URI offering Peace Corps Prep Program

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – The University of Rhode Island is now offering the Peace Corps Prep Program to its undergraduate students, making it the first college or university in the state to do so.
The program will prepare students to volunteer in international development programs, such as the Peace Corps, according to a URI press release issued Thursday.
URI is one of only 48 universities in the country and three in New England to participate in such a program.
“This is an outgrowth of our overall global agenda,” Nancy Stricklin, assistant to the provost for global strategies and academic partnerships, said in a statement. “We want to create more opportunities for students to be involved in a global curriculum. This is another major step in that process. We meet all of the program’s standards for interdisciplinary academic programs, international education and experiential learning.”
The program is accepting applications now; information can be found HERE.
Peace Corps Prep’s four central learning objectives are: training and experience in a specific work sector, foreign language skills, intercultural awareness, and professional and leadership development.
Benefits to students who participate include: providing students with a vision of how they will use their skills in the field; enhancing a student’s foreign language proficiency and intercultural competency; providing the opportunity to earn a Peace Corps Prep Certificate of Completion and increasing a student’s competitiveness when applying to be a Peace Corps volunteer, other non-governmental relief organizations or for foreign service careers.
The certificate of completion does not guarantee entry into the Peace Corps, which gets about 23,000 applications a year. However, applicants who hold a Peace Corps prep certification go into a smaller pool that generally get more attention, according to the university.
In addition, the Peace Corps announced that the University of Rhode Island ranked No. 25 among medium-sized schools on the agency’s 2016 Top Volunteer-Producing Colleges and Universities list. This is the first time since 2007 that URI has appeared on the annual list, with 13 alumni currently volunteering worldwide, URI said. URI also is the only Rhode Island college or university listed in any of the Peace Corps top 25 lists in any category.
Stonehill College in Easton, Mass., also made the list, ranking No. 23 among small schools. It has eight alumni currently serving worldwide. This is its first year on the list.

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