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Peace Corps Prep provides students with knowledge, experience, skills, and mentorship needed to prepare students  for service in the Peace Corps. It serves as an additional, optional credential for undergraduate students, preparing them in core areas and competencies emphasized by the Peace Corps and potentially* offering an advantage in the Peace Corps application process. The 4 core areas and competencies are:  

1. Training and experience in a specific work sector based on major
2. Foreign language proficiency
3. Intercultural competencies
4. Professional and leadership development

*Program Disclaimer: Completing the Peace Corps Prep program does not obligate a student to serve in the Peace Corps nor does it guarantee acceptance as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  The many factors considered in the selection and placement of a successful Peace Corps applicant include the individual qualifications vis-à-vis the needs of the position, the other candidates applying, and background and health screenings of each candidate. While acceptance is not guaranteed, the Peace Corps Prep Certificate offers a likely advantage when competing with other qualified candidates

Peace Corps Website 

• Must be in good standing to apply
• Fall Deadline: July 1st
• Spring Deadline: December 1st

Submit your Application

Review the FGCU  Peace Corps Prep Student Guide

Applications are reviewed after the deadlines, applicants will be contacted. 

Please thoroughly review this guide before applying to the program

1.      Training and experience in a specific work sector

Students should take at least three courses that build their capacity to work in one of the following sectors. Additionally, they should accumulate a minimum of 50 hours of volunteer or work experience in that same sector, preferably in a teaching or outreach capacity.

• Education
• Health
• Environment
• Agriculture
• Youth in Development
• Community Economic Development

 2.      Foreign language skills

Students should hone their capacity to interact professionally using a non-English language. PC Prep minimum course requirements vary by desired placement region.

• Latin America: Individuals wanting to serve in Spanish-speaking countries must apply with strong intermediate proficiency, having completed two 200-level courses or learned Spanish through another medium.
• West Africa: Individuals wanting to serve in French-speaking African countries should be proficient in French or another Romance Language, having completed one 200-level course or learned the language through another medium.
• Everywhere else: The Peace Corps recommends but has no explicit language requirements for individuals applying to serve in most other countries.

 3.      Intercultural competence

Students should deepen their intercultural competence through a mix of three self-reflective courses focused on diversity and inclusion or the study of marginalized groups.

• Prolonged intercultural experiences—such as studying/volunteering abroad, supporting new Americans/immigrants in the community, or teaching in diverse schools—may partially fulfill this requirement.

4.      Professional and leadership development

Students should hone their professional skills through at least three activities:

1.      Have their resume critiqued by someone in Career Development Services

2.      Attend a workshop or class on interview skills with Career Development Services

3.      Develop at least one significant leadership experience. For example, organizing a campus event, leading a work or volunteer project, or serving on the executive board of a student organization.

FGCU Faculty will partner with another instructor in a different region of the world to integrate student collaboration into syllabi and the planning of their relative courses. Faculty can locate partner instructors on their own, request assistance from FGCU International Services Office or utilize the SUNY COIL Global Partner Network. The amount of collaboration, the frequency of collaboration and the forms of collaboration with the global counterpart are flexible and determined by the partnered faculty. For example, although curricula will overlap in some way and most courses will be focused on similar topics, the two courses could potentially come out of different disciplines. Faculty could decide that to achieve learning outcomes several simultaneous sessions should be scheduled throughout the term. Or, it could be that students never meet in a simultaneous setting and instead collaborate on certain activities or assignments. Whatever the collaboration, it will involve technology in some form, it needs to be incorporated into the curricula and should be well planned. Ideal courses for the COIL initiative should have a global dimension that can be enhanced by multicultural inputs, perspectives and solutions. 

SUNY COIL

Florida International University’s Global Learning Podcast

Sample Projects

Virtual Exchange Coalition

Jacueline Salmond, PhD. 

GEO Fellow

Integrated Studies,College of Arts and Sciences

jsalmond@fgcu.edu 

Dr.Michael McDonald

Chief International Officer & Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs

mmcdonal@fgcu.edu