earn a master’s degree in International Development & Social Change (MA), Environmental Science & Policy (MS), Community Development & Planning (MA), and GIS for Development & Environment (MS). IDCE offers two dual degrees with Clark’s Graduate School of Management, which is also part of the Coverdell Fellows program: an MBA/MS in Environmental Science & Policy and an MBA/MA in Community Planning & Development. Additional information is available here.
“Returned Peace Corps volunteers have always been an important constituency for IDCE graduate programs,” said William Fisher, Director of IDCE and Professor of International Development and Social Change, at Clark University. “This new arrangement formalizes and strengthens the relationship between experienced and talented RPCVs and IDCE programs focused on environmental sustainability and social justice.
In 2012, Clark University ranked No. 20 nationally on the list of top Peace Corps volunteer-producing colleges and universities in the small size category. There are currently 17 undergraduate alumni serving overseas. Since the agency was founded in 1961, 211 Clark University alumni have served in the Peace Corps.
The Coverdell Fellows program partners with graduate schools across the country. There are currently more than 70 university partners in 30 states and the District of Columbia. Volunteers who have satisfactorily completed Peace Corps service have lifetime eligibility. Since its start in 1985, nearly 4,000 returned Peace Corps volunteers have completed the program. For more information, visit www.peacecorps.gov/fellows.
For additional information on Clark University’s IDCE Department, contact Sarah Barrett, Director of IDCE Marketing, at 508-793-7690 (office) or 413-210-8784 (cell).
In January, Clark was No. 20 on the Peace Corps 2012 rankings of small universities and colleges.
About the Peace Corps: Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps by executive order on March 1, 1961, more than 200,000 Americans have served in 139 host countries. Today, 9,095 volunteers are working with local communities in 75 host countries. Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment and the agency’s mission is to promote world peace and friendship and a better understanding between Americans and people of other countries. Visit www.peacecorps.gov for more information.
Since its founding in 1887, Clark University in Worcester, Mass., has a history of challenging convention. As an innovative liberal arts college and research university, Clark’s world-class faculty leads a community of creative thinkers and passionate doers and offers a range of expertise. Clark is nationally recognized in the areas of psychology, geography, management, urban education, Holocaust and genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development and social change. Clark’s students, faculty and alumni embody the Clark motto: Challenge convention. Change our world.
Related Links:
http://www.clarku.edu/departments/idce/
http://www.clarku.edu/departments/idce/admissions/funding.html
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whyvol.eduben.fellows