Michigan Tech in Houghton was listed as the top school in the U.S. for number of Peace Corps Master's International graduate students in active service again this year. It's the sixth year in a row Tech has landed in the top spot, ahead of Tulane University and the University of Washington.
The Peace Corps Master's International program is a less well-known counterpart to the undergraduate Peace Corps, and allows graduate students to work on a master's degree while serving in the Peace Corps. PCMI programs are in place at more than 80 universities. Typically, students start their graduate studies, then serve overseas for two years on projects related to their studies, then return to complete their coursework.
Michigan Tech currently has 32 graduate students on Peace Corps assignments, and several more on campus working on the academic part of their programs. Tech offers eight different PCMI programs, the largest number in the country. They include applied natural resource economics, biological sciences, civil and environmental engineering, forest resources and environmental science, mechanical engineering, natural hazards mitigation, rhetoric and technical communication and science education.
"Michigan Tech's PCMI program is successful because it spans such a wide range of opportunities that Tech has available," says Blair Orr, director of PCMI programs at Tech. "We have a large international community on campus and a wide range of activities that complement Peace Corps."
The school has participated in the master's programs since 1995, and over the last 50 years, has seen 185 Michigan Tech alumni serving as volunteers, which is more than half of all the volunteers from Michigan.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Blair Orr, Michigan Technological University
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