Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps Fellows Program

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Coming home after Peace Corps is an exciting time. Why let the adventure end there? The Coverdell Peace Corps Fellows Program at BGSU provides Returned Peace Corps Volunteers with opportunities to enhance skills and knowledge acquired during service while continuing to help underprivileged communities in the United States. BGSU welcomes Returned Peace Corps Volunteers to our campus to bring their service home while studying in one of our main campus degree programs. Through internships and collaboration within our growing RPCV community, Fellows contribute to the Third Goal of Peace Corps by bringing their unique experiences to parts of the United States where they are needed most.

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

Since 2008, BGSU has partnered with the Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps Fellows Program to offer financial assistance and community connections to RPCVs pursuing graduate degrees. Our graduate degree programs are designed to translate the skills and knowledge that volunteers acquired during their Peace Corps experience into a career. Since the beginning of our partnership, over 90 Returned Peace Corps Volunteers have participated as Coverdell Fellows in a variety of programs, including: Cross-Cultural and International Education, Spanish, MPA, History, MBA, and many more. Today, we invite returned volunteers into all of our main campus BGSU graduate degree programs. Find a program that is right for you here: BGSU Graduate Programs

BENEFITS & MORE INFO

  • Application Fee Waiver
  • Minimum 50% tuition scholarship (additional funds may be available. Amount varies by program. Please contact your Graduate Coordinator for more information)
  • Priority consideration for Graduate Assistantships with stipend (May be 10 or 20 hours per week, availability depends on your program)
  • Access to resources for finding internships and job placements

Check out our 2021 Webinar of all things Peace Corps Fellows at BGSU

ELIGIBILITY

All Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who have satisfactorily completed their service have a lifetime eligibility for Coverdell Fellows Programs. This means that whether you are just returned home or returned home several years ago, you can take advantage of the Coverdell Fellows benefits.

  • The Volunteer was granted "Close of Service" status
  • The Volunteer was granted "Early Close of Service" or "Interrupted Service" status due to circumstances beyond his or her control
  • The Volunteer was medically separated
  • The Volunteer successfully completed at least 12 months of service with Peace Corps Response or the Global Health Service Partnership
  • Be enrolled in at least one of BGSU's on-campus (face-to-face) Graduate Degree Programs
  • Submit a signed copy of their Description of Service (DOS) in their Graduate Degree Program Application
  • Fulfill a 150-hour internship which services an underserved U.S. community anywhere in the United States or its territories (e.g. Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands)
Hear directly from our Fellows by watching the video below:

Transcript

Soft acoustic guitar music in the background.

Male voice:  “Bom dia.  My name is Nanosh and I was an English teacher serving as a peace corps volunteer  in Mozambique.”

Female voice:  “Hola mi nombre es Yasmine.  Hello, my name is Jasmine and I was a sustainable agricultural peace corps volunteer in Panama.”

Male voice:  “Saludos.  I’m Dan Went and I served in the Peace Corps as an environmental extension specialist in the Dominican Republic.”

Male voice:  “Hola mi nombres Emilio. Hi, my name is Emilio and I served as an agricultural volunteer in the Peace Corps in Panama.”

Female voice narrator:  Several people pictured with President Barack Obama.  “In 1961 President Kennedy challenged college students in America to push their boundaries by proposing “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

Jasmine’s voice:  “From this I really developed a lot of professional development skills knowing a lot more about community development and I’m going to take that with me on to my future and hopefully manage some sort of program dealing with migrant seasonal farm workers.

Female voice narrator:  “Back in the United States, they continue working on Peace Corps’ mission.  One pathway returned volunteers choose is the Coverdell fellows’ program which provides scholarships opportunities for graduate study.  Bowling Green State University is proud to announce that all of their master’s degree and doctoral programs are participating.  As part of the program, volunteers also completed an internship with an underserved population in the United States and engage in volunteer community service in the Bowling Green area.

Female voice:  In Ohio, we worked a lot with OMEC which is the Ohio Migrant Education Center. OMEC runs a summer migrant program for students who may be didn’t have the opportunity to finish school.

Female voice narrator:  The BGSU Coverdell Fellows program currently host 10 fellows.  To learn more about the BGSU Coverdell Fellows and the programs offered please visit our website or e-mail the fellows at pcf@bgsu.edu.  Make the most of your world and become falcon proud as a BGSU Coverdell fellow.  

"The benefits of the Peace Corps will not be limited to the countries in which it serves. Our own young men and women will be enriched by the experiences of living and working in foreign lands. They will have acquired new skills and experience which will aid them in their future careers and add to our own country's supply of trained personnel and teachers. They will return better able to assume the responsibilities of American citizenship and with greater understanding of our global responsibilities."                               

- John F. Kennedy, Message to Congress, March 1, 1961

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Updated: 08/16/2024 11:48AM