Why you should consider this program

Located in the heart of Philadelphia, Drexel University is a great place to earn your master’s degree in engineering!

The College of Engineering provides an excellent opportunity for returning Peace Corps volunteers to increase their skills and knowledge in over 15 different technical areas. Returning Peace Corps volunteers bring a wealth of experience and a real understanding of the global challenges faced by engineers today. Drexel University is in an urban community that is rich in diversity where students can take advantage of our existing community partnerships and our graduate co-operative education option to satisfy the internship requirement for the Coverdell Fellows program. Some of our programs are especially well suited for returning Peace Corps volunteers with STEM degrees, such as the MS in Peace Engineering where students can apply their skills and knowledge to effect peace and conflict mitigation. The College of Engineering supports the mission of the Peace Corps and hopes to call ourselves home to many Coverdell Fellows in the future.

Benefits for Coverdell Fellows

	Tuition/fees for Complete Program	Value of Coverdell Fellowship	Net cost *
In state	$ 61,790	$ 18,537	$ 43,253
Out of state	$ 61,790	$ 18,537	$ 43,253

* Net cost is equal to tuition/fees minus fellowship value. For some universities, the fellowship value includes non-tuition/fee benefits such as health insurance or housing—see the first point below for more details.

Where the cost savings value of the Coverdell Fellowship comes from

The Tuition Award is from the College of Engineering’s Dean’s Fund in support of this program.

Fellowships awarded per year (average)

3-5 per year

Other benefits or opportunities

Individual department or programs may offer additional awards. Applicants may reach out to the advisor directly or view the special opportunities page by CLICKING HERE.

Annual cost of living (estimated)

$ 30,000

Application fee waived?

Yes

Internship

Coverdell Fellows will need to satisfy at least 150 internship hours with a suitable organization as part of the cooperative education program or as an intern. Hours above this amount will vary depending on the student’s plan of study and the organization’s needs. Drexel University houses one of the largest co-operative education programs in the world, and these resources will be made available to the Fellows to assist in finding an internship.  A sampling of University resources include: The Lindy Center and The Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships. Organizations may include NGOs and CSOs in the region that have a history of working with the College of Engineering such as Goodwill Industries of Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia or Lighthouse 1893 – two community organizations the College of Engineering partners with for community projects. If the student participates in the graduate coop program resources will be made available through the Steinbright Career Development Center (SCDC) and the student will satisfy both the coop and internship requirements concurrently. Although each organization’s need will vary, Fellows can expect to work with the organizations to assist in overcoming an engineering design challenge, develop a community education project or to generally apply their engineering skills.

Jobs for program alumni

A master’s degree prepares students for advanced positions in engineering that are technically focused and specialized. Some positions obtained by our Alumni with master’s degrees include:

• Chemical Engineering at Nike
• Sales team lead and Green Mountain Energy
• Environmental Science Officer at the Army National Guard
• Security Operational Analyst at Sony Corporation of America
• IT Risk Management and Ethical Hacker at Meditology Services
• Technology Analyst at Goldman Sachs
• Training Services Manager at The Boeing Company
• Senior Engineer at Pepco Holdings, Inc.
• Business Improvement Lead at Johnson & Johnson
• Program Manager at Microsoft
• Environmental Engineer at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Bioenvironmental Engineer at U.S. Air Force
• Research Scientist at NIST, INNL and LBNL
• Post-Doc at Harvard and University of Indiana at Urbana-Champaign
• Mechanical Designer at Stantec​

Other details

Program length

18Months/5 quarters for fulltime MS programs (no coop). 21 Months/6 quarters for fulltime MS programs (with coop)

Application requirements

• Online application
• Personal Essay
• Resume or CV
• Letter(s) of Recommendation
• An official transcript, verified
• GRE scores (optional)

To start an application online please CLICK HERE.

Admissions process

In advance of the student starting their online application it is strongly suggested that the applicant contact the program coordinator to let them know that they are interested in applying to the program as a Coverdell Fellow.  This will allow the coordinator to work with the enrollment management team member to monitor the application and to be sure the application fee is waived. Coverdell Fellow applicants will be evaluated and selected using the same admission criteria into the Master degree program to which they are applying. Application criteria and deadlines can be found online by CLICKING HERE. Once an admission decision is made, the applicant will be notified about their acceptance into the degree program and that they have been awarded the Coverdell Fellowship.  This notification will include financial information that highlights their tuition discount and any other benefits of the Coverdell Fellowship program.

Program begins

Mid-September for most programs.

Non-traditional options

To qualify for the Coverdell Fellowship students must be enrolled full-time in one of the face-to-face MS programs listed above. Students are permitted to take a maximum of one class per quarter online. Students in some degree programs may be eligible to participate in the graduate Coop program.

Year Coverdell Fellows partnership started

2017

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Contact

Sherry Levin, Director of Graduate Programs, College of Engineering