Peace Corps Master's International Program
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

The Peace Corps Master’s International Program (PCMI) is a joint partnership between the Peace Corps and the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. The PCMI Program was established to meet the increasing demand from overseas for Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) with higher levels of education and technical expertise and to assist the university with providing substantive, internationally focused experiences and opportunities for our students.

The PCMI Program will serve to advance the goals of both the Peace Corps and the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies to help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women; to help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served; to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans; to provide an opportunity for students to combine academic course work with practical field experience and to enhance ongoing international activities at the University.

The students' academic experience at AYSPS will prepare them for a significant array of Peace Corps services, including basic economic research and teaching, taking on leadership positions as managers and program officers, policy specialists with international, government, and not-for-profit organizations, urban planners, international journalists and so on. Each student will work closely with an academic advisor to exploit the synergy potential between classroom work and field experience.

Depending on the program of study, the student may have a paper to complete while overseas, may have to develop a detailed outline and draft of a thesis, or may complete assignments for a directed readings course. In all cases, the advisor assigned to the student will make every effort to integrate the student’s Peace Corps assignment with any written assignment due for the program of study.

To qualify for the PCMI Program, students must meet the admissions requirements for the University master’s degree program and the requirements established by the Peace Corps for Volunteer service. In some cases, enrolled students will be able to apply to the Peace Corps as a Program applicant during their first semester of graduate study.

PCMI Program participants entering the Peace Corps will complete approximately 12 weeks of pre-service training. Upon successful completion of training, Program participants will become Peace Corps Volunteers and begin a two-year tour of service in their country of assignment.

Degree Requirements:

The curriculum consists of 33 to 36 hours of graduate coursework, which must include 24 credit hours of required courses with 3 to 9 credit hours granted for Peace Corps service. Field work credits are program specific and must be arranged in advance with the department where the degree program is located, i.e., Public Administration and Urban Studies or Economics. Field work credit will be given in relation to the “internship" or "practicum” requirement for PA degrees and the “directed readings” or “thesis research” for Economics degrees. Field work credit will not be given solely for being a Peace Corps Volunteer in the field.

Applicants should submit the required application materials that correspond with the specific degree program to which they are applying.