CU Boulder is ranked No. 12 in the nation for graduates serving as 2020 Peace Corps volunteers, with 53 Buffs currently volunteering in countries around the world, the Peace Corps announced this week. CU Boulder also ranks No. 5 all-time, with 2,556 alumni having served in the program since it was established in 1961.
"I am excited to know the graduates coming from Peace Corps' top colleges are using their skills to make a positive impact on their communities at home and abroad," said Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen.
The Peace Corps ranks its top volunteer colleges and universities according to student-body size, putting CU Boulder in the "large colleges and universities" category. Large schools have more than 15,000 undergraduates.
“CU has frequently placed among the top volunteer-producing schools for Peace Corps. This reflects the altruistic and open-minded campus culture that makes me proud to say that ‘I am a Buff,’” said Charlotte Thompson with the CU Boulder Peace Corps office.
5 reasons to consider the Peace Corps Prep certificate
Peace Corps Prep is an undergraduate certificate program, available to all CU students, that offers specific job skills and volunteer experience, foreign language training, intercultural competence courses and professional leadership development.
The state of Colorado also ranked highly as a Peace Corps volunteer producer, coming in at No. 7 in the nation (4.1 volunteers per 100,000 residents).
Topping out the large-schools category in the 2020 rankings are:
- No. 1: University of Wisconsin-Madison (79 volunteers)
- No. 2: University of Florida (70 volunteers)
- No. 3: University of Virginia (68 volunteers)
- No. 4: University of Maryland-College Park (66 volunteers)
- No. 5: University of Georgia (64 volunteers)