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UW-Madison ranks sixth in Peace Corps alumni volunteers

January 28, 2009

For the ninth year in a row, UW-Madison has placed in the top tier of the Peace Corps’ top 25 list of large schools nationwide producing Peace Corps volunteers.

With 81 alumni currently serving as Peace Corps volunteers, UW-Madison is sixth in the rankings. The university has made the Peace Corps’ top schools list since the ranking system began in 2001.

Since 1961, more than 2,848 UW-Madison alumni have served in the Peace Corps, making it the No. 2 university all-time producer of volunteers, surpassed only by the University of California, Berkeley.

The University of Washington holds the top rank for large schools on this year’s list, with 104 graduates serving as Peace Corps Volunteers. Nationally, the Peace Corps has seen a 16 percent increase in applications, the largest increase in five years.

UW-Madison also offers Peace Corps Master’s International programs in the areas of life sciences communication, agronomy, horticulture, urban and regional planning, animal science, and forest ecology and management. This unique program, which allows students to combine Peace Corps service with graduate studies for credit, is only offered at a handful of universities. UW-Madison introduced the programs in 2000.

For more information on applying, contact John Sheffy, a UW-Madison graduate student who served in Togo, at 262-1121 or peacecorps@cals.wisc.edu.

Information sessions will be held at 6 p.m. on Feb. 11, March 11, April 8 and May 13 in the Red Gym’s first-floor Media Room.