Top Volunteer Producing Colleges and Universities Announced
Top Volunteer Producing Colleges and Universities Announced
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 16, 2004 – More and more college graduates are deciding to join the Peace Corps, and that trend is reflected in Peace Corps` 2004 list of “Top Producing Colleges and Universities." This year, institutions that topped the list had, on average, 15 percent more of their alumni become volunteers than last year.
For the tenth year in a row, the University of Wisconsin at Madison has the highest number of alumni serving as Peace Corps volunteers with 142 volunteers, up from 123 last year. Leading the way in the medium-size colleges and universities category, the University of Virginia held its no. 1 spot for a second year, increasing its number of alumni volunteers serving from 68 to 75. In the small colleges and universities category, the University of Chicago leapt from third to first place with 34 alumni serving, up from 24 last year.
“During this time of adversity in our world, the important role that these alumni continue to play in promoting hope, opportunity and freedom cannot be underestimated,” said Director Gaddi H. Vasquez. “We at Peace Corps are pleased and excited that an increasing number of college alumni are not only considering Peace Corps, but are answering the call to service that is so necessary and imperative in our global community.”
These increases are also reflected in Peace Corps’ overall statistics, as there are currently 7,533 volunteers serving in the field, the highest level since 1974.
Year after year, several of these higher education institutions have seen their alumni join the Peace Corps as volunteers. Historically, the University of California-Berkeley has produced the most alumni joining the Peace Corps, with a total of 3,173 volunteers. The following top four historically producing schools include the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2,601), the University of Washington (2,260), the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (2,007) and Michigan State University (1,931).
New schools that entered the rankings this year include the University of Kansas on the large colleges list. Tulane University, Columbia University, Harvard University, and Syracuse University joined the rankings on the medium-sized college list. In fact, Tulane jumped from a non-ranking last year to no. 13 this year. Case Western Reserve, the University of Rochester, Mary Washington College and Wittenberg University round out the new school rankings on the small colleges list.
Schools are ranked according to the size of the student body. Small schools are those with less than 5,000 undergraduates, medium-size schools are those between 5,001 to 15,000 undergraduates, and large schools are those with more than 15,000 undergraduates. To view the entire 2004 “Top Producing Colleges and Universities" list, click here.
Although it is not a requirement for service, the majority of volunteers who have served in the Peace Corps over the past 43 years have been college graduates. Currently, 83 percent of the volunteers have an undergraduate degree and 14 percent have graduate degrees or have studied at the graduate level. However, over the years, the Peace Corps has also enjoyed the support and interest of community college graduates, and a number of community colleges also produce alumni who are serving as volunteers today.
Since 1961, more than 170,000 volunteers have served in the Peace Corps, working in such diverse fields as education, health, HIV/AIDS education and awareness, information technology, business development, the environment, and agriculture. Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a two-year commitment.
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Top Producing Colleges and Universities 2004
The Peace Corps announces the list of colleges and universities that produced the most Peace Corps Volunteers in 2003.
Large Colleges and Universities (more than 15, 000 undergraduates)
# of Alumni # of Alumni
Rank Volunteers Rank Volunteers
1 University of Wisconsin - Madison 142
2 University of Texas - Austin 108
3 University of Colorado - Boulder 98
4 University of Washington 90
5 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor 86
6 University of California - Berkeley 83
7 University of Oregon 81
8 Colorado State University 73
Michigan State University 73
University of California - Santa Barbara 73
11 Indiana University - Bloomington 71
12 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities 70
13 University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill 69
14 Ohio State University - Columbus 63
15 University of California - Los Angeles 61
16 Pennsylvania State University 60
University of Florida 60
18 University of Maryland - College Park 58
19 Boston University 57
20 University of California - Davis 55
University of Illinois - Urbana/Champaign 55
22 New York University 46
23 University of Arizona 43
University of Iowa 43
25 University of Kansas 41
Medium-Size Colleges and Universities (between 5,001 - 15,000 undergraduates)
# of Alumni # of Alumni
Rank Volunteers Rank Volunteers
1 University of Virginia 75
2 Georgetown University 66
3 Cornell University 56
4 University of California - Santa Cruz 52
5 College of William and Mary 51
6 Western Washington University 48
7 George Washington University 44
8 James Madison University 41
9 Stanford University 36
10 University of Montana 35
11 Northern Arizona University 34
12 Emory University 33
13 American University - D.C. 31
13 Boston College 31
Tulane University 31
University of Pennsylvania 31
17 Brown University 29
Northwestern University 29
University of Notre Dame 29
Yale University 29
21 Columbia University 28
22 Harvard University 26
23 Montana State University - Bozeman 25
24 Marquette University 23
Syracuse University 23
University of New Hampshire - Durham 23
# of Alumni # of Alumni
Rank Volunteers Rank Volunteers
Small Colleges and Universities (less than 5,000 undergraduates)
1 University of Chicago 34
2 University of Puget Sound 32
3 Dartmouth College 31
4 Grinnell College 27
5 Tufts University 26
6 Santa Clara University 25
7 Oberlin College 24
Wellesley College 24
Wesleyan University 24
10 Carleton College 23
11 Colorado College 22
University of San Diego 22
13 Luther College 21
Middlebury College 21
Willamette University 21
16 Case Western Reserve University 20
Wake Forest University 20
18 Gonzaga University 19
University of Rochester 19
20 Gustavus Adolphus College 18
Mary Washington College 18
22 Colby College 17
Rice University 17
Smith College 17
Wittenberg University 17
Top five historic rankings (since 1961)
University of California - Berkeley 3,173
University of Wisconsin - Madison 2,601
University of Washington 2,260
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor 2,007
Michigan State University 1,931
Current number of Volunteers and trainees 7,533
Total number of Volunteers and trainees to date 170,000
Current number of countries served 71
Total number of countries served 137
Peace Corps Facts
