VCU news

By VCU News staff

Virginia Commonwealth University is the top institution for Peace Corps Prep certificates for the second year in a row.

VCU issued 114 Peace Corps Prep certificates to its 2021 graduates, followed by the University of South Florida, which issued 56 certificates. No other Virginia schools ranked in the top 10 nationally.

The certificate program teaches students foreign language proficiency, intercultural competence and professional experience and leadership, and helps make them more competitive applicants to the Peace Corps.

“Peace Corps Prep represents one of the unique ways that Virginia Commonwealth University prepares students to engage in a 21st-century global environment,” said Jill Blondin, Ph.D., executive director of the VCU Global Education Office. “As a result of the program, our students are not only ready to enter the Peace Corps but are also more globally minded and prepared to contribute to the world as global citizens. We are thrilled to once again be the top issuer of Peace Corps Prep certificates in the country.”

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing a global evacuation of Peace Corps volunteers, more than 700 undergraduate students across the country completed the Peace Corps Prep program in the 2020-21 academic year.

“At this pivotal time in our history, young people have a crucial role to play,” said Carol Spahn, acting director of the Peace Corps. “Through the Peace Corps Prep program, these schools have equipped students with the skills and understanding necessary to help communities near and far recover from the multidimensional and global shocks of the pandemic.”

Established in 2007 and offered at more than 150 U.S. institutions, the Peace Corps Prep program aims to meet the demand for Peace Corps volunteers with broad and relevant areas of expertise and to support schools’ efforts to provide substantive, globally focused experiences for students. VCU’s Peace Corps Prep program is offered through the VCU Globe living-learning program, and is designed to help students develop skills sought by the Peace Corps, nonprofit organizations and global employers.

For more information about the Peace Corps Prep program at VCU, contact Christina Marino at cmmarino@vcu.edu or (804) 828-5794.