Peace Corps partnering with University of Minnesota to offer new Master's International program in civil engineering
Media Note: Peace Corps Master’s International Program Manager Eric Goldman will be visiting the University of Minnesota on Monday, June 14 and will have limited time for media. To schedule an interview, call Preston Smith in the University News Service at (612) 625-0552.
Contacts: Rhonda Zurn, Institute of Technology, rzurn@umn.edu, 612-626-7959
Peace Corps Press Office, pressoffice@peacecorps.gov, 202-692-2230
Preston Smith, University News Service, smith@umn.edu, 612-625-0552
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (06/10/2010) —Peace Corps welcomes a new University of Minnesota-Twin Cities graduate program to Master’s International. The program in the university’s Institute of Technology (College of Science and Engineering) will offer Peace Corps Master’s International students the opportunity to combine graduate studies with Peace Corps service abroad to a earn a master’s degree in civil engineering.
The program, focused on environmental engineering and water resources engineering, will include one year of study at the University of Minnesota and 27 months service with the Peace Corps. This is only the second Master’s International program in Minnesota. The University of Minnesota also offers a Peace Corps Master’s International program – introduced in 1994 – in natural resources science and management within the university’s College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences.
“Peace Corps is excited to build upon our already-strong partnership with the University of Minnesota,” said Eric Goldman, Peace Corps program manager for Master’s International. “The new civil engineering program will enable Peace Corps Masters International students to put their University of Minnesota education to work in communities worldwide and earn credit for their service abroad.”
Participants in more than 60 Peace Corps Master’s International programs typically finish one year of graduate school in the U.S. before earning additional academic credit while serving as Peace Corps volunteers abroad.
“We are thrilled to offer this new program,” said Julian Marshall, a University of Minnesota civil engineering assistant professor and McKnight Land-Grant professor of urban sustainability. “More and more, students want not only to learn skills, but also to apply those skills to real-world problems.”
The University of Minnesota is one of the top Peace Corps volunteer-producing schools in the country, and has consistently been in the top 25 of Peace Corps’ Top College annual ranking for the last 10 years. Altogether, 1,269 University of Minnesota alumni have served in the Peace Corps since the agency’s founding by president John F. Kennedy in 1961.
For more information about the new program, visit www.ce.umn.edu/graduate/peace_corps.
Additional information on Master's International is available at www.peacecorps.gov/masters.
As Peace Corps approaches its 50th anniversary, its service legacy continues to promote peace and friendship around the world with 7,671 volunteers serving in 77 host countries. Historically, nearly 200,000 Americans have served with the Peace Corps to promote a better understanding between Americans and the people of 139 host countries. Peace Corps Volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment.