BU Recognized as a Top Peace Corps Volunteer‑Producing Graduate School
Boston University has been recognized by the Peace Corps as one of the nation’s top volunteer‑producing graduate schools, ranking No. 5 in the agency’s newly released 2026 Top Volunteer‑Producing Colleges and Universities list. During the past fiscal year, eight BU graduate alumni served as Peace Corps volunteers, placing the University among a select group of institutions with a strong track record of preparing students for international service and community engagement.
This recognition reflects BU’s longstanding commitment to public service and global engagement—values closely aligned with the Peace Corps’ mission as it marks its 65th anniversary. Peace Corps Acting Director Richard E. Swarttz has emphasized the vital role colleges and universities play in inspiring students to serve, noting that volunteers work alongside communities in more than 60 countries to address locally identified needs in education, health, economic development, and environmental sustainability. BU’s continued presence among top volunteer‑producing schools underscores the impact of its graduates, particularly those from globally focused programs such as the Pardee School, in advancing peace, mutual understanding, and international cooperation.
That commitment is reflected in alumni such as Stephanie Hince (BA IR ’20) and Hallie Nothmann (BA IR ’22), who became some of the first Peace Corps volunteers to return to overseas service following the agency’s global evacuation during the COVID‑19 pandemic. After earning degrees in international relations, Hince and Nothmann began serving as an environment volunteers in Panama.
Since the Peace Corps’ founding in 1961, more than 1,500 Boston University alumni have served as volunteers worldwide, including Carrie Hessler‑Radelet (CAS ’79, Hon.’16), who later became the agency’s 19th director after beginning her international development career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Western Samoa. In 2025 alone, 25 Terriers served as Peace Corps Volunteers and two as Peace Corps Response Volunteers, working across more than 20 countries and sectors ranging from health and education to community economic development and environmental protection. Through rigorous academic preparation, institutional partnerships such as the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program, and a deeply rooted culture of service, Boston University continues to prepare graduates to make meaningful contributions to communities around the world through Peace Corps service.
Beyond it’s student population, David Scott Palmer, Professor Emeritus of International Relations and Political Science and founder of the Latin American Studies Program at the Pardee School, also served in Peru in the first Peace Corps cadre in 1962.
The University’s connection to the Peace Corps is also evident within its staff community: Lauren Thams, Academic Affairs Administrator at Pardee and a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal, continues to build on her service experience through the study of African languages, including Wolof, at BU’s African Studies Center.
Paul Webster Hare, former British ambassador to Cuba and a master lecturer at the Pardee School of Global Studies, shared how inclusion of the Peace Corps in his teachings have highlighted key aspects of U.S. public diplomacy–by volunteers and government engaging with oversees communities in locally-prioritized projects. Hare noted how serving benefits students of Pardee and beyond, “Serving in the Peace Corps can open many doors to different career options.”
Interested Terriers should visit peacecorps.gov to learn more about the Peace Corps and apply for service.