Washington, D.C., April 27, 1998—Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan and Cornell University President Hunter R. Rawlings, III on Thursday, April 30 will announce a new partnership between Cornell University and the Peace Corps.
By linking academic study to overseas field experience, the Master\'s International (MI) Program will allow graduate students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to combine academic studies with agriculturally related field work as Peace Corps volunteers
"The Master\'s International Program is a \'win-win-win\' for the university, the students, and the Peace Corps," said Gearan. MI students will receive a Master\'s of Professional Studies with an emphasis in conservation of natural resources, sustainable farming systems, and various aspects of international development such as population, nutrition, planning, policy or agriculture.
After completing approximately one year of on-campus study, MI participants will enter the Peace Corps for a two-year assignment working in a developing nation to promote sustainable agricultural activities. They will use their Peace Corps experience as the foundation for a thesis or professional paper, for which they will earn Cornell credit.
Cornell joins 26 other distinguished universities, including Rutgers University, UC-Berkeley, and Tulane University, in establishing a Master\'s International partnership with the Peace Corps. More than 130 "Student-Volunteers" are currently serving overseas in 43 countries while working on degrees in public health, natural resources management, environmental education, agriculture, agribusiness and non-profit management.
During the past 37 years, 1,207 Cornell University alumni have served as Peace Corps volunteers, making Cornell one of the top producers of Peace Corps volunteers in the country.