The Peace Corps and the IU School of Public Health announced the launch of the new Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program that will provide graduate school scholarships to returned Peace Corps volunteers, according to a Peace Corps press release.
All program fellows will complete internships in under-served American communities while completing their studies.
“We are delighted to partner with IU School of Public Health-Bloomington to support our returned Volunteers as they pursue higher education and continue their commitment to service,” Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet said in the release. “Communities are moved forward by the selflessness of Volunteers, and returned Peace Corps Volunteers have unique skills and experiences to offer their local communities.”
The program will be available to students pursuing a master of public health degree, according to the release.
Participants in the program have the opportunity to study biostatistics, environmental health, physical activity or professional health education.
“By recruiting returned Volunteer Fellows to the MPH program, we will enhance our graduate student body with a group of mature, experienced individuals who bring a global perspective to their coursework and the school,” said Justin Otten, the school’s director of global health affairs and returned Peace Corps Volunteer, in the release.
Fellows will receive a scholarship of $5,000, a tuition discount of up to six credit hours for their Peace Corps service in the form of an independent study and an internship placement in a local community-focused organization.
Through internships, fellows will apply what they learn in the classroom to a professional setting by working 10 to 12 hours per week at their internship, according to the release.
By sharing their global perspective with the communities they serve, fellows help fulfill the Peace Corps’ Third Goal commitment to strengthen Americans’ understanding of the world and its people, according to the release.
Once a semester, fellows will participate in a professional development seminar that will include a guest speaker and community service. Seminars will focus on a different public health topic.
The School of Public Health said it hopes to be host to two or three fellows in the first three years of the partnership and double the number of students in future years, according to the release.
The Fellows Program began in 1985 at Teachers College, Columbia University, and now works with 98 universities across the country.
This is the sixth Peace Corps partnership program at IU. Existing partnerships include Master’s International programs, Fellows programs with the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and Master’s International programs with the School of Education, according to the release.
Alyson Malinger
