Duke is among the nation's leading colleges and universities offering fellowship programs for returned Peace Corps volunteers pursuing advanced degrees following their service overseas, the federal agency reported Wednesday.
Twenty nine Duke students are currently enrolled in the Coverdell Fellows Programs for returned volunteers, ranking Duke No. 6 among such programs nationwide. Duke offers Peace Corps Fellows three options for master’s degrees -- in business administration at the Fuqua School of Business, and in public policy or international development policy at the Sanford School of Public Policy.
The Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows Program provides graduate school scholarships to returned volunteers who complete a degree-related internship in an underserved U.S. community while they pursue their studies.
Since 1961, more than 700 Duke alumni have served in the Peace Corps, with 18 currently stationed overseas. Duke currently ranks No. 16 among "top volunteer-producing" medium-sized schools.
"One of the reasons I applied to Duke University was because of its Coverdell Fellows program," said Justin Allen, who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Moldova from 2008 to 2010 and is now pursuing a master's degree at the Sanford School. "Duke University, and Sanford specifically, has a large [returned Peace Corps volunteer] community, so it's neat to be around so many people with similar interests and experiences."
Below: Sanford master's degree student Toumil Samonte, right, plays with children in Moldova during a fund-raiser she helped organize during her Peace Corps service.
